Part 3....What to do when your child is smarter than you?

I GIVE UP!

I just want to state it here and now. I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea what I am doing as a parent and that Emma is smarter than me. There. I said it! Don't get me wrong, I am laughing as I write this because I can't even believe it. Perhaps I am in denial...hmmm....there's a thought?

Today I did the last ditch attempt to keep her in her room. I bought the baby door knob handle and tried to lock her in her room. She has 2 hours to do and she was fighting me tooth and nail to do it. So after a couple of agonizing guilty moments (which was not helped with every article on the internet telling me that I should not lock my child in her room for fear of emotionally scarring her for life!) I went back up stairs to chat with her.

I knocked on the door quietly with Morgan in hand, you know, to keep me patient, and went in to find that she had successfully taken the lock off her door knob(because she couldn't figure out how to open the door!) and was laying on the floor eating a sucker. A sucker that she had smuggled in with a bunch of other treats for moments like this one. Yep. She had unlocked her door had a treat and was just hanging out until her time is done. I just laughed and hugged her. Really. What would you have done? So I have now thrown in the towel. She is smarter than me and there is nothing I can do about it!

Well played Emma...well played!

Doing Time

Emma in fighting mode!!!

So in response to all the well wishers of our bedtime problem I thought I would do a follow up post. Emma has not really figured out the whole staying in bed thing yet but has figured out that her daily routine now includes doing time in her room.
I kid you not! She has spent EVERY DAY at least a minimum of 30 min in her room. Saturday it was 5 hours (down from 7 because Kent sprung her early!) and today it is 35 min. On top of that I have not let her watch TV for a week since the days she does time means no TV. WHAT DO I DO???? Let me know if you have any other brilliant ideas.

On the positive she has now figured out how to go to bed and stay in her room when we put her down. It is the 12:45am wake up call to Kent and I that we have. I am getting desperate. We have tried sticker charts, threats, rewards, bribes, timeouts (obviously), spankings, yelling, being nice and going with the flow,the super nanny things where you just ignore and even letting her sleep in our room on the floor.
I feel like that part in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where Veruca Salt is being tested by the squirrels to see if she is a good nut or not. Am I being tested by my child to see if I am a good nut or not? It sure feels like it!:)

Happy week to you all who are getting more than 4 hours of sleep. Those of you who are not, you may call me anytime from 12:30-2:00am. I am up!

I think I figured it out....I hope!

Oh Emma....I love you soooooo much but would you please just go to bed?

So I have had a problem the past few years with my oldest child. It is the problem of bedtime. It goes in waves of good and really, really bad. Like fighting 5 hours and putting a pillow over your head and trying to just survive. (Don't judge...all of you that have kids know you have been there!!!)

I think I have finally found the solution...I think! Let me start by explaining that we have tried everything with the exception of locking her in her room as Kent was very adamant that we would not do that. The solution came to me Sunday night while fighting yet again at around 10:30pm. I simply told her "Emma, I don't care where you sleep but from now on how ever long it takes for you to stay in your room and go to bed will be the amount of time you will stay in your room tomorrow."
So for instance on Monday had you come to our house you would have found Emma sitting in her room for 5 hours since she took 5 hours to go to bed the night before. Today she spent 1.5 hours in her room. Tomorrow will be 45 min. It is getting smaller each day and I have hope that tomorrow night will be less. I just wanted to blog about this as I feel like we have finally made a huge milestone with her. Let's hope I am not speaking too soon!!! Anyone else have bedtime problems with their kids? What do you do?

My most amazing babysitter

This afternoon Emma took it upon herself to entertain the boys. Also known as the "trap". Emma is either the best babysitter and big sister or the most unhelpful person around. This must be the curse of the oldest or of being 4. I am a novice parent so I haven't made up my mind just yet.

So she made a homemade baby gate since the boys have started crawling and this is what she came up with. Pretty ingenious really. The only thing she didn't factor in was Morgan and his desire to not be stopped at any cost. Seriously. He made it through all of the holes to emerge victorious on the other side. It was really a sight to see!

In other news...Claire got a cast on yesterday. The therapists and Dr decided that she needed to do some constraint therapy so they put a cast on her good arm to force the weak arm to work. I am once again amazed at the resilience and good nature of my 2nd daughter. She complained once when she got it on and then I haven't heard her complain since. She hasn't been able to feed herself, drink from a sippy cup or really do much of anything that she is used to. She also hasn't let on how hard this must be for her. I really am amazed! She even told me last night as I am not feeling great "mom, I hope you feel better tomorrow." Can I learn from her how to not complain?

My Cousin's Giveaway!!!

My amazingly talented cousin Padgett is having a giveaway on her blog of the most phenomenal dishes. I would say they are the best cooking dishes you can get and if you check out her etsy shop you will see the BEST jewelry you can buy.
Just think...you could be cooking with the BEST and look your BEST while wearing the BEST jewelry around. Any questions???

check out her blog on:
www.padgetthoke.blogspot.com

Good luck!!!

2 years ago...

This week marks a big milestone for our family. It was two years ago on Friday, February 12th that we found out about Claire. It was 2 years ago that our lives changed and that we entered a new world. It was 2 years ago that my love for my husband, little girl and faith grew to a new level. Amazing how much can happen in 2 years!
I don't know how many of you have had the missionary experience in your home. It is amazing how long those 2 years seem! I remember the 2 years Kent was on his mission in Switzerland and I was living in London. I remember walking along the streets and out of the blue thinking to myself "Kent is only an hour time difference from me but _____ months/years away." It really seemed like it lasted forever!!!

The past 2 years have at times seemed the same. There have been moments that seemed to last FOREVER and yet the days and weeks and progress flew by! Claire is a miracle! I know that I talk a lot about miracles but she truly is. When the Dr's told us that she might not ever walk and speak I didn't really know how to comprehend that. Now I am grateful I didn't really ever have to comprehend that. Claire is speaking like any other 3 year old and walking like a champ. She still has her moments of needing help that a 3 year old doesn't have and I am starting to have the "mom" moments where someone asks me whats wrong with her. The greatest thing I have learned from Claire though is that you need to be happy no matter what. Seriously. There is something very special about this little girl that just touches and melts hearts with everyone she meets. I love her soooo much and am grateful for her sweet spirit in our family and the lessons I learn from her daily. Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing me with this sweet little angel! I feel honored to be her mom!!!

My little problem...getting bigger everyday! ;)

Morgan right after he was born...3 lbs 14 oz

Me holding Morgan for one of the first times. He was was so little I couldn't believe it!

Mack and Morgan at 6 months. Morgan is on the right.

Morgan is our youngest child. I say youngest because he came out 30 seconds after Mack. It is not much but 30 seconds is 30 seconds.
I used to think that Morgan was going to be the runt of the family. So frail, fragile and weak. Boy was I wrong!!!
Morgan is our smallest child still but he is the most lively, quickest learner, and the dominant twin of the two. He has no problem stealing Mack's binky, toy, blanket whatever. He also has no problem rolling and crawling right over Mack. He is a tease to Emma all ready and makes her so frustrated sometimes. (like yesterday when she was throwing a tantrum and he just laughed!)
The thing about Morgan is he is so dang cute. I know I am biased as his mom but he is. He is going to get away with sooooo many things because he will just smile his little cheeky smile and look at me with his big brown eyes. What am I going to do?

I thought Emma was going to be my biggest challenge as a parent. I think this little guy is going to give her a run for her money!:)

Morgan crawling so much his shirt is falling off. He only army crawls but is VERY fast!

Morgan today after crawling right over Mack. Mack doesn't seem to mind.