I slept!

PSA:

 

 We've just recently started sleeping again, after a month and a half of Taylor taking an hour + to fall asleep every night, and waking up all night, every 30 minutes to 2 hours. It was a hell like no other, and all of us were so sleep deprived we could barely function. A few times, Taylor actually "slept" standing up all night for 12 hours (first in her crib, then we took her out of the crib and she stood at her door).

 This all began with an ear infection on Christmas. After a course of antibiotics, we assumed the infection had healed, but her horrendous sleep habits persisted. A few days ago she was sent home from school with a fever, and I decided to take her right to the Dr. to have her ears checked so we could rule out an infection. Sure enough, there was an infection in the same ear....We suspect this infection has been there this whole time wreaking havoc on our lives, because after a couple of days on a new antibiotic, Taylor SLEPT. Seeing her wake up happy for the first time in a month and a half brought tears to my eyes. We all felt like new people!

Time is just flying by here - I can't believe I haven't posted since October! I blame the sleep deprivation. Yikes, I don't even know where to begin. A lot has been going on, including a kitchen remodel, preparing for Taylor's baby brother's arrival (yes - a BOY!!), and a massive amount of growing and development from little miss Taylor. In the past few months, she's decided to stop eating vegetables, move into a big bed, and use the potty (when she feels like it). It's exhausting! She's extremely stubborn (???) and does not respond at all to repeated attempts to reason with her about the importance of rest and proper nutrition.  

A few family updates:

Jason has been hard at work every weekend with Scott rebuilding the kitchen. It's amazing what they've accomplished so quickly (relatively speaking - as it's been months, but really only days). They've managed to keep the space liveable/workable all the while to minimize the disruption to our daily lives, for which I am extremely grateful! Currently the walls are up and painted, ceiling and lights are in place, and the floors are in. The race is on to get the cabinets up, counters in, and appliances in, before the baby joins us in April.

I am getting huge - I think my belly is bigger with this pregnancy than the last, but overall (so far) I'm gaining less weight (thanks to chasing a toddler around, and not having strong cravings for sweets!). It's funny, and cliché, but with Taylor I craved sweets, baked goods, etc. With this guy, it's meat & potatoes all the way - buffalo wings, burgers, steak, melted cheese in any form. There's still a ways to go...sort of (11 weeks....yikes!), but I'm starting to panic about getting things ready - his room, his clothes, blankets, gear, getting Taylor into her new room, etc. I have bins upon bins to go through to try and find any and all gender-neutral necessities! My stress levels are back down a little after my placenta previa has seemingly cleared itself up. I'm not 100% out of the woods yet, but it's looking pretty good! I'm feeling good (now that we're sleeping again), and getting anxious to meet our baby boy.

Here's a side by side comparison of 28 weeks with Taylor & the newbie:

And here's a picture of our little guy caught mid-yawn!

Taylor's been very busy growing up, and recently started telling us she's a big girl now. It's completely adorable, and a shocking reality. She will be 2 in 5 days. She has such a big personality, and loves to be in the middle of whatever is happening around her. A parent at her school referred to her the other day as the "mayor of Little Tree." She's using the potty from time to time when it suits her, and I'm hoping we master that before her brother arrives. But we're not rushing it. She gets very excited and proud of herself when she's successful! We're in the middle of preparing her new bedroom, and hope to move her in a couple of weeks. She loves to read, sing, dance, color, jump, run, play outside, help mommy cook, go grocery shopping - she's a very busy toddler. Most of all she loves to make her own decisions, and do anything and everything all-by-herself. 

(yes that is a kitchen sink in our dining room :)

XO