He Sleeps (with allergies)

Today was Great! I felt like a new person because I actually got consistant sleep last night. Mason didn't come into our room until 5:20 this morning and he didn't wake until 7:30! I could tell a big difference in him as well--a lot less tantrums & crankiness today. Maybe the newness of the toddler bed is wearing off a little. He also took a 2 hour afternoon nap!

On the downside, Mason has had a runny nose for about a week now which I chalked up to molars coming in earlier last week. We then decided it must be allergies because as the week went on, his eyes were watery, puffy & red and he started sneezing. He also has patchy red places on his cheeks.

Despite acting better today, he looked terrible, so I decided to take him to the Pediatrician this afternoon and they confirmed what we thought. He has seasonal allergies and will have to take Zyrtec and have eyedrops everyday--through the Spring and the Summer! I will also be putting hydrocortizone cream on his cheeks until they're better. poor baby--he can't breathe very well at night so I hope this will help him.
Today's nap:

He's been doing a lot of coloring lately...

Saturday Evening

After the busy day we had on Saturday (while Wayne was at Razorfest) Mason and I spent some time in the backyard. He "mowed" for almost 30 minutes! The weather was so nice (unlike today--cold!) Mason discovered the white puffy dandelions so our yard will now have more of those soon!
(warning: Mason is sporting his end-of-the-day-pouf-head hair in these pics! Time for another hair cut!)

Touch-A-Truck

Saturday was such a busy day! I worked a shift at Touch-A-Truck for Junior League and when my shift ended, Wayne and Mason joined me and we saw all the big trucks, cars, buses, helicopter, etc. Mason just wanted to get out and run free! We weren't able to stay very long because I had to be at a CPR class that afternoon to renew my certification for work. (Just what I wanted to do on a nice Saturday afternoon!) So we were a little rushed but still had a good time. Later that day, Wayne went to Razorfest to tailgate and watch the Hogs' scrimmage. We were all pretty exhaustd by the end of the day!

NonSleeping Beauty

In Daddy's shoes...



Mason has very gradually been getting to sleep earlier each night. Naps are still a struggle and take much effort on our part. I put the bumper back on his bed (folded the front part around) so that it would feel more enclosed and comfortable, which I think has helped a little. The biggest problem now is him waking in the middle of the night and coming to our room. Around 2-3am he'll wander in and get in bed with us and he's been waking us up anywhere from 5-6am. Not fun on a work day! (or anyday for that matter) Anyway, thanks for all of your advice and well wishes. This too shall pass...

Don't forget, Touch-A-Truck is tomorrow from 10-2 at the Hammons Center in Rogers, just off the bypass. Hope to see you there!

Today (in a nutshell)

Mason came into our room at 3:30 this morning and ended up getting in bed with us. I do NOT want to make that a pattern!
We were up by 6:45am.
He fell asleep in his highchair at noon.
He came walking out from his nap at 12:30.
Finally fell asleep tonight at 8:30.
Maybe we'll get somewhere with this eventually...
In the meantime, if I seem a little on edge, just don't take it personally!

Mason's Sleep Dilema, Day 3

I realize that this is more information than anyone cares to know about my child getting to sleep, however I'm using this to vent, so if you don't care about this topic, just skip to the next post (which will hopefully NOT be about my son's sleeping patterns) :)

Here's what today was like:
I tried to put Mason down for his mid morning nap and decided to count how many times I had to physically walk him back to his bed.
35 times in 45 minutes!
I gave up after that. I let him play a while then it was lunch time and he fell asleep in his highchair. I promptly toted him right to bed. He slept an hour (usually 2+ hours)and came walking out really sleepy, so I scooped him up and he slept on my lap for another 20 minutes. I was just thankful he got a nap today!
Tonight went (sort of) better. He was asleep by 8:30 (not 10:00 like nights past) but I chalk it up to the Tylenol that I gave him for his hurt finger. He got a finger pinched really badly in his folding toddler-sized outdoor chair right before dinner. It's very red and swollen and I'm sure was it throbbing. He was really favoring it and saying ouch a lot, even after a few hours had passed, so I decided he needed a pain reliever. Luckily, he was moving and bending it before bed, so I know nothing was broken. poor baby :(
It's been an interesting, stressful, patience-building last few days, to say the least. I know it will get better...

Weekend in Review

This weekend had some good times and some...not so good times.

This is lengthy, so let me just start at the beginning. While I was at work on Thursday, Mason was busy figuring how to climb out of the crib at my parent's house, resulting in no nap that day. Friday night, Wayne & I dropped Mason off at my parent's house and went out for a much-needed dinner away with Wayne's brother Billy and his fiance, Rachel. (oops--forgot to take some pics!) We had a great time! It was nice going out to eat while catching up with them. I ran and picked Mason up at the end of the evening (who was still awake due to the fact that he could climb out of the crib) and put him to bed.

Saturday morning, I awoke to a cute little face staring at me, heavily breathing and smiling. Yes, Mason had managed to climb out of his crib at home. I really do not know how he didn't get seriously injured, but he was fine and quite proud of himself, I might add. It was a beautiful day, so we got up and ventured outside to redo the landscaping on the side of our house. I thought Mason and I would play and watch Wayne as he worked on it, but before I knew it I was helping. (I have the backache to prove it) Mason decided to "help" as well, which I thought was very photo worthy.






Here's the finished project: (the hostas will get a lot bigger in the next few weeks and fill in the bed)


So Saturday night, we decided that we'd HAVE TO convert Mason's crib into the toddler daybed so that he wouldn't end up getting hurt climbing over the top.
THIS HAS CHANGED OUR LIVES!!!!!
I cannot stress enough how bad this sucks! We have not gotten much sleep and getting him to bed is a 4 hour process now. (no exagerating!) We used to have a perfect little boy who went to bed at 7:30 and was asleep no later than 8. Now we have a toddler who can roam free, not only in his room, but the whole house. The last 3 nights he's gotten to sleep at 10:00! We're so exhausted and frustrated right now! I even broke out the Supernanny book and "What to Expect During the Toddler Years" book to see if I was overlooking some miraculous parenting tool, with no other advice than to "keep leading the child back to his bed." Oh really?? I was just gonna let him watch tv and feed him chocolate! I think the most frustrating thing is that Mason is so physically big for his age that we had to change his crib, but he's not mature enough to understand what's going on. There's no reasoning with him or even bribing him. It's his way or the highway because he just doesn't understand. (not to mention I was a teary-eyed mommy at the site of his crib and bumper finally coming down!) Anyway, if you have any great tips, let me know!


Hmmm, what's missing here? MASON!


I missed church this morning because I was in a toddler-slept-with-me-last-night body ache and only got a crappy on-and-off 5 hours at best. But anyway, after I finally woke up, we met my family at Olive Garden to celebrate my sister's birthday (which is actually on Wed)

My Mom and Grandma


Angela and Cameron


Angela with her gift from us. (mostly Southern Living at Home, of course!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANG!

So, it was an eventful weekend. Some good, some bad. I guess that's what happens when you have a toddler and you're a control freak. :)

Mason the Backyardigan

It turned out to be a nice day, so Mason and I headed to the backyard to swing, play ball, blow bubbles and just run and explore...






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