Who needs sleep?

Not Ellison.  Or at least that is what she would tell you! Personally, I disagree.

At Ellison's three year pediatrician appointment, the Doctor became concerned that Ellison may need her tonsils removed and be troubled with sleep apnea.  So she sent us on our way to schedule an appointment with a Sleep Clinic.  It seemed to make sense because lately Ellison has not been sleeping well. She fights bed time, wakes up numerous times at night, and snores.

I scheduled the appointment, but had a 2 week window until the results. I was slightly panicked that Ellison was not breathing at night and maybe she was not articulating correctly why "she no longer likes to sleep".  She is 3, afterall?

I mean check out her reasons...
1. My room needs a rainbow. I just don't like the decorations anymore.
2. I need more comfortable pillows.
3. I have too many dolls. (I offered to give them away to less fortunate kids.  She said ok.  Then told me Dylan doesn't have any dolls.)
4. She's freezing.
5. She's scared and has nightmares.
6. She wants to sleep at "her house".  I have asked her about "her house"... it's round and her room is a triangle.

The reoccuring reason is the rainbow. The rainbow has been a long time request by Miss Ellison.  So, I struck the worst deal ever! After numerous hour long battles and my "mommy" fears that she was not breathing correctly, I agreed to let her sleep in my room until I a rainbow was on her wall.  Fast forward a week later, she is still sleeping in my room. I have no time to paint a rainbow, and let's face it she has no desire to sleep without Mommy.

So what about that sleep study?  Ellison has super sized tonsils, but they in no way restrict her airways.  Awesome, right?  Definitely.  But here is the kicker, I should say good bye to nap time (yes, I said "I") and let her stay up late.  Late enough that all I have to do is walk her to bed and she will pass out. I should does this for several weeks, and then gradually put her to bed at earlier times.

Wish us luck.  So far she has not gone to bed earlier than 10:30 pm.  And only 1 of those times did she just fall into bed and go to sleep.  All I know is that the rainbow is going up and she is going back to her bed :)

This is false advertisement: She learned to tease me early on!

She has always thought it would be cool to sleep in the dog's bed. Maybe I will try that.

Had to throw this one in...
how cute are Ellison and Haley at 1 years old?

Lucky for me, Ellison will and has always happily napped out and about.

Sometimes we find her in the oddest places... asleep.

NSB v. SPB

Graham and I don't argue often.  We do have one recurring argument, NSB vs. SPB. The last few weekends were spent in my little slice of heaven, New Smyrna Beach (NSB). I raked in the points for waves, nice ocean breeze, great pool setup, and JBs.  This weekend was spent at St. Petersburg Beach.  Graham raked in the points for family and friends.  He also claims to have raked in points for whiter sand and a boat, but I am not ready to hand over those points. Just call me stubborn - I don't mind.



Papa earns a point for SPB.



Best friends deserve a point.

I asked Carter to teach us his moves.  His response, "I was born with these moves."

I tried so hard to capture Ellison and Elliott together.  However, those two are trouble... and trouble moves fast!

Note: I have no pictures of the beach. I think we should take a point away from SPB for that very fact.

Define Me.

It is hard for me to fathom life without my precious kids. So it's funny that only 4 short years ago, I really debated having children.  In fact from 16 years of age on, I had my mind made up - no kids.

Please don't misunderstand me, I have always loved kids. Growing up I babysat, contemplated an early education degree, actually enjoy noisy toys, and love spending time with other people's kids (and was always sad when I had to leave them and go home). So yes, my decision for 10 plus years to not have kids is odd.

But let me explain further, it really upset my little sisters.  If there was a button I could push, telling them I would never have kids... pushed it! Big time.  So that was how it started.  It's true that once you make up un-truth in your head, you start believing it to be a truth.

So that was my truth... for a long time.  Graham was concerned, but happily married me anyways. It wasn't until a few years into married life that I was called out on my un-truth at a conference in front of way to many people.  From that day forward, I  recognized the un-truth and decided that maybe kids would be ok.

I said ok, not fabulous, I had a few stipulations:
1. I would never define myself as a "Mom". 
2. I would never drive a mini-van. 
3. I would never be found with gum in my hair.

