The Sleep Terrorists...

It's no secret that my kids don't sleep well. If you're my friend on facebook, you probably see my posts at 4am yelling at my son (like he has facebook in his crib...) to stop screaming and go to sleep. The Sleep Nazis, Sleep Bandits, Sleep Terrorists... that's what we lovingly refer to our children as after 8pm. Now we've always kept really good schedules with the kids... flexible schedules, but schedules nonetheless. They have always had a strict bedtime routine since birth.. bath, lotion, story/song, (Chase gets bottle), bed. Both have always fallen asleep easily. Going to bed and/or bedtime routine has never really been a struggle. It's from about 8:30pm-10:30 and sometimes midnight with Chase, and Leah wakes up usually around 3am and is in and out of my room and or in her room crying until about 6am. Sounds exhausting, right? Right. Especially with a husband who works 24 hour shifts. It's just me here by myself every other night getting tag-teamed by my kids. We just can't figure it out. Chase does fine after he FINALLY stops fighting it (the kid will literally scream for 3 hours straight... when you open the door he gives you this HUGE smile. it's ridiculous. he's beyond smart, this kid. the second you even think about closing the door he's screaming again.
And Leah wakes up to pee and then she can't fall back asleep because the SLIGHTEST noise she is flipping out and screaming for me "TRUCK mommy! MOTORCYCLE!" Her bedroom is in the front of the house and the street is right there... For Pete's sake I'm seriously considering switching their rooms! As a punishment for her, after about the 10th night in a row of her getting out of bed a billion times, I took binkies away for good. We took them away during the day when she turned 2, but has been allowed to have them at night because I thought it helped her sleep better. But since it didn't, she had to give them up. And truthfully she hasn't really whined about it as much as I thought she would. She asked for it like twice and now she has conversations with people (Daddy, Grandpat, Uncle Derek) on her pretend phone about how she's SUCH a big giwl (girl) and doesn't need a binky anymore. And then to put a positive swing on it, we made a sticker chart (at 4 in the morning because this just HAD to end) and she gets a sticker in the morning for every night she stays in her bed (with the exception to potty). She has been asking for a new bike so if she fills up her chart (I think it's 25 squares...might be a little much so I might give her a little prize after the first 5 so she doesn't lose sight of the goal) then she gets to go pick out her new bike. I did this 2 nights ago and she has 2 stickers! HOORAY! Now if only a sticker chart would work for Chase.... Chase if you fill up your chart you get STEAK AND POTATOES! lol!
I just keep telling myself that pretty soon these will be distant memories.. my kids won't need me in the middle of the night again... and I will miss it. RIGHT?



Leah's Lingo



Tucking Leah into bed last night, she was afraid because a truck went by, so I told her "it's okay, baby, you don't need to be afraid because God will protect you."
Leah: No, mommy.. DADDY protect me.
Me: Okay, God helps daddy protect you.

On our walk the other night, "MOMMY! LOOK! The moon! It's so pretty! (reaching her arm way up high and grunting) I can't reach it!"
Me: reaching my arm way up high too "I can't reach it either!"
Leah: "Daddy will get it for me..."


Are you noticing a theme yet??

I came home from the store today and I walked in and Leah says, "MOM! Daddy's Superman!"!

Busy Bee and Leah's Lingo

I have been off the map lately, I know. Don't have time to blog... too busy stamping! But here's some Leah's Lingo to tide you over...


Ok, I love that my kid knows her colors.. but I don't really want to hear "MOM! That's brown!" every time she poops...


Today we went to the post office, she wanted to take her baby doll with her. She carefully carried her around because she was "sleeping" and then in the post office kept adjusting (and grunting) the baby on her hip like I do with Chase.. It was hilarious. Then we got home she wanted to put her baby in Chase's crib because it was her nap time. She went right from the car to his room and put the baby in the crib and even asked me to close the curtains. She tiptoed out and quietly closed the door behind her. Then I was vacuuming the floor a few minutes later and Leah runs out in the hallway and holds her hand out to me "MOM stop! Shhhhh! Baby's sleeping!"
Then when it was time for Chase to go in and take his nap she was NOT happy that I had to move baby...


Leah and Chase were playing on the floor in the living room and all the sudden she runs in the kitchen.. "MOM! Chase poopy! He needs a diaper!"
Me: "Okay I'll get him, thanks baby!" And I take him to his changing table...
I took his diaper off and Leah looks at me all sassy and says, "SEE! I TOLD you he had a big poopy!"


