Big ass deals!

This week has been HUGE! Big ass deals happening over here at the Brookings. Let me give you some background first. Price has been in our bed for some time now. He went from his crib to his big boy bed after Parker was born and I'm not sure how long he was in there for but didn't seem very long. Maybe 5 or 6 months at the most. He transitioned really easily from crib to bed but for whatever reason, he ended up in our bed. My brain is obviously fried so I can't recall why and Kadin isn't here to ask:) Anyway, our routine has been something like this each night for the past 17 months, or since Parker was born: 

Each night, I bring Parker out to the living room, feed her, put her in the Ergo carrier to fall asleep,, or lately, I'm able to just sing a couple songs to her and then put her down in her crib and she easily goes to sleep on her own. That is anywhere from 6:30-7:30. At that same time, Kadin takes Price into our room and reads books, lays down with him and has to wait until he falls asleep to come back out to see me. Usually he would make his appearance back into the living room by 8:00 each night. Just enough time for me to catch an episode, or close to a full episode, of either the Real Housewives of Miami, Parenthood or Kardashians. My on Demand crack. Then maybe we get a 1/2 hour or so together and then I head into bed and lay down to snuggle with Price before falling asleep. Kadin is not far behind. During the night I usually wake up to Parker crying out, first time about 10-11, I bring her back out to the living room, feed her real quick and put her down. Inconvenience for sure, but just enough time to catch up on Facebook, get a little snuggle and back to bed. Then I'd get a swift kick to the stomach by Price's foot, and then a whack in the head from his head. I'd try to fall back asleep reaching across the bed to touch Kadin's foot for some comfort. Then once I'm all comfortable, Parker cries out again around 2:30-3:30 in the morning, and I do the same routine. But that second wake up sucks. My alarm has been going off at 4:15 most mornings so really, there were many more days then not where I'd stay up after I put her down at 3:30. Why fall asleep to the alarm 45 minutes later? 

So here we are to last Sunday morning. Almost a week ago. I woke up and said to Kadin, "this is it. Price is out of our bed and she is going to sleep through the night." no easing into this. I'm done. So Kadin moved things around, took his big boy bed out of his room, put it into Parker's room and now we have a sharing situation and a play room. Perfect. And our bed is back. At least that is the plan. 

Well everyone, it's working, for the most part. I have had 4 nights in a row of NO GETTING UP TO BREAST FEED MY 17 MONTH YEAR OLD!  She has been crying out and waking us up but she puts herself to sleep each time. Kadin isn't even having to go in there to soothe her. I know she would have been able to do this months ago but I think I wasn't ready to give up feeding her. As tired as I was, always tired, I enjoyed that time with her. I always will cherish that time. So the first Big ass deal is she is sleeping through the night. No more boob at night. Just before bed and when she wakes up. 

Next big ass deal..... Now Kadin takes Price into his play room, reads him stories each night and then takes him into Parker's room to go to sleep. He falls asleep faster and is excited to sleep with his sissy to watch over her. He goes in her room quietly each night, careful to not wake her up and then Kadin is out. And we have options! We can either spend time together in the living room OR in our own bedroom, how bout that?? It's amazing! 

The glitches are that often when Parker cries out at night, she wakes up Price and he isn't able to recover so Kadin goes in, gets him and brings him back to our bed. Not a problem for us now, but I'm sure we'll have to work on that too at some point. But for now we are just thrilled to have a couple hours to ourselves. It's Heaven. Hawaiian vacation really. Oasis. 

Last night was pretty cute but pretty pathetic actually. Parker woke up, Price woke up and we laid in bed complaining, "why isn't she going back down?" It seemed like forever. Well, when I went out to the living room to find my phone to text my friend that I won't be making it to our 5am workout because I'm so tired, I found Price half way off our couch with his blanket and Pooh Bear, in is undies, legs freezing and Parker's door wide open! He was tired of her crying, he went out to the couch, he fell asleep. Parker meanwhile was having such a hard time because she didn't understand why her door was open and no one was coming for her. Anyway, 3:30am and I'm carrying Price into our room and shut the door for Parker. Everyone woke up at 6:00, everyone was happy.

In conclusion. 2 big ass deals. No more waking up to do feedings in the middle of the night and no more Price falling asleep in our bed. I'd say we have had a successful week! 

Happy Fall

As I'm sitting here typing this it's blowing leaves everywhere! We are having a bit of a wind storm and some are without power. Luckily ours is still on. But I love watching the trees and leaves blow all around. It's been quite the fall so far. Daddy was busy coaching 8th grade football, Price started a 2 morning a week preschool and Parker has grown like a weed and developing quite the spunky personality. She misses Price when he is at school, wishes she could go and walks around saying, "Bro, Bro" until we go and pick him up. She wakes up in the morning happy, goes to bed happy and is just a lover. She is almost 17 months. 

Price was a football player, quarterback to be exact. Price was Keith Price from the Huskies. 

This made me smile. Price's teachers put this list of what the kids said they were going to come dressed up like for Halloween. I took this picture, sent it to Kadin and said, "look, he must have talked!" I love it!

