Top of the morning to ya

Really...... REALLY!!??? I'm moving to Vegas......

At least I have these two cuties to keep me cozy! :)

Sleep Time

So...... we finally moved Ava out of her crib and into a bed. She totally loves it and the best thing for us is that we told her she couldn't ever get out until we came and got her and she totally doesn't! She still naps most days too, which is so great. The absolute best thing about the bed is that my sister Mindi scored it at her friends yard sale for free ninety free!

Here is a picture of our sweet girl:

Sawyer is another story...... I am crossing my fingers that we may have finally turned the corner- it took some letting him cry it out and I think it may take a little more, but it will all be better for everyone in the long run! He has consistently woken up at least twice a night (more often three times and lately four times!) since we brought him home from the hospital (uh, yeah- in the hospital he only woke up once a night to nurse and we thought we were so lucky!). So anyway- he's been progressively waking up more often at night. Luke has been trying to be the one to get up with him so that we can wean him from nursing during the night, but many times Sawyer just cried until I finally just come out and fed him (I know.... bad idea- but we were soooo tired!) he doesn't nurse long anymore, just to fall back asleep so I know he doesn't need to eat at night anymore. He also hasn't been napping well so project sleep started 2 days ago. I have been trying REAL hard to put him to bed drowsy and let him soothe himself to sleep and it's AMAZING how much longer he sleeps when he does that (we're talking 2.5 hours rather than 45 minutes!) And last night at 4 am after the 4th awakening, I put him in bed (still in the pack n' play in our room....) and let him cry it out. It was pretty hard and loud since he's right next to our bed (thanks to Wells Fargo who has taken twice as long as they had told us they would on our mortgage!- Saw has his own room in our new house..) but he finally fell asleep and slept until 8 am. So far so good. He fell asleep on his own tonight and with any luck we won't have too many more crying it out nights (with Ava it only took 2). The whole crying it out method it pretty hard emotionally, but if it works and our babies start getting much better sleep- it's worth it!

Here are a few pictures of how Sawyer puts himself to sleep:

He rocks and scoots until he gets himself to the far end of the pack n' play and in the corner, and falls asleep :)

PS- I'm going to go take out a few of the blankets- looks like they accumulated throughout his naps during the day!

What a vacation!

Last week we took a vacation to Galveston, Island Texas. It was a random spot to choose that we randomly chose off a google site and Wyndham hotels and resorts. It turned out to be a perfect vacation filled with beach, sun, sand, fantastic food, relaxation, museums, and lots of fun family time! It was so nice to get away for a week and not worry about much besides eating (which we did a lot of!), sleeping (which we didn't do as much as we should have!), and just having fun (which we did plenty of!). The town was hit by Hurricane Ike 18 months ago and is still rebuilding. Some parts of town don't look like much, but the town has so much history and the ocean water is a warm enough temperature to swim in. We will definitely go back!

This was one of the first experiences we had once we got to Houston. There was a car that randomly started on fire coming up the entrance ramp into the Enterprise rental car lot. It was super crazy!

Ava making sure her little mice would have a safe car ride...

Sawyer was so so good on our trip! He is so chill and cute!

Ava totally zonked out on our way to Galveston

All ready for bed

Thank goodness for the iPod and cartoons so that I could watch whatever I felt like on TV, with some peace and quiet for sleeping Sawyer....

What a fun day this was! We met our friends Mikkel, Trajen, and Tavin at Moody Gardens (aquarium, rainforest, IMax theater, and steamboat ride)

he really did get to escape from his carseat sometimes!

Takes after her dad....

See- he does get some escape....!

At this point we sort-of wished we could lock them in this cage!

Loving the steamboat ride!

Enjoying the ocean breeze

Deep in thought!

Watching the paddlewheel turn

Dancing to some cajun music

Ava and Trajen got in the instant photo booth together and it was so so cute and hilarious! I wish I had a scanner to scan their pictures in!

The birds in the rainforest

Getting ready for the Happy Feet 4D movie- it was a little intense for the kids- they both ended up on my lap!

We were so glad when our daddy joined us on vacation! He is our FAVORITE!

unfortunately the Monday we got to the island, sea kelp had started washing up on the beach. Luckily it all stayed in a long line so there was still plenty of sand!

Grandma and Sawyer chilling in the car out of the sun

Jeff and Luke doing some serious Boogy Boarding

Such a big boy in the stroller!

The "Duck Tour" we went on- land and sea!

In the boat cruising the bay

The fun fun rainforest ride at the Rainforest Cafe- we rode this plenty of times!

Napping after a morning of fun!

The 50 cent horse Ava rode many times in the old-fashioned candy shop- YUM!

A view from the inside of our hotel

The vintage flight museum- so cool!

Sawyer's first time at the beach- he wasn't a big fan of the water...

But he loved hanging out with mom on the beach

Grandma and Sawyer at the beach

Luke and I had a very yummy date night of sushi and sea bass (we are ever searching for Chilean sea bass that is as good as the one we had at Tao in New York 4 years ago and nothing ever comes close!) it is always so great to get a date!

The Lincoln Space Center:

The flight home!- both kids slept the whole 3 hours and Luke and I were able to watch Leap Year- love that movie! And the head phones.....

PS- I'm not nursing in the above picture.... just keeping Sawyer covered up :)