Seven Quick Takes

1. I made Stephanie's lemon pound cake for our town's May Day celebration last Saturday. Unfortunately, it ended up pouring down rain that afternoon so we didn't go. Or maybe fortunately because we got the cake all to ourselves?

2. Every once in a while, I need Claire to skip her afternoon nap so I let her watch a movie instead. Our go-to is the 1979 Winnie the Pooh that's on Netflix streaming. But the Heffalump song is a little too scary for her! We rented the 2011 Winnie the Pooh on Amazon and it's just as charming with no scary parts. Also, have y'all ever watched Peppa the Pig on YouTube? The episodes are only five minutes long (perfect for those days where you just really need to put your make-up on in peace) and seriously so hilarious.

3. Thanks to Adam's flexible schedule, I have never had to take the girls to the pediatrician by myself. I scheduled a double appointment on Monday for Claire's two-year and Maggie's six-month well visits. Since Adam's pretty swamped at work right now, I took them myself. Whew. A slice of cake was definitely needed during nap time to recover! But they're both doing well. Claire weighs thirty pounds and is thirty-six inches tall. Maggie weighs eighteen pounds and is twenty-six inches long.

4. Well, I ordered a bunch of swim suits from Zappos to try on in the comfort of my own bedroom. Notice that I said comfort, not privacy, because Claire was most definitely jumping on the bed the entire time. I'm going with this tankini:

 

Claire said I looked like a princess. I think I need her around whenever I'm trying on new clothes!

5. I finally stopped using the nursing pillow this week. It's a little ridiculous given that Maggie's over six months old, but she just had a strong attachment to it for some reason. Now that it's put away, I've realized that I do not enjoy having my stomach on display, so I ordered a couple of those Undercover Mama nursing tanks. Pretty sure they're the best invention ever.

 

6. Claire's obsessions of the week are painting, bikes, and telling us she's painting pictures of bikes. (We've found a good craft time window is between Maggie's bedtime at 7:00 and Claire's at 8:00.) Thanks to Young House Love's recommendation, I've started using the Artkive app to photograph the work of our little artiste and then sneak most of it into the recycling bin. I'd love to make a photo book of it all at some point. Oh, and we've also been stalking Craig's List for a deal on either a balance bike or tricycle. Thoughts one way or the other?

 

7.  And I saved the best for last - we moved Maggie into the nursery (just at night) this week. Here's how it went:

Saturday - Maggie woke up once, I fed her, put her back to sleep and she stayed there till the morning. She woke up before Claire, but we got her out without waking the toddler. Success! Overconfidence!

Sunday - Maggie slept all the way until 5:30 am. We thought she'd be up for the day at that point, but she surprised us by wanting to fall back asleep. But since it was already 6:00 am by then, she dozed a little longer in the guest room pack-n-play. 

Monday - Maggie woke up at 10:30, just as we were getting ready for bed. And I mean wide awake. We took turns trying to get her back to sleep for the next two hours. Her screeching woke Claire up and got her booted to the guest room.

Tuesday - We got a babysitter so we could attend a church event and didn't even attempt the shared room thing. 

Wednesday - Maggie woke up at 10:30 again but fell back to sleep easily and we got her back into the nursery without waking Claire. Then she woke again at 2:30 and was ready for another wide awake party, so she got booted to the guest room again.

Thursday - Maggie woke up at 11:00 and 3:00, but we were able to sneak her back into the nursery each time. Then Claire woke up at 5:00 and woke up Maggie too. Claire was able to go back to sleep, but Maggie wasn't.

It's very much still a work in progress, but we'll keep on keeping on. Maybe we shouldn't have started this while they're both teething...

I'm tired.

Have a happy Mother's Day weekend and go see Jen for more quick takes!