Troubles with Mr. Sandman

For the past 2 weeks Drew has had sleeping issues - which means Mommy & Daddy are too. Not only at night, but nap time as well.

At night he refuses to go to his room, and either needs to lay in our bed and fall asleep or on the couch (a habit I HATE to start). Sometimes we're able to carry him to his crib without any trouble - other times, we're not so fortunate, and start the routine all over again.

And nap time is a bear too. Ms. Stephanie, our Day Care Provider says he's screaming for up to 30 minutes in his pack-n-play, before she'll bring him back downstairs. On Wednesday the only way Drew slept was for her to hold him - that gave her a little over an hour nap out of him.

She and I are all too familiar with what happens when Drew gets too upset - we've both cleaned up that puke punishment we're given. Thankfully the last few days, he'll at least sleep for an hour-and-a-half in his boppy downstairs. Mostly on the weekends, his nap consists of a car ride while we're running errands.

I've asked the doctor about his sleeplessness at his 18-month well check - as you may recall we were awakened for several hours a night around that time because of Drew's troubles with Mr. Sandman. Doctor said they go through phases, and he'll get sleep when he needs it.

What about the parents? I miss the days when he was sleeping 11+ hours a night. Right now we're lucky to get 8 or 9. UGH! Oh, and I've gone back to the book "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" to see what he has to say.. and he says let him cry for up to an hour (um, won't work for my puker) or to try doing what we already are by laying with him.

Anyone else have any remedies? Last night I tried to do a chair by the crib, and comfort him, but when the all too familiar gagging started with the coughs... back to the couch we went. It was a good night - I was able to put him in his crib after he slept.

Air Ball

One of our highlights this weekend was the Pat's Run I completed. Everything I'd read about the race said - arrive early! So we were there shortly before 7am, for the 8 am start. Registration didn't take nearly as long as we thought, so we had plenty of time to kill before my race.

So I registered Drew for the Kid's race - which was going to be .42 miles after the adult race. OK so I wasn't really planning to let Drew "run" in the race... I really wanted the free t-shirt. And it also let him get into the kids area without too many evil glares.

The kids area was filled with bounce houses, bouncy slides, sports events and more. Drew made his Daddy proud with his favorite sporting event:



Drew got a prize for hitting the ball so well. It proved to be the perfect way to spend the time before all the craziness of the race started. Oh, and Drew was a hit with all the teenagers who were manning the kids zone.

Introducing "Baby"

Let's introduce you to Drew's new friend - Baby. That's right the Prayer Bear that Drew's clinging to in his crib, is who he calls "Baby".

Gone are the days of Dodger Dog - mostly because Drew hasn't spotted him in his collection of toys. Right now Drew loves toys that talk to him when he squeezes or hugs them. Prayer Bear - a.k.a. Baby - says 4 separate prayers when you squeeze his paws.

Baby came to us as a gift from a member of our congregation when Drew was Baptized about a year-and-a-half ago. He's always been a hit, but only recently has he become quite the lovey. In fact he had to make the weekend trip to Grammy & GrampC's. I'm told he brought some giggles in the car ride from our house to theirs.

For the record, yes Drew named him Baby. He's very into naming things lately. In fact we have a school bus puzzle that was handed down to us - and one of the pieces has a blond boy sitting at the bus window. Drew has named him Ernie. He brings us the puzzle piece and says Ernie - every time.

Since then we've named the piece with a girl in it Jill - and the little African American boy has had names Bill & Fred. But nothing's stuck there. Not the way our little Ernie or Baby have stuck.

Busy Bee Weekend

It was a crazy busy weekend in the Briseno household!

Starting on Friday, Drew & I joined some friends from my Sept/Oct Mommy group at the San Francisco Zoo. She has a little guy the same age as Drew (a few weeks younger to be exact).

As you can see Drew was awfully interested in sticking leaves up the noses of fake animals - rather than catching the glimpses of the sleeping ones in the exhibits. Very few animals were actually awake or in their exhibits. Drew made do by playing with leaves and dirt.

We had an awesome time, and managed to keep warm despite the blustery SF day.

Saturday is when all the craziness began! It started bright and early - 4:30am to be exact when our not-so-sleepy Drew decided it was time to wake up (our alarm was set for 5am). That's because I was running in Pat's Run - a race for Pat Tillman. He was on the ASU football team while I was there - and he's probably the most familiar casualty of the Afghanistan war.

Anyway, was a 4.2 mile run - the longest race I've done to date. My official time - 45:01! I'm stoked! Drew & Daddy were there to cheer me on at the start and finish line. This is a new annual tradition for us, and Dave says he'll run in it next year... um, I'll believe it when I see it!

That night was our anniversary celebrations - so Drew went to Grammy & GrampC's for the weekend. We managed to make it to a movie - I don't remember the last time we saw something in the theatre. And then to waste a bit of time after the movie we walked through the mall - where we were trying to do some shopping for Drew. What happens, we get time alone and we're still thinking about the little guy.

