Since we came back home to Saudi, I've been so busy with everything going on, I've totally neglected the blog...so to catch up, this post and the next few ones will be for the month instead of weekly updates.
First thing to deal w/coming back was to get them back to their schedule mainly the sleeping on their own part. Boy was that tough, for them and us! Since they climbed out of their cribs and pnps (while in Houston), first thing we did was remove their crib mattresses and put them all on the floor. We didn't have the time or energy to move all of their real beds into one room. We basically had to do cry it out again to get them sleeping on their own. The first 3 nights were horrible. They would run to the door everytime we tried to leave. I think at one point we even slept on the floors with them until it got too uncomfortable for us. Eventually we took the door knob off so they couldn't leave their room, basically keeping them in there. It actually works out great now b/c we can peep through the hole and see what's going on in there. Tobin was the worst, it took him a little longer to adjust. Skyler and Hudson got it quicker.
We tackled the sleeping at night part within a week. Naptime however was another story. Since they are no longer in cribs, they MOVE around EVERYWHERE in their room. They started standing on their mattresses and can reach up to the roller blinds and pull them up. Extreme sunlight would flood their room so it was too bright for them to sleep. We put up Christmas wrapping paper up on the windows to help w/the darkness...didn't last even 10 minutes. They ripped it off, I was more devastated by the shredded paper considering it was brand new Christmas wrapping paper that I carefully packed in our luggage this past trip. And if you're wondering why we don't just move the mattresses to another wall, this is the best wall for it, taking the other furniture we have in the room into consideration. Trust me, I've thought of every solution possible.
Basically our whole month was making sure their room was dark enough for naptime. We even bought black out films to put on the window...until they peeled it off. Then Dan had to climb out of their window onto the roof to put it on the outside. Worked for about a few weeks until the wind started peeling it off. Then one day we were at Tina's and she had a navy colored shower curtain covering her patio furniture to keep the dust off. Dan went to Ikea looking for it, but of course they discountinued that color so the only "dark" color was purple. Let's just say we looked like LSU fans. With some weekly maintenance from Dan, this shower curtain kept us going for about a few months, until it started looking ghettoish and kept coming off too...will tell you more when I post about March happenings.
All this and keeping the room free of anything they can get into is the key to them napping. Thank goodness I bought closet locks for the bifold doors, emptied out their dressers and had Dan put a lock on the other closet in their room. Can you tell naptime is really important in my house? That's the only way I can have a break besides them going to bed at night.
Another BIG deal this month was them going to school. It's more like a MDO program. Preschool here are in someone's home. I picked Mrs. Libby b/c she was very welcoming to us. Another thing I liked about her was she has kids of different nationality in her school. She even hired an extra person to help out on the days they're there. They go for 3 days from 8-11, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. I picked these days so I could maintain our weekly playdates on Sunday and Wednesday. I waited until a week after we came back before putting them in school, wanted to get their sleep on track first, so their first day was 1/15. It actually took them about 5 weeks before EVERYONE was comfortable and happy going to school. Now all they talk about is Mrs. Libby and Ms. Tori (the helper). I think it helped that Mrs. Libby didn't push them in the beginning, she let them stay in the "play" area of the school before they decided they wanted to join the other kids in the "school" part. I'm really glad they are in school now, it gives me a chance to exercise again and do stuff around the house. Plus I can see a difference in them, they are talking way more and just learning so much.
Pictures of the month:
how they look when talking to Matthew and Ba Ngoai in Houston through the MajicJack.
Skyler, Tobin & Hudson's back.
First day of school: 3 snack cups, 3 water cups
they get their snacks at 10:15 in Mrs. Libby's backyard
I don't think Skyler ever uses the purple one either
tried to get a shot of all three, oh well, here Tobin & Hudson, and Skyler's head.
they are using their freebie backpack from Emirates (from our Houston trip)
Hudson wanted to take his teddy bear with him, but I convinced him he'd lose it so
he left it at home.
Skyler and Tobin
It's been working out great w/the preschool and weekly playdates, they have an "activity" every day. A few pictures of one of our playdate. All the moms have been trying to soak up as much of the cool weather we've been having so almost all the playdates have been at various parks on camp.
Here's Hudson and Ismi at the "Ravine" park. It's a park tucked at the end of cul-de-sac where all of the playsets are geared towards their age. This is my favorite park b/c I know I can handle this by myself...they can't go anywhere. :-)
Tobin
Skyler
My kiddos w/Max, one of their buddies
What they've been up to at home:
Skyler
My kiddos w/Max, one of their buddies
What they've been up to at home:
Tobin w/a stethscope, Hudson a phone and I'm not sure what Skyler has in her hands.
They started doing this one day. Skyler's the ring leader and Tobin's just an "innocent" bystander. BTW, Tobin is the first to open this gate. He learned that if he steps on the foot press at the bottom and keeps jumping on it, the gate opens. So much for keeping them downstairs for play...gate's pretty useless for kids, it's still good to keep furries away from maintenance workers when they come to fix stuff around the house since a majority of them are scared of dogs.
The ring leader caught in the act! :-)
What a multi-tasker? talking on the phone and drawing at the same time....hmmm who does she get that from?
We've been busy enjoying life, going to kids birthday parties, having dinners/breakfast w/other families. This one night, Bee and her family came over for lasagne. Both hubbies are left w/the kiddos while Bee and I talked on the couch at the other side of the room. We try to do a dinner w/other families atleast once a week.
One weekend morning, having breakfast at the Hobby Farm and then off to Ravine park.
They started doing this one day. Skyler's the ring leader and Tobin's just an "innocent" bystander. BTW, Tobin is the first to open this gate. He learned that if he steps on the foot press at the bottom and keeps jumping on it, the gate opens. So much for keeping them downstairs for play...gate's pretty useless for kids, it's still good to keep furries away from maintenance workers when they come to fix stuff around the house since a majority of them are scared of dogs.
The ring leader caught in the act! :-)
What a multi-tasker? talking on the phone and drawing at the same time....hmmm who does she get that from?
We've been busy enjoying life, going to kids birthday parties, having dinners/breakfast w/other families. This one night, Bee and her family came over for lasagne. Both hubbies are left w/the kiddos while Bee and I talked on the couch at the other side of the room. We try to do a dinner w/other families atleast once a week.
One weekend morning, having breakfast at the Hobby Farm and then off to Ravine park.
Tobin & Hudson, I really love it when they are hanging out w/each other...such brotherly love!
Daddy and Tobin
Boys on the slide. Hudson's at the top.
Daddy and Tobin
Boys on the slide. Hudson's at the top.
Skyler. Hudson in the back, he was collecting leaves. They love to pick everything up from the ground: leaves, rocks, sticks, etc.
Hudson
Hudson