Ridiculous, right?  I actually stated the above to people.  A little embarrassing looking back.

I can discuss my embarrassing past because when I held Ellison for the first time, my fears and concerns were gone forever.  Those un-truths were just that, not true.

And over the last three years, I have often thought about that list and how certain I was about it. It makes me laugh... at myself.  Please define me as a mother. I want to be defined as a mother.  Having children is the best gift.

On a little side note, about #2... I still can not face a mini-van.  Graham and I just traded in his car, and the pressure was on.  Baby steps... we bought a station wagon instead.      

Pushing Buttons

No one pushes Ellison's buttons quite like her Aunt Ashley.  So it was not a surprise when Ellison came home on Saturday and asked me to clarify her name, "Ellison Clark Adele" (order is a little wrong, but she is 3) to her Aunt and Andy.  What I have learned since is that Aunt Ashley and Andy thought it would be hillarious to call Ellison, "Fred".  So they called her "Fred" throughout their trip to Weeki-Wachee.

Ellison's take on the whole situation, "Frustrating!"  (She may have also called them "poopyheads", but that is not exactly nice.)  Aunt Ashley sent me a text yesterday, attaching a video, and the message, "Hahahahaha violent!!!!"  Just watch:

Last time I checked, Aunt Ashley was 27 years old and Ellison was 3 years old :)  However, it could also be Ashley's younger man, Andy, pushing those buttons.  He may be the root of problem... since Ashley and Ellison fight over whose boyfriend he actualy is ALL OF THE TIME!

Actually, it is all quite hillarious.  Ellison worships her Aunt Ashley. Thanks Aunt Ash and Andy for taking E to Weeki Wachee - she had a blast!

Three Year Check In

Ellison had her yearly check up this week.  Oh what a difference a few months makes.  Last time at the Doctor's office, she screamed, squirmed, and there may have been some kicking.  This time, Ellison remained calm and collected. The outcome - the Doctor said we have a healthy, smart child, who is still very tall... 42 inches to be exact.

At every developmental check in, our Doctor gives us a checklist on what Ellison should be doing at her current age. I found the 3 year old list slightly entertaining:

"Because this is the year of make-believe, your child will probably spend a lot of time in creative play."

"Playing house or store, dressing up, and role-playing with dolls are big favorites with three-year-olds, whether they're boys or girls."

"And make things with clay, finger paints, fat crayons and brushes."

"They like to build with Lincoln logs, big blocks, and Tinkertoys."

"Be sure to let your child feed, wash, and dress herself, and realize that she won't be good at it until she gets a lot of practice."

"At three, your child is beginning to learn about friendship, and by the end of the year she may have his own special friends"

"For the first part of the year at least, Mom is still her favorite person. They will love to be with you most of all."

I think it is safe to say that Ellison is doing just fine. I love that little girl!

Deja Vu

Some days, I take a picture of Dylan and feel like I am having a classic case of "deja vu". Then I realize that it's not deja vu, just a life filled with wonderful memories and two kids that look alike.  Or at least I find there to be a strong resemblance.

Memorial Weekend Fun

Happy to wake up at the Beach!

 

"Hey, Mom, I'm a surfer dude."
Little did we know that the boogie board was broken,
resulting in a face plant and a very unhappy Ellison.



Ellison goofing off - she loves her little brother.
And Dylan worships Miss E.



Chloe and Ellison love Uncle Tim!

Dancing, dancing, dancing at JBs.

Ellison also enjoys tormenting her Daddy.

The perfect beach weekend treat - ice cream sandwiches.

Memorial Day weekend is the kick off to summer, right? Well as I write this blog, I still have a 103 pages of reading to do for a class that starts tomorrow - yuck. All I can say is that I hope this past weekend is a sign of an amazing summer and that my classes are only a "thing" that happen to be there... in the distance... far away.

Our Memorial Day was filled with picture perfect weather, great times with family and friends, and delicious food.  Ellison and Dylan played hard and kind of crashed hard as well...

Yep, sound asleep and drooling.
(Don't worry, I safely moved her to a bed.)

Cheers to what will be a fabulous summer! NSB, I see you in my future!