Three weeks off!

Today was the start of my three weeks off from work. My parents, who watch Ayla and Aubree while I'm at work, are headed to Taiwan and China. When they're out of town, I get to stay home with my little ladies. I think this might be the first time I've been home with them for an extended amount of time since Aubree was born.

I'll be perfectly honest, I always get a little nervous...even when it was just Ayla. It usually takes a few days for us to get used to being with eachother all day long and to figure out a schedule that works. Today couldn't have gone any better.

It was Day One of Operation: Get Aubree to Nap on Her Own. I think I can confidently say it was a success. At night, when it's time for her to go to bed, we're able to lay her down after her bottle and she falls asleep on her own. Naps, however, we've had to rock her and carefully lay her down and sneak out of her room. Sometimes, it takes just a few minutes...other times, it takes three tries to get her down and by then, it's been a half an hour. Not cool when we have a 3-year old hanging out in the living room by herself for all that time (especially when Aubree takes three naps a day).

For Nap #1, I nervously gave her a hug and a kiss, set her down and walked out the door. She fussed and ended up crying pretty hard for 24 minutes before she finally fell asleep. Believe it or not, Ayla encouraged me not to cave. She could tell I was antsy and kept looking at the monitor several times, she said, "Mom, she's going to fall alseep. It's okay." :) She only slept for about 40 minutes, which is pretty typical for her morning nap. Nap #2, she only cried for 7 minutes before falling asleep for TWO HOURS. Sooo out of the ordinary for her. Usually, if she makes it even close to an hour, I'm surprised. And Nap #3, took her 10 minutes and she slept for 45 minutes. Also, I'm proud to say this was all without her pacifier. A few weeks ago, we went a whole week without the darn thing but then I caved once and we've been wishy-washy about it since. Annoying. I just need to stick with it and get rid of it. But anyways, I'm thrilled that she (and I) were able to make it through it. Hopefully it continues to go well. ***Mom, I know you're reading this while you're on your trip. See? It's okay to not rock her and let her cry a little bit so she can learn to fall asleep on her own. I promise she's going to be fine. My mom's a total softie and would hold her grandbabies 24/7 if she could. :)

I loved the extra time I was able to spend with Ayla since Aubree was putting herself to sleep. I think she appreciated the attention as well. We had a tea party, painted, built with blocks, watched tv, "cooked", made a blanket fort on her bed, and just had FUN. She even ate well for all three meals today, plus snacks.

I'm going to bed a happy mama. :)