SILENT NIGHT....not in this house!

I keep hearing of these families with kids that go to bed at 7:30 and sleep all night, and even better, if the kids haven't had a nap, they get tucked in at 6:30 and are in dreamland for twelve hours.  These are not out kids.  Sure, we've never had major sleep issues with either one thus far, but the idea that we might put both boys down early and enjoy a movie or conversation is a foreign concept to us.  We're lucky if one of the boys is in bed asleep before 8:30.  And naps...well, Eli doesn't really need or want a nap anymore (who am I kidding, he's never wanted a nap).  This does not affect his bedtime at all.  Totally unfortunate for us.  Finn is getting on a nap schedule - moving him to a crib has helped his sleep during the day, but he's wide awake until at least 8:30 every night.  Again, parents with kids that go to bed before 9 are strange species to us.

So the past few nights have been, well, torture to us.  I know there are other parents out there with far worse sleeping situations, but for us, this is bad.  Let me give you a rundown of the past two nights...you will be thankful for the bad night of sleep you have been complaining about.  :)

Wednesday Night
Put Eli to bed around 8:30...
Eli gets up out of bed numerous times until 10, when I finally give in a lay down with him.
At some point I wake up and go to bed.
Midnight - Finn wakes up (he has a little cold that's making it hard for him to breathe through his nose).  Feed Finn and go back to bed.
2 a.m. - Finn wakes up again.  Feed Finn.
4 a.m. - Finn wakes up again.  Try to feed Finn, but he's not interested.
5 a.m. - Finn wakes up again.  Tell Kevin that it's his turn to take care of Finn because he's not hungry (which Kevin can't do anything about).  Kevin tries to rock him, but the little guy is so congested that he can't settle).
We realize that we need to suction out his nose.  I can't find my glasses.  Where are they?!?  Finally Kevin finds them in Eli's room where I took them off to lay down with him.
5:15 a.m. - Suction out Finn.  He's wide awake.  I am wide awake.  Kevin is wide awake.  Good Morning.

Thursday Night 
Things are already out of whack because it was Eli's Christmas program at school.
8:45ish - Put Eli to bed.  Eli doesn't wan to go to bed.  Kevin lays down with him (I know, bad parenting, but we're desperate).
9:30 - Finn FINALLY falls asleep.
9:45 - I lay down in bed, exhausted.
12:30 - I wake up alone in bed.  Lights still on downstairs.  Never took the dog out.  Kevin still asleep in Eli's bed.  Wake Kevin up so he can turn off the lights and do his insulin.  The dog is not moving, so he can wait until morning.
2 a.m. - Finn wakes up.  I feed Finn.
4 a.m. - Finn wakes up.  He doesn't want to eat.  Too congested.
4:15 -  Eli comes into our room yelling "peek-a-boo" thinking it's time to wake up.  Kevin puts him back to bed.
5 a.m. - Finn wakes up.  Need to suction his nose out.  We are up again.  Good Morning.

You'd think we'd be exhausted, but we're not.  Coffee has a lot to do with that, especially the 12 cups that we make each morning for just the two of us and the regular trips I make to the Starbucks drive-thru many afternoons.  We're amazed at how our bodies just go and do what they need to do to make it through the day.  The exhaustion usually hits us by dinner time, but then we have a glass (or two) of wine or a beer and that seems to mask the weariness that we feel. 

The point of all this:  1)  Maybe Santa will bring us sleeping children for Christmas, 2) Maybe if you read this you will not complain about the lack of sleep you've been getting (especially if you don't have any kids at home anymore, and 3)  Maybe it will make me feel just a tiny bit better to have sympathy about our sleepless nights.  Anyway, we won't hold all this against Eli and Finn, although it will be fun to wake them up bright and early when they're older to cut the grass or rake leaves.  Ha ha ha....their time will come.  :)

Here are a few pics from last night's concert:

Eli with his class

All the kids from his school.  And of course, Eli is the only one to somehow get a bell!

Eli and Finn after the program

Christmas Cheer

Here are our boys, spreading some Christmas cheer.

