Little ones in our bed

I took this video the other morning after a night when both babies ended up in our bed.

Although we ARE a co-sleeping/bed sharing family, I had never even heard either of those terms until after Ezra was born.  For us, having our children in our beds has never been something we've done because we think it's what we should do, rather, it's something that's happened naturally since becoming parents 3 years ago.  Cambria slept in our bed sporadically until a year old and then slept in our room until 18 months when we moved into our house the day after Ezra was born.  Ezra was in our bed full-time for the first 8 months and has only gone a few nights of being in his crib all night since then.  I think having them in our beds at different times during their lives has made them feel more secure, connected, and comforted.  Sometimes we don't mind having an extra body in our bed and sometimes we go through phases where we can't stand it and do everything to avoid it.  

Right now, we bed share with both our kids for different reasons.  Besides the emotional benefits, it's a lot easier to just bring a restless child into your bed at night instead of trying to get them back to sleep in their own bed.  And when you're as sleep deprived at Kyle and I often are, it's the most appealing idea at 3 am.  Although Cambria has been an amazing sleeper since birth, she's recently started waking up at night crying and upset and sometimes she will only be calmed by coming into our bed.  Ezra winds up in our bed almost every night when he wakes anywhere from 2-5 in the morning.  Plus, if we just left one of them to cry in their bed alone they would most certainly wake the other one up.  Nothing is worse than having TWO crying children at 3 in the morning. 

I love being woken up by Ezra climbing over me saying "Mama, mama, mama, mama" until I open my eyes.  And on the nights when Cambria winds up in our bed it's nice being able to snuggle with her because she never lets me do it during the day. I oftentimes wonder if I'll miss these little bodies in our bed in 15 years and quite honestly, I'm not sure that I will.  It's nice at times, but I think having 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night sounds really, really appealing too :)

Going to the movies!

 

A few weeks ago we finally took Cambria for her first movie theater experience. We've been talking about doing it for forever so we were all excited to finally go! To say Cambria was excited is an understatement. The girl let out several high-pitched shrills before we left the house and in the car on the way there.  And when we got to the theater she was overwhelmed by everything: the posters, the treats, the lights, the seats, the "big, huge tv" and the people in the theater with us. But honestly, I think she was most excited about getting popcorn and coke :) This was the only time in Cambria's life that we've  purchased a coke and allowed her to drink more than just a sip or two, it was a HUGE treat. We saw Brave and thought it was fantastic.  I've had several people ask if it was too scary/inappropriate, but it was fine for Cambria and she actually liked the "scary" parts.

"Daddy, is that it?!"

The sight of the theater was enough to make Cambria scream again.  She was thrilled to be seeing the movie and I think she was also happy about spending one-on-one time with us. 

popcorn AND coke!

 On the drive home Cambria had a pee-attack so she HAD to stop at Wendys to use the bathroom. Kyle surprised me with a frosty and we all sat in the front together enjoying it.  Another treat! Taking Cambria to the movies made me realize two things: 1) spending time with my children individually is and always will be important and 2) experiencing  joyous and exciting life moments with my child really is just as fun as being the kid yourself.

Recent Happenings

Here's what we've been up to for the last few weeks. 

watching the rain outside

then deciding to head outside to play in it

yes, that's Ezra in the pink and flowery jacket

they had a blast

so did we

making play dough using this recipe

making these banana muffins. LOVE Cambria in this one :)

celebrating my 24th birthday

Kyle got me new workout clothes!

family picture after my birthday dinner at Fishtales

Kyle made me this amazing strawberry cake with THE BEST FROSTING EVER

painting rainbows with our hands

making paper link countdowns to August 1st, Cambria's 3rd birthday

washing the car. Ezra was the best little worker, Cambria not so much :)

picking tomatoes from the garden

randomly captured this picture, one of my new favorites

Ran the 2012 Peachtree Road Race, 2nd year in a row. I didn't train for the race at all, but managed a time of 01:00:14.  I am a little annoyed that I missed being under an hour by 14 seconds. :)

So that's a little of what we've been doing.

Hopefully I can find the motivation (and time) to start updating the blog more often!