No more cribs (or pack n plays with tents!)

With most milestones and transitions your children reach, there is a feeling of both excitement and nostalgia. Excitement like "Thank goodness they finally did that" but also nostalgia over knowing they are growing up. I think the transition to the toddler beds has been the most nostalgic for me so far. People ask us all the time if we will adopt more children. The answer is no. We have no plans to expand our family more. We feel blessed beyond belief to have two children, TWINS!, and on top of that a boy and a girl. We like our family the way it is. And getting pregnant? I highly doubt that! So much that I am choosing to forego the extra $200 a month I would have to pay for my health insurance for maternity coverage!!

But with the move to the toddler beds, it seems we are officially moving away from having two "babies" in the house. We are cleaning out all the baby toys and clothes they have outgrown and are just unbelievably small. Seriously were these two really only 3 lbs 6 oz and 3 lbs 11 ozs at birth?!? It is amazing! Now if only both kids would cooperate and consistently use the potty. But I won't wish these days away (though underwear would be much cheaper!).

A few pics from the first days in their beds...

Trying it out for the first time (she is a total snuggler and piles her bed with lots of blankets and stuffed animals). We have now rearranged her room and the bed is not against the wall since we realized she won't fall out.


The aftermath of her meltdown over not wanting to stay in her bed for nap. Not even watching Finding Nemo would keep this tired one awake! Thank goodness it isn't quite as bad to get her to sleep. Though she has decided she must have the door open. This afternoon's nap included her "reading" her Brown Bear, Brown Bear book to herself and yelling "I am sleeping in a big girl bed!"


Getting ready for night two in his bed. He loves it and just snuggles in with his blanket, stuffed animals, and truck.


Giving the mommy rabbit a kiss (he moved onto the baby which is attached next!)

Diva

This little cutie....well she might look 2 1/2 but I think she is secretly 13! She loves to be around older kids and is super independent. But then she turns around and is really to hug and kiss you and tell you she loves you. Our Elaina reached a big milestone last week. And she loves to show it off and tell you about it...."I sleep in a big girl bed!" she says with a huge smile. Oh it took a few nights of screaming for us and some major fits (though she always did it from her bed and never got out). But now she runs right to her bed, cozies up with her beloved bunny and other stuffed animals and is happy as can be. She is little diva but we love her to pieces!

You Gotta Watch Those Quiet Ones!

We have been juggling finding the right nap time for the kids over the past few weeks. It seems they don't need two (Elaina hasn't for awhile) and we have been trying to figure out a good time to put them down for their afternoon nap. Skylar falling asleep in his highchair during lunch was a good sign he was ready! Well going down early means we have a longer break until dinner. We had been going to the pool or for a walk but today the heat index was too high and just plain miserable with the humidity. So we went to the mall to pick up a shirt Skylar needed for the cousin picture we are doing Saturday. Skylar does not like the mall unless he is looking at the carousal. He is just a stinker to take but I was armed with snacks, drinks, and toys. He would have none of that and was just fussy. I tried to shop and was checking out at Gymboree when he started to fuss louder. I was getting frustrated and told the clerk he hates to go shopping and is always like this. A lady behind me goes Um, I think she is pulling his hair. I turned around to see Elaina with a fistful of hair (and strands laying on her tray!). Poor Skylar, I thought he was fussy but his sissy was quietly tormenting him! Talk about feeling like a bad mommy

Can't we get some sleep around here!?!?

So it has not been a good week for sleep in the Pedersen house. Elaina is SOOOO active at night and rolls and rolls and wakes up. She did better in the tiny pack n play! That child never seems tired though! She used to nap for long periods of time but I fear this one will be down to one nap sooner than I want her to be! Skylar FINALLY rolled over earlier this week! We thought he would be walking before he did as he has been able to stand with support for extended periods of time for awhile. Well, I woke this morning to him screaming because now he has figured out he can roll all over his bed. At first I think it scared him, but then he was so excited and laughing as he kept doing it. So not too much sleep for me as they have had me up earlier and earlier. And to top it off, our power went out for about an hour last night right as I was going to bed! With totally clear skies who would have thought? A little creepy in the new house all alone with two babies since Jon was working. Luckily it came back on....I was having flash backs to a few summers ago when our power was out for a week!! I think Mommy needs a nap!

4th of July weekend

We have had a fun filled weekend with the 4th though we saw no fireworks!! It started on Thursday when we had the chance to see John Mayer at Riverport. Awesome seats and the show was so much fun! A great night out for Jon and me.

He had to work on Friday the 4th so we had family time during the day. There is a great park near our house that has a small playground, horses, a great trail, and a small lake to feed the fish. We strapped the babies in their carriers and hiked with them. They are getting heavy so it is a good workout! Jon had to work that night so I was solo with the babies. They were long asleep by the time fireworks started.

Saturday we had my mom and Tim and Erika over to BBQ. It is exciting to know that their baby is due in a few months and the twins will have their first Murray cousin! Also, the twins turned 7 months old today. Hard to believe!

Sunday was pretty uneventful except that Elaina, at 7 months, finally is in her own crib. They shared a crib until about 3 months and then it seemed silly to buy a new one for her since we were moving. Plus their old room wasn't big enough. So she has been in the pack and play. Jon put hers together and I was all excited to have her sleep in it. Well, she scared me half to death when I checked on her before i went to bed. She has been rolling for some time and does it constantly when on the floor. But never in bed. I walked in to her laying on her tummy, arms out. I immediately grabbed her and turned her over to make sure she was breathing....and she was fine. Looks like I might have a belly sleeper!

Hope everyone had a nice holiday!