Girl's Best Friend

I haven't mentioned the cat (aka Pupcake) in a while, but she's still around and she and Elle are great buddies. She has calmed down a lot since her early kitten days and enjoys a good nap like the rest of us. She doesn't really snuggle up to Brooks like this (I can't imagine why!), but she loves to get comfy with Elle!

As for Elle...she is loving Kindergarten! Brooks and I miss her now that we're home more. She is a great student and is learning so much! I am enjoying Kindergarten as well...the projects are fun, and the math is easy! I am really dreading the day that my kids outsmart me. This day will come sooner than later in math!

A few weeks ago, my friend (and Orlando's best photographer) did a photo shoot with the family. We took some pregnancy pictures of me and lots of the whole family. She will then come back and shoot newborn pics when the little one finally arrives! She is fabulous and I can't wait to see them all. She took some extra shots of just the kids, and one she liked of Elle so much that she added it to her website! For a sneak peak - visit www.katiemeehan.com. Click on "children and families" and Elle's picture will be front and center. Click on her picture to enlarge it. I love it and can't wait to see the rest!

Update

Just wanted to give a quick update on the sleeping situation. We tried the sleeping on the floor thing, and it worked. I mean, it worked in that it got him out of our bed, but he seemed to still choose the floor over his room. So, last Saturday night we were cooking out with some friends and neighbors and Brooks was playing with two boys - Jack and Davis- (8 and 10 years old) that he absolutely thinks are the coolest kids on the planet. They are so sweet to Brooks and play well with him. We all had a little chat about how they always sleep in their bed and that big boys don't sleep with Mom and Dad. We didn't do it in a way to make Brooks feel bad, just explained to him that Jack and Davis don't sleep with their parents. Anway...to cut a long story short....he has slept in his bed all week. The power of peers! He has gotten up several mornings and boasted "I'm a big boy like Jack and Davis". I am very pleased with this outcome and have slept better this week than I have in months!

Sleepless Nights

We have had a little problem with Brooks for a while now, and that is that he does NOT want to sleep in his own bed. Our rule is - NO KIDS IN OUR BED! - and this has not been difficult to enforce until the past 6 months or so with Brooks. He gets up 2-4 times per night and squeezes his way into our bed. We then promptly take him back to his own bed and hurry to sleep before he visits again. By 6am we give up and let him stay since it's about time to start the day anyway.

Around Christmas I started having trouble sleeping and getting comfortable at night due to the pregnancy, so Brooks is not helping matters at all! Our queen size bed was getting a little uncomfortalbe with me, my belly, my body pillow, Jay...and by 6am, Brooks. So, a couple of weeks ago Jay and I splurged and purchased the king size bed that we have wanted to for so long! We have been sleeping great (when it's just the two of us)! However, as you can see in the picture, a larger bed has not really changed things too much with Brooks. This morning I got up and got Elle ready for school and when I came back to check on the boys this is what I found! They might as well be in a twin bed. King or Queen...Brooks just wants to cuddle and be as close as possible! This may sound cute and sweet, but with another child on the way we are quite concerned about our sleeping arrangements!

Any suggestions on helping us break this pattern in the next 4 weeks are welcome!

Happy New Year!

Well, we had a great Christmas in South Carolina and are back home now getting ready for a busy 2009! We told Santa ahead of time of our trip to SC, so he did not disappoint and delivered all of the kids' gifts to Caki and Pops' house. Both of the kids had asked for fishing poles and are anxious to use them this weekend. Elle's favorite gift was her new roller skates. She is slowly but surely getting the hang of them. Luckily, Florida is flat! Brooks got a new "big boy" bike from Caki and Pops and loves it! He is already begging us to take the training wheels off, so I guess we'll be doing that before long. It was lots of fun getting to spend Christmas with Easton this year. He is 2 now and was able to keep up with Elle and Brooks and enjoyed playing this year. Now that we're home it's time to concentrate on getting ready for baby. I am 32 weeks pregnant now, so the countdown is on! Brooks was born at 37 weeks, so I'm hoping this one makes an early appearance too! Happy New Year! Come see us in Florida...we're not traveling for a while!