For some reason, Leah's always been scared of really loud noises. It's not something we've encourage and she's certainly not been sheltered from loud noises at all. But whenever the trash man drives by or the lawn guys on their lawnmowers or a big truck.. she FLIPS out. If we are outside when something like that goes by she will literally RUN to the front door and cry "INSIDE! INSIDE!"
Anyway.. I was gone this past weekend visiting a friend in Scottsdale and so Tim was here with the kids. Apparently in order to make Leah not scared of the loud noises, he told her lovingly that "daddy would smash their face!" ....Yea. Something every mother wants to hear when they get home is their sweet 2 year old saying "It's okay, mommy! (and making a smashing motion with her hand) Daddy will smash his face!"
REAL NICE BABE!

Leah's Lingo

In the bath tub the other night, Leah noticed the bar of soap that Grandpat left...
"MOM!" (Looks at me with big, concerned eyes...points to soap...) "Grandpat forgot her candle!"


After her bath, I was putting her jammies on and she points to her toes, which my mom painted while she was here. "Look at my toesies, momma."
Me: "Ooh, they're so pretty! Did Grandpat paint them for you?"
Leah: "Yea... (pause)... she had to get her fasses (glasses) so she could see."


The other night before bedtime, I had taken Chase's diaper off and letting him "air it out" on the blanket for a bit. Leah patted on his butt as if she was drumming.. "MOM! (excitedly) I play drums!"
Oh dear...

2010 In A Nutshell...

"Help! I'm in a nutshell!" Ok...now that I got that out of my system... HAPPY NEW YEAR! I can't hardly believe that 2010 is over! When I was in high school, thinking about 2011 was like light years away. I pictured flying cars and a robot that would do my laundry... What a bummer!
Anyways, 2010 was another great year for us, and some potentially life-changing events happened. Let's take a glimpse back at 2010 in a nutshell!

This year, we watched our sweet baby, Leah, turn into a little lady right before our eyes. She went from a crib to her big girl bed, to her new room, and went from signing words to carrying on complete conversations with you. She turned 2 in April. She is the sweetest little girl around and we absolutely adore her.
Leah in January of 2010:
And Leah in December 2010:


In the beginning of 2010, as the weather grew nicer and my belly grew bigger, we anxiously awaited the arrival of our baby boy.


And in May, we welcomed Chase Timothy Vanderhoff into our world. We had a rocky start with a bout of colick and reflux, but little did we know he would become one of the greatest joys of our life.

Chase at 7 months, Dec 2010:


With a new baby and heat temperatures on the rise, we spent most of the summer cooped up at home trying to come up with creative ways to keep occupied.

In August, Tim and I celebrated 5 years of marriage. Against all odds, I can say we are still as crazy about each other as we were those first 12 days. Two babies later and a lifetime to look forward to together.
In September, we started something that could potentially change our lives and our location, which is still in the works.
In October, I started my own business. With a hammer and some sterling silver, I started my jewelry collection with 10 pieces. It has since expanded to over 50 pieces in my collection, and over 250 sales in just 3 months.

And through my business, I have met some people who have greatly impacted my life and given it new purpose.





We had our first family photos taken.


My mom came and spent Christmas with us.

Had a great time catching up with my mom. Leah LOVED spending time with her Grandpat.



I'd say that pretty much sums up 2010. We look forward to 2011 and everything it holds for us!

I Got Crabs For Christmas!

So most of you know I was born and raised in Maryland. I grew up spoiled in a house smack dab on the Bodkin Creek. My bedroom window overlooked the pier, the sailboats, and the lone Great Blue Heron that fished from our dock every morning. This is a picture I took sitting on my bed last summer:
During the summer, if we weren't at the barn, we were on the water. Swimming, boating, and crabbing were just second nature to us. Maryland is famous for their blue crabs. Crab claws, crab cakes, crab dip, cream of crab soup... you name it and you can make it with crab! Sprinkle some Old Bay on it, grab yourself a beer and a mallet and you can make a day out of picking crabs. Finish it off with some Berger cookies and you've got yourself a perfect afternoon.
I've lived in Arizona for almost 7 years now, but no matter where I am, I can close my eyes and take myself back to that place. I can see the fireflies blinking as the sun starts to set. I can feel the humidity and the mosquito bites on my skin. I hear crickets in the thick grass and jet boats buzzing by on the creek. And my mouth waters just thinking about crabcakes and black bottoms.
This year for Christmas, my mom and dad sent us a package that "needed special attention." I told mom if they sent us a hamster I swear..... To my surprise.. it was crabcakes! MARYLAND Crab cakes!
So last night (and tonight) for dinner that's just what we had! Oh man oh man was it delicious! I guess if I can't be home for Christmas, I'll take the next best thing... crabcakes!!!!
So there you have it... best Christmas present ever. I got crabs for Christmas.