Merry Christmas!

halloween

yesterday was halloween and it was the first halloween that eli was so excited about.  he had been asking for days prior if the big day we here yet and he waited and waited and waited as patiently as a three-year-old can wait for a day in which he knows he will be given massive amounts of candy. 

when i got him from school yesterday we came home and i fed him a quick dinner of pancakes with syrup because who doesn't want their kids to have sugary sweet carbs before heading out to collect more sweets (i was thinking about convenience last night, not health).  we got finn ready first - eli kept saying, "i'm so excited to see finny in his costume!"  sweet big brother.  then came the pirate costume complete with a mustache and beard (just like daddy) courtesy of my brown eyeliner. 

we met our neighbors outside - a traditions in pineville tradition - and off we went!  these kids were so cute!

our annual sitting on the hay picture, but now with two kids

left to right - brody (cheerleader), kaylen (supergirl) and eli (a pirate)

harrison twins as ladybugs  :)

eli was completely unphased by the crazy spooky decorations this year.  in fact, he was giving the zombie a high five.

trick-or-treat!

peyton

finn was worn out

the end result

 

 

 

 

and yes, after eli went to bed, kevin and i raided his pumpkin bucket and took out some treats for ourselves. 

final fall festival

this weekend was our last big event of the fall (thank goodness!!!!).  our church, cross park church, held it's first annual fall festival at the elementary school that we meet in.  yes, our church meets at public school, but it really isn't bad.  here are some highlights from the event.  i must say, after about 5 weekends of events and many of which kevin had a major role in, this was by far the most fun.  

kids painting pumpkins

cupcake walk - walk in a circle, you land in a square with a number, shape, etc.  when your square's number is called you get to pick out a cupcake.

eli & millie ~ always seem to be hanging out together

sac race with friends thomas and laurel

eli & thomas on the hay wagon pumpkin thing

kevin, doing his fatherly duty of carrying finn in the baby bjorn 

 

 

 

kids playing on the hay maze

me with a sleepy finn

 

 

 

pie eating contest

eli after about 6 or 7 cupcakes  :)

eli & millie again.  see, they are always together.

my hubby. 

this man cooked over 300 pounds (yes, your heard me correctly) of chicken for the event.  

i love this picture...i'm going to get it framed for our house.

the end.

our weekend

lunch after church

this weekend was pineville's fall fest.  here are a few pictures of eli enjoying himself...

driving the car

playing his inflatable guitar with the band

finn...always just along for the ride

 

 

 

 

 

enjoying an ice cream sandwich

and here are a few more pictures from the past few days....

sweet finn sleeping

eli's always dressing up these days

our two pirates

busy weekend

this past weekend was pretty packed with events.  eli [and finn :)] was so excited that mimi came from pennsylvania for his birthday weekend.  we celebrated with a family party with both his grandmothers, his aunt and uncle and cousins.  on sunday, both eli and finn were baptized at our church.  we were able to breathe a HUGE sigh of relief when that was over - it's not easy having a three year old boy stand in front of 100 people while being still and quiet.  he did great and of course, so did finn.  here are some highlights from our weekend...

eli & declan

BIG 3 year old birthday cupcake

ella & finn

sweet finn

arrrr mateys!

love the look of shock and awe on eli's face here

 

boys' baptism @ cross park church

three.years.old.

Three years ago today, at 9:58 p.m, I met this:

A year later, he turned into this:

Two years later, he became this:

And today, three years have gone by, and he has grown into this:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELI!!!! 

On Monday I got an iPhone.  It is far better than my Blackberry for many important reasons, but the most fun way I've been using it is to waste time, specifically with the Instagram app.  I love giving pictures a vintage feel!   Here are a few that I've taken over the past few days (note there are none of Eli - he is in an anti-picture taking phase right now). 

Here's a picture with Eli just so he doesn't feel left out:

this is last week when the weather got crazy and acted like it was mid-november / the reason for the warm clothes

 And one more thing, a quick video of Finn, watching his "friends" as we call them on the bouncy seat.  Nothing of earth-shattering excitement, just thought y'all would like to see how our little guy is starting to interact, make noises and move his little body (or as Eli would say, move his little booty). 

That's it for now.  Our house is about to get busy here shortly...literally, within the next hour, as it's Kevin's annual Pig Pickin' weekend for his fraternity and we'll have some of his college buddies here over the next two days helping him make 80 pounds of BBQ for the event.  Gotta go!