Sissy was of course his supportive Cheerleader. 

She runs to see him when school is out. And here is how she greets him when he comes out of the classroom....

We went to the zoo for their Halloween fun the weekend before. Sissy wanted to be a fluffy bunny. 

Auntie Karis and cousin Koen met us there. Ko Ko was a fox, way too cute! These two, I tell you, are going to get into some kind of mischief I'm afraid...

Boo!

Our precious little bunny foo foo

Price took a field trip to the pumpkin/animal farm in Edmonds. Parker and I got to tag along. We got to see 2 day old piglets. So cute!

We all got to go as a family to the same farm the weekend before. The kids were all about the pumpkins and the animals. So fun to watch.

Love our little pumpkin pie. Now it's time to gear up for Thanksgiving and Christmas. My favorite time of year and Kadin and I are so excited to enjoy this time with our two favorite little people. 

Happy birthday Price!

Price's party weekend officially started with a birthday donut in his birthday suit. Grandma came up on Sat morning, his actual birthday to surprise him. She brought goodies and gifts and had a great day with grandma so daddy and mommy could go to their first husky game of the season.

Sunday at 3:00 was his birthday party. His only request was a blue cake. Here is what he got!

Price had so much fun opening presents! He sure got some nice things from his friends. Sissy had fun helping too!

Mmmm....a $20 dollar bill. What will he buy??

 Look at that game face...

One gift he was really excited about was this book from Grammi and Grampy: the Water Hole. He loves finding the hidden animals in the pictures. 

Sissy and cousin Ko Ko had a ball! 

And of course the afternoon was filled with lots of football! 

One of his favorite gifts was a dinosaur set that he could paint himself. I loves it! Thanks Aunt Nancy! And thanks to her for taking such great pictures from the party. 

What a fun birthday! Bring on the 3's! 

My baby is 3!

My little big boy is 3 today! He is hands down my favorite little person on this earth. He has grown in so many ways, especially in this past year. When I think about everything it makes me that much more excited to see what the next few years bring. 

Price is kind of a late bloomer. He didn't walk until 14 months and didn't talk that much until close to 3. But boy, he is a smart one. He is beyond observant. He understands EVERYTHING and now is beginning to ask why about things. He is the kid who during circle singing time at school, doesn't sing or dance but looks at everyone else to make sure they are doing it correct. He is a perfectionist. His Grandma says his daddy was the same way at his age. He wants to do things right and will not do it until he masters it. 

Price is a sweetheart. One of the the most surprising things to me as his mom is seeing the love between him and his baby sister grow. It's precious.  He hugs and kisses her every morning and every night before bed. He thinks she is hysterical, laughing at her and egging her on to be her comical self. He takes care of her. Yesterday, Parker got stung by a bee on her thumb for the first time and he was first on the scene to try to comfort her and to investigate how the thumb looked and felt. When she cries, he runs and grabs her favorite truck or blanket to make her feel better. He loves his sister. That bond will always be there, that makes my heart happy.

Price is incredibly athletic. He can throw a spiral with his football so straight and fast I have a hard time catching it. He is obsessed with his UW husky helmet and loves to watch football with daddy. Sissy even gets in on the action and recovers his occasional fumbles. He loves to go up to daddy's football field at his school to watch the "big boys" play. One day, I do not doubt, he'll be a football player. He loves hitting baseballs, playing catcher, pitching from the mound, swinging at golf balls, playing tennis, shooting basketballs into his hoop, riding his bike and racing down our driveway. He loves to go on jogs with mommy and seeing how far he can run around Greenlake. His new thing that is cracking me up is, "mommy, exercise! What exercise?" He wants me to show him new exercises every day. Push-ups, mountain climbers, knee touches, you name it, he'll do them. He can do an "X, straight!" jumping jack better than my old 3rd-5th grade students! He amazes me with his drive to be active through sports. 

At the same time he still sits down and can read book after book with us. I love that. When he can finally read himself, look out. Kadin and I joke about that. He'll definitely be the kid who has a reading nook of his own in his room where he'll be spending his weekend mornings reading away. His book collection is quite large and expanding....

Probably my favorite thing about Price right now is how big of a lover he is. He now can say "luv you" back to us when we say we love him. He started off by telling me, "best friend mommy" but now everyone from daddy, to sissy to Melbourne our cat, or the baby slug he found on a rock the other day is his "best friend." It's adorable. 

With him being so affectionate and attached to us it was hard for me to send him off to school by himself 2 mornings a week. He seems so little and still a baby in so many ways to me. But after 3 school days, with minimal whimpering at first, he is doing awesome. The teachers say he loves it, no crying, is doing well. When I pick him up, the first words out of his mouth every time is: "REAL good day school" with a special emphasis on "real" so cute. I think he likes his independence a bit when he is at school. 

We sure love this little guy. His birthday party will be tomorrow with family and friends and all he requested was a "blue cake" so a blue, Seahawks cake it is! :) Grandma is coming over this morning to spend his birthday weekend with him and for Kadin and I to go to our first Husky game in the new stadium. Us parents even get perks on Price's birthday weekend! :) 

Happy birthday sweet Pricey, we love you!!!