Family Pictures!

So this year we finally broke down and got our first family pictures taken! Now every year we have done a Christmas card, but always just had a friend or Tim's mom take it of us in front of the tree. This year I wanted to do something different, especially if it's going to be our last year in Arizona. A friend of mine is a photographer and offered to take our pictures out at the dunes! We were a little nervous at first at the thought of posing 2 small children and all the sand everywhere (we did bribe Leah with lollipops to give us big smiles..hey whatever works, right??)... but I'm so glad we did it! They came out amazing! Thanks to our awesome photographer, Andrea Hauck, who captured such great moments for us! Here is a sampler of some of our pictures... You can see the rest on my dropshots website: www.dropshots.com/vanderhoff









And those are just a FEW of all the awesome pics she took of us!

On another note, this morning I laid Chase down on his blanket and went to go take out the trash. When I came back inside, he was sitting up all by himself! And he's going to crawl ANY day now. He's also blowing rasperries and starting to babble. He CRACKS up every time Leah says or does something! And he LOVES cheerios!


Leah is SO excited for Christmas. She loves going to look at the lights. Whenever we pass a house with Christmas lights she yells out "Thanks for the lights!!" She's too cute. We also told her that Grandpat is coming for Christmas and so she asks everyday if we can go to the airport to see Grandpat... she's so excited!




Leah's Lingo

Me: What does the cow say, Leah?
Leah: He says 'Moooo'
Me: And what about a horse?
Leah: The horse says 'mmmhmmmhmmm'
Me: That's right! And what about a kitty cat?
Leah: Meoowww meoww
Me: What about Chase? What does Chase say?
Leah: (thinks about it for a second) He says 'WAHHH WAHHH'
haha i guess we're not the only ones who thinks he cries a lot!!

The other night after I gave Chase a bath I was putting his lotion and jammies on. Leah likes to help put his lotion on. She was staring intently at his..parts. I asked her out of curiousity to what she would say, "what's that Leah?"
Leah: "That's his booty...that's DISGUSTING!"
Bahahaha Tim liked that one.

Orange You Glad You Ate That?

So Sunday night I was on my way home from dog-sitting (yes, I'm a jack of all trades..) and I didn't feel like making dinner so I did what any normal mom would do... take out! I ran through the Panda Express drive thru for my favorite - orange chicken! I came home and Leah and I shared my rice bowl.... or shall I say DEATH BOWL! A little less than an hour later it hit me like a ton of bricks... I will spare you the nasty details but let's just say at one point I was on the toilet and throwing up in the bath tub at the same time. What else was I gonna do? Leah seemed fine at this point so I thought I was coming down with the stomach flu that was going around. I put in a call to Tim, who was at work that night, to warn him that he might have to come home early to take care of the kids because I thought I had the flu. After losing it a few more times, I called him back and told him you better hurry! He rushed home to save the day, just in the knick of time! He gave the kids a bath and put them to bed while I was praying to the porcelin gods...
Not 5 minutes after Leah went to bed, she started crying and then throwing up. I knew we were in for a rough night and I was SO glad Tim had come home. Leah and I laid on my bed, both of us shaking and taking turns throwing up. After about the 4th time Leah threw up and my 10th, we decided we should go to Prime Care.
Grandpa came over to sit at the house while Chase slept and Tim swept Leah and I away, buckets in hand, to Prime Care. There they determined we had gotten food poisoning and gave us both some Zofran to help with the nausea and told us that it would pretty much have to run it's course.
We got what sleep we could that night when we got home around 2am, after washing sheets and blankies and bleaching the bathtub and carpets. The next day we both were pretty much zombies. We didn't start to feel better until later Monday night and then on Tuesday we were both completely back to normal. Phew. I have never felt that sick before. Needless to say I will never be eating there again!!
I'm just so glad Tim was home to pick up the pieces and take care of Chase AND sick Leah because there's NO way I was going to be able to do that on my own!! Because there's no PAUSE button on motherhood!