Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Hines

Today we celebrated Christmas with Brian's family.  Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Marie, and Uncle Richard all came to visit.  The kids got lots of gifts including a trampoline which they are SO excited about trying out when Daddy gets it put together.  We feel so fortunate to have such an awesome family.





We love our new PJs, Aunt Marie!  :-)

'Twas the weekend before Christmas

So I had the grand idea of trying to get some cute pictures of the kids all dressed up in their Christmas attire before church this morning.  Can I just tell you that getting four children to:
1.  Be still
2.  Look at the camera
3.  Smile (and not a fake smile or a goofy smile)
is difficult challenging impossible.

I sounded a little like this:
"Caleb, smile!"
"Rayna, sit back down!"
"Aimee, put your gum back in your mouth."
"Rayna, sit back down! "
"Molly, give Mommy a real smile!  Let me see your teeth!"
"Rayna, sit back down!"
"No, Caleb, keep looking at the camera!"
"Rayna!  Look at Mommy!  Sit back down!"
"Aimee, I will take care of Rayna, you look at the camera!"
So here are my cute (but definitely not perfect) pictures from this morning:



Caleb, Aimee, and Molly all sang at church this morning.  Aimee was an angel and she was SO excited about it.  When I picked her up after children's church, she was still in her angel costume.  Her teacher said she couldn't get her to take it off.  :-)



Rayna can't wait until she is big enough to sing with the other kids!


In other news, Caleb started guitar lessons this weekend.  Caleb has a lot of natural talent in music.  He is taking the recorder as part of his fifth grade music curriculum, and he has just excelled at it.  He prints off music to songs he wants to learn to play and teaches himself.  To someone like me (with no musical talent), it's quite remarkable.  Thanks to one of my students' parents, Caleb has been given the opportunity to start guitar lessons.  Brian took him on Saturday and said that he did a great job.  He brought home a guitar and has been practicing all weekend.  I think this is going to be such a good experience for him.

Deck the Halls!

Good News, Bad News

We've always joked that Rayna was born a bad sleeper.  At 6 weeks old, she was sleeping less than her 2-year-old sister.  Seriously.  She didn't consistently sleep through the night until she was around 9 months old.  And it's never been totally out of the norm for her to wake during the night for some reason or another.
Now don't think our daughter's terrible sleep habits are because of our lack of effort.  I think we read every sleep book ever written trying to "train" her to be a better sleeper.  And she did get better.  But never great.

Well lately, some of her bad sleep habits have returned.  She's having a really hard time settling down at night and is rarely sleeping through the night.  It's not uncommon for her to get up between 3 and 5AM and not be able to go back to sleep.  She tosses and turns and cries--but she doesn't sleep.  At first, I just assumed it was "Rayna" but then some other symptoms developed.   She's always snored a little, but her snoring has gotten worse and she's been having these "episodes" where she stops breathing.  This happens every night and during her naps.  So I talked to her (awesome!) pediatrican about it and she referred us to an ENT, the sleep center for a sleep study, and she said that if everything was clear she would even refer us to a sleep specialist to help us to help her to sleep peacefully.  I could have hugged her.  I just knew that she was going to send me home with a copy of Healthy Sleep Habits,  but she took our concerns seriously and got the ball rolling.

Well, thankfully we got an answer at our first stop!  We had an appointment with an ENT (ears, nose, and throat) specialist who said that Rayna has enlarged adenoids which is causing her snoring, mouth breathing, and sleep apnea.  He feels like this is the root of her sleep issues.

SOOOO.....  the bad news is that she's going to have to have surgery.  The good news is that we have an answer and hopefully in a couple of weeks, our baby can breathe easier and we will have our good halfway decent sleeper back!

Molly Funnies

Molly:  Mommy, you can't have these pickles.  You can't have a lot of sodium.  Or sugar.  You can't have a lot of sugar, either.
Me:  That's true.  We shouldn't eat too much sodium or sugar.
Molly:  So you can't eat pickles.
Me:  Well, you're sure eating a lot of pickles!
Molly:  I'M not pregnant!

After taking a shower and getting ready for the day,
Molly:  Where are we going?
Me:  We aren't going anywhere.
Molly:  But you took a shower.

Molly:  I know how to spell Rayna.
Me:  You do?  How?
Molly:  R-A-Y-N-A.
Me:  Great job!  You're a good speller!
Molly:  I also know how to spell Melissa.
Me:  You do?  How?
Molly:  M-O-M-M-Y   H-I-N-E-S

Happy Turkey Day!

"Morning" Sickness

I really will get better about updating the blog.  I have been SO sick.  I was sick with my other two pregnancies, but this time has been the worst.  I am just counting down the days until I'm out of this first trimester.  I have tried just about everything from saltine crackers before I get out of bed to vitamin B6 shots.  Nothing is helping.  To be honest, I've been a little depressed.  Spending the majority of everyday being sick is just not fun.  I feel like I'm not doing a great job at being a wife, mother, or teacher.  If you have any great remedies, send them I'm way!  The good news is that the sickness is temporary and I've been trying to remember that it's for a good cause.  It will be worth it in the end.  :-)