In Your Dreams

I mentioned in a previous post that Elise sleeps in the laundry room. It's not such a bad place, but she has to sleep in her pack 'n play every night. I have felt bad about putting her in there to sleep because the pad in the bottom of that thing is pretty much just a piece of cardboard covered with fabric. Even when you weigh just 21 pounds, that can't be very comfortable.

I looked around for a while trying to find a nice mattress topper made for a pack 'n play, and I was so excited when I finally found the one I had been dreaming of! MamaDoo Kids mattress toppers were the only ones I could find that would fit snugly in a standard-sized pack 'n play without gaps at the sides.

When ours arrived, I was happy by how thick and comfortable the foam seemed. It folds up for easy storage or travel. You can order it in this cute pink for girls or blue for boys.

With the carrying strap, you can transport it easily.

It's not just a mattress topper, either. It can be used as a tummy time mat or a changing pad.

Elise's favorite other way to use it is as a toddler bench.

She was pretty excited about her new place to sit. Can you tell?

This is her just-woke-up-from-a-nap, staring-at-the-TV look.

Did I mention that the cover is removable and washable? And if you don't want to wash it as often, just use a fitted play yard sheet. Awesome. And MamaDoo Kids will be launching their Wonderfully Soft Play Yard sheets in December. I can't wait!

My favorite part: her comfy bed all ready for the night.

I'm feeling much better about her sleeping situation. If you're looking for a mattress topper for your baby's pack 'n play, I would recommend MamaDoo Kids.

How 'Bout Them Apples?

Elise has been talking so much lately! I've been impressed with her range of vocabulary and her clarity when she communicates. She is such a smart girl.

Apple is a favorite new word lately.

Elise saying apple

Elise signing apple

Hold the Phone

Elise likes to pretend she's talking on the phone. She used to hold it to the front of her face, which was pretty funny to watch, but now she holds it to her ear. Kind of.

I love this kid.

Halloween

Happy Halloween! We had such a fun time trick-or-treating with the kids tonight. This was Elise's first time (last Halloween she was less than two months old).

Savannah was so excited about Halloween all day long. She was singing a song she made up about how fun Halloween was, and so I asked her if I could video her. This was her encore.

And if you're wondering what she's wearing, it's her "Sleeping Beauty dress" over her Halloween t-shirt.

Doesn't Elise make an adorable giraffe?

Savannah was a mermaid.

Leighton was Buzz Lightyear.

Ryland was a football player

(or, as the Leighton and Savannah prefer to say, a football teamer).

[He was so busy watching football on the computer that he wouldn't look at the camera for a picture.]

Elise checkin' out her bag

at the first house

She's such a big girl!

Trick or treat!

Worse Than Harry's Cupboard

We moved to my sister's house in Arizona last July, and, although we left most of our stuff at Matt's parents' house in California, we brought Elise's crib with us. I knew the three of us would be sharing one room, but I don't think I was prepared for the upset the move and sleeping within Elise's view would have on Elise's sleep. And, thus, on my sleep too. (Matt sleeps through most anything.)

Elise was waking up all through the night every night, and she was getting up so early every morning. When it had been a couple of weeks and I didn't think I could take it anymore, we tried to see if Elise would sleep better in a different place. At first we tried putting her in her pack 'n play in the living room, and she slept a little better during the night but still woke up super early when my brother-in-law got up to get ready for work.

Then, almost as a joke, someone suggested the laundry room as an alternative. Maybe I made the suggestion; I don't remember. I was really tired all the time at that point. So we tried it. And she slept. And that has been her room at night ever since.

We still put Elise in her crib for naps, but during the night she sleeps in the dark, quiet laundry room, with a box fan running, and a baby monitor set up just in case. In the mornings, instead of crying, she sometimes hammers on the washing machine to let me know she is awake. This makes for a very effective alarm clock.

I feel a little bad about putting her to sleep in a pack 'n play every night, and I have been looking for a pad to make it more comfortable (if you know of a good one, please let me know). Putting her in the laundry room reminds me of Harry Potter's aunt and uncle, who made Harry sleep in the cupboard under the stairs instead of in a real bedroom. Then I think back on how tired I was (how tired we both were) when she was waking up all night. Then I don't feel so bad.

Fall Festival

Yesterday we went to the fall festival and pumpkin patch at Vertuccio Farms. We were sad Jonathan didn't get to come with us because his father passed away this weekend and he is in Tennessee. Holly with her bunch and Matt and our little pumpkin had a lot of fun, though.

On the way in, the kids got lollipops. This was Elise's first experience with them. She's a fan. She also likes to eat it from the other end, chewing on the stick.

the barrel train

(Ryland is in the next car with Holly. You can see him in the background.) This was probably Ryland's favorite part, along with the sucker. :)

hop-along inflatable ponies

They were too hard for Elise to do, but she liked to bounce on them anyway.

Matt squinting in the bright sunlight

Matt and Elise on the pedal race cars

(I think he was probably enjoying this more than Elise.)

Elise didn't really want to put her head in the hole, and Matt didn't have much luck trying to convince her to do it.

The kids loved seeing and petting the farm animals. Leighton said this was his favorite part, along with the bounce house. It was probably Elise's favorite too.

This thing made me feel like a wimp! I only got up to about 400. Matt, of course, rang the bell. He says that's what he learned from a summer working construction.

We got the kids these tiny pumpkins. Savannah said getting the pumpkins was her favorite part, along with the bounce house.

Afterward, we went to Chick-fil-A for dinner, where Elise got her first ever balloon. Can you tell she really liked it?

Even with the complete meltdown Elise had on the way home (she was super exhausted), the day was totally worth it. The kids had so much fun.

And sorry the pictures aren't better! Holly's camera battery was dead, and mine was almost dead too, so that it kept turning off. I'm just glad we could get a few pictures.

Happy fall!

Lotion/Yogurt Conundrum

Here is Elise eating vanilla yogurt. Notice her right hand is below her highchair tray. She's rubbing the yogurt on her leg.

And here is Elise getting ready for bed. I usually give her a little lotion and let her rub it on her chest as I put lotion on her legs. Notice she's rubbing the lotion with one hand and eating it with the other hand.

I've come to the conclusion that Elise must confuse lotion and yogurt. They do look really similar. But they probably don't taste very much alike.