Easter and General Conference

We sure were grateful for this weekend. Wow, we thoroughly enjoyed General Conference, and got many answers to prayers. We definitely got some inspiration to help us deal with our struggles, as well as to become better people. We also loved celebrating our Savior on Easter. We talked a bit about our traditions and why we continue them. We noted how there are only two holidays where there is a figure who comes and bestows gifts without you getting to see him...Christmas and Easter. Both are representations of how Christ's atonement and resurrection are gifts to us, but we don't get to see Christ and thank him personally. At least not yet. We are grateful for these special opportunities to teach children about Christ in a way they can understand. We are grateful for the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus...who bestow gifts to our family each year and never come asking for our gratitude or acknowledgment.

Cpc LOVED dying eggs. He did color his hands blue. We went upstairs to his bedroom the moment he woke up so that we could see his eyes when he found his Easter basket sitting in front of his bed. The look he gave was just as priceless as we had imagined. He also loved hunting for eggs, and we loved having our own big backyard for him to find them in.

Pmc made some divine deviled eggs, which we are going to refer to from here on out as Resurrection eggs. We enjoyed learning about why they are called deviled, but we think that resurrection eggs is much more fitting, since they are broken and mashed up and then made into something even better than they were!

Cpc and Cdc have really been bonding. Cpc has really gotten good at telling us when his little brother is sad. He is also quite thrilled by the new baby toys we've been pulling out. He loves shaking rattles in front of Cdc's face, and doesn't think he's too big to sit in the baby seats.

Cdc has started to work on the trick. And I nearly got a giggle out of him this week. He is becoming so interactive. It's amazing to see him becoming so alert, and less jumpy...but he is still our little tender-heart. We've been calling him our "little bear," whereas Cpc has always been our "little monkey."

Our sunny weather has given way to dreary warm days for a little while. Luckily along with the gray skies we've gotten a few rain showers. I always promised myself I wouldn't be a mom who refused to let my kids play for fear of them making a mess. So, as promised, we did some puddle-jumping this week. Now, we haven't forked out money yet for any rain-gear, so it was he and I in our grubby shoes. This picture doesn't quite do justice to how wet and dirty he got. And I was just as bad, except only up to my knees.

So, I've been avoiding discussing the sleep topic in much detail, because I'm terrified that the moment I do, I will jinx myself and everything will go south. However, I also know that I want to remember these times, and the differences in each of my children. So here we go.

Sleep. With Cpc it was a nightmare. He slept really well for the first six weeks, and then we plunged into a dark abyss of sleepless nights. It got bad, and then got worse. He was always such an alert baby, and never needed nearly as much sleep as most children. And on top of that he thought that sleep was his worst enemy. He would scream at bedtime, wake up screaming multiple times at night, and I lost my temper more times than I'd like to admit. There were many short stints where he would sleep well. But they would end just as quickly as they set in. I read far too many articles on sleep patterns in children, and tried just as many different methods of getting him to sleep, including both cry-it-out and co-sleeping. Nothing worked. Then suddenly Cdc was born. Overnight solution. Ta-da!

With Cdc, so far it's been DREAMY! Within a week he slept a 6-hour stint. Then we got up to 8 hours within 6 weeks. And yes, it has been shortened again by a little bit, but it's rarely worse than 6 hours. And when he wakes up at the end of his long stint, he eats and goes back to sleep for 3-4 hours. Since Cpc is also sleeping, this means I am a well-rested woman. Naps during the day are going just as well with both of them, and I feel like we have a working order in our home.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Cdc had his 2-month appointment. He weighted in at 12 lbs. 7 oz. and he's 24 inches long!

And Pmc just pulled in the driveway, so I better go get him some lunch and enjoy the rest of our day!

Oh, and there's a slide-show in the sidebar of ALL the pictures Eva took for us.