Getting the Mojo back

This entry is all about me, the mom and trying to get my mojo back. It's starting. There are and will be speed bumps along the way but I think I'm at least on the path of "starting."

Price will be 3 this weekend and Parker just turned 15 months. The moment I decided I needed to make a change was a month ago. She just turned 14 months. I was sleep deprived, moody, my body ached when I woke up in the morning, my self esteem very low and my confidence near zero. I was sick of not having my usual Reenie energy that I've had my whole life. I was sick of going throughout my day feeling heavy and carrying around weight I knew my body was not suppose to have on its frame. I was sick of not feeling my usual endorphines I felt when I exercised hard. I was sick of a lot of things and I missed a lot of things. So a change needed to be made. 

I realized that Parker was no longer a newborn and even though I was, and am, still breast feeding, I knew I needed to start doing something for myself. I understood that some things, many things would still be present and frustrating, but I knew I could change one thing, and that one thing was exercise. I'm a personal trainer for God's sake. I work 3 mornings a week from 6-7am leading a hard core boot camp class for hard working ladies who want the same thing I do. I give them all I have. I motivate, educate and have a blast doing it. But I was not working out myself to the point I needed to to release the much needed endorphines and feel the way I wanted to feel. 

As soon as I was given the go ahead at my 6 week post C section appointment after Parker, I wanted to work out and work out routinely. But with everything that goes along with having 2 babies, I was never able to get into a consistent routine that needed to happen to see progress. I knew I only had one choice and that was to workout BEFORE my 6am class. And I needed help. I needed a partner in crime who would motivate me, push me, and hold me accountable. Even trainers need trainers. Everyone needs an extra push, especially this tired mom. So I reached out to a fellow worker outer and she agreed to meet me, 5am. First day was August 19th. On that first monday morning I got through it. I felt more energized to teach my class right after. It was awesome. After our workout, Brett, my partner, said, "what are you doing tomorrow?" I said, "oh, probably taking the kids in the stroller and going for a jog." and then she said, "why don't you have that be extra? meet me here at 5am and we'll do the ferry hill." "Hah?" is what I thought but "yes" is what I agreed to. Best decision ever. We work out 3 mornings a week in my exercise studio, half of the time lead by her husband, Bryan, a fellow trainer who works in the studio. And then Tuesday, Thursdays we go for a run. She is like me, if we are going to do it, we'll do it right, and hard. Hills are often very plentiful in our runs. It's amazing but it's VERY hard.

My alarm goes off at 4:15 and that is after I have gotten up once or twice with Parker. Yeah, I still feed her in the night and wouldn't change that for anything. I enjoy it, it gives her comfort and I'll do it for however long she wants. Well, I'll get back to you on that last statement. We'll re-evaluate that in a couple months:) Anyway, when my alarm goes off it's hard to wrap my mind around how much sleep I actually got or how long the rest of the family will be sleeping before they get up. But I have no other choice. If I decide to work out and have a consistent program, I have to do it at 5. No other options. So there is it. 

The last month I've worked hard but I've also had to skip days, like today because Price had a fever and was up most of the night. I know I do not like running with 20 extra pounds or big, heavy boobs but I know if I keep working hard I'll start to see the changes physically. I've already seen the changes mentally and for me, at this point in time, that is the most important. My mood is better and more stable. I do not have such roller coaster moments as I like to refer to them. I sleep better, when I sleep. I don't hit the 3 in the afternoon wall as hard as before. I hit it, but it's more of a fender bender than a head on crash. I have more energy and am more confident. That all being said, at the same time, where I have been asked 2 times in the past month if I'm expecting. Rough. Not fun, not fun at all, but all part of the process. I'll get there and for now, I'm enjoy the processing of getting my mojo back. 

Wrap up to summer part II

We are a week out from Price's 3rd birthday and summer is still going strong! The temps have been in the 70's and 80's and it's just been beautiful. Even though daddy is back in school we are still having fun! Price and Parker went to their first parade. The lighthouse festival parade in Mukilteo and they loved it. 

Price was doing some warm up laps and Parker was running, of course, in the opposite direction. 

Parker her goofy self

It's been so nice we have been having dinner outside on the deck. They don't look like brother and sister or anything in this picture:)

Price on one of his favorite tractors at Central Market! He's in heaven. 

Even though we've been playing outside a lot, Price continues to love his books! 

This past week was Price's first week at Preschool. Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I wasn't so sure how it would go but it went great! A few tears at first but once I was out of sight, out of mind, he did great the teachers said! I snuck this picture of the class playing with music sticks. Or, just in Price's case, observing. :) But we are so proud of him, he is doing great! I love how he loves it!

Back to school for daddy and Bro Bro means first colds and sissy got it first. Her first fever and cold of the season. She definitely wasn't her pepping self. She did not want to get off my chest, poor baby. 

The next morning she was feeling a bit better so we ventured out in the fogging morning to go on a spider web hunt! We found so many! 

Spider web what?? She wasn't really sure what she should be looking for but she was a trooper. 

Found one!

Sunday morning foggy bike ride break! And then back to the hunt.....:)