That night we had the most fabulous dinner at Forbes Mill in Danville. They treated us like royalty giving us specially printed menus with our names and "Happy Anniversary" written on it. Very nice touch. And topping it off - Dave and I were in bed by 10pm. I guess that's what happens when the little guy wakes you up at the crack of dawn, and you run in a big race.

Happy 4th Anniversary!

Wow - 4 years ago today, Dave and I were saying our "I Do's" at Wine & Roses in Lodi. It was a perfect day - despite the fact the outdoor ceremony was moved indoors.

For the record - Dave did cry first - but he denies it since no one caught that on camera. Why is it everyone had to be focusing on the bride at that very moment?

Four years later, we're happier than ever. We have a great life together, and we have a beautiful little boy - who makes us laugh all the time.

We're celebrating our anniversary this weekend, with dinner and a movie (Drew is going for a sleepover at Grammy & GrampC's). However Dave did come to pick me up this afternoon for our lunch date (Mexican food) with a bouquet of flowers and a balloon. After all the traditional 4th Anniversary gift is flowers or fruit. I can't say yet what I got Dave since he hasn't opened it yet....

Happy Anniversary Sweetie - I love you!

Muscle Boy

So as I mentioned previously the scorching hot weather brought us to the pool this weekend.. well Drew to the pool in our backyard. Some of his antics were hilarious! Like his muscle man/Hulk Hogan impersonation.




And that's not all the crazy antics he did that day. As is now custom, he had to share his love with everyone - oh, and the Dodgers!

Keeping Cool

Poor Drew was desperate for some relief this weekend with the temperatures reaching the 90's on Sunday! He wouldn't nap again, which is becoming a tragic trend. This time was likely due to the heat. We probably could've turned on the AC, but I guess we were trying to save a buck in this economy.

After Mommy's blissful 2-hour nap, we came up with a winning idea. Bring the pool outside and let the kid go to town. As you can see it was a big hit for the little boy who no longer has red cheeks from the blistering temps.

Drew loved taking his balls and watching the water drip off of them, splashing himself in the face, and then throwing every ball out of the pool. The best part was waiting for Mommy or Daddy to toss the balls back - making a large splash.

It's supposed to be warm for a few days, so the little pool may get plenty of use over the next few days. Now if only we could work on those naps...

Garage Sale Mania

It's garage sale mania at Grammy & GrampC's this weekend. We spent the night there because of our early AM sale. Of course it started out EXTRA early thanks to Mr. Drew who woke the house up at 4:30am! Why?! Who knows, but UGH!.

So Mommy & Grammy decided to use the early rise to get things going.

Oh, the highlight of this garage sale had to be the fact that Mommy forgot to pack Drew some socks & shoes... so he's wearing Grammy's socks wrapped with rubber bands. See Drew would've been wearing his own socks & shoes over to Grammy & GrampC's but we decided to put him in his PJ's the night before. Yes, I do believe that earns us a nomination for parents of the year.

For the record, Dave made an emergency run to Walmart that morning for a pair of sandals. Drew hated them, so he walked around barefoot the rest of the day.

The weather was gorgeous! I think it got into the 80's at their house. So what is a garage sale on a beautiful day like this without sharing a cold one with GrampC?

Note, GrampC has the leaded Coors Light... Drew has the unleadded sippy of milk.

Flashcard Controversy

I read something yesterday evening that really irked me and I wanted to set the record straight for our family. One of the websites I frequent had a post about using flashcards with toddlers (ages 18-24 months). It suggested that parents who use flashcards regularly with these toddlers were forcing their kids to grow up too fast - and that it was parent led education.

I beg to differ - at least in our situation. We didn't start using flash cards until he showed an interest in them, which was around 17 months. It all started with our Leap Frog Activity Center - where he loved to push the letter buttons (W & O were the favorite - guess he liked to spell wow). This fascination began around the time he was 9 months. Then after the New Year he moved to a wooden puzzle with the alphabet... and the numbers (he's already mastered the shapes/colors puzzle).

Flashcards came about first at daycare - as a way to calm him down without having to turn on the TV. Drew's kind of a TV/Movie nut. The flashcards were on hand for Ms. Stephanie's 3-year old son who is in preschool. Turns out Drew loved them - and to be honest until Easter we didn't even own any flashcards. Now he asks for them, just as he did this morning.

Does that picture of him today look like a tortured child? We don't force him to do any of it - well unless we're trying to show him off to someone. But what parent doesn't show off their child's skills?

So for the record, while there are some parents who do force their kids to do things they probably aren't ready for - I assure you we're not them. Drew is the one who brings it on. To be honest, I expect him to get bored with it, and find something else that interests him.

Our New Blog Home

After days of frustration with our original website I've made the switch to Blogspot for all of our family adventures.

It turns out I was facing storage issues on the previous website- despite deleting files I was no longer able to add pictures.

Sparing you all the long, boring and incredibly frustrating details, I'll just tell you to change all your bookmarks. And be sure to check here frequently for the updates!