Gammie Camp/ Sadie Boot camp

So last week Noah and Madeline got to spend a whole week with Gammie and Papa! They were very excited about their little adventure as Mommy and Daddy were too! The whole idea originated with our need to get sweet Sadie on a better schedule and sleep train her. So out went the oldest kids and on went the crying! Thankfully only the first few nights were the worst, in both cities! Once Noah got adjusted to sleeping there all went well. Gammie took them on all sorts of adventures...picnic in the park, story time at the library, lunch with friends, endless gator rides, pushing pooh bear up and down the driveway and swimming every day! I am so tickled at how well the kids did in the water. They turned into little fish in one week! Both proudly showing off their new talents...Noah swimming under water and Madeline floating on her back for her beloved Papa!

Meanwhile I lived it up with only one child! I look back and can't believe I thought one child was as hard as I thought! Don't get me wrong, it is HARD and especially when you have no experience, but I couldn't get over how easy it was with just Sadie. I didn't even have to take naps because I wasn't physically and emotionally drained by 1:00 in the afternoon. We had lots of firsts last week. Sadie went through boot camp and learned to fall asleep on her own! She is doing great! I just lay her down and off she goes to sleep! I worked hard at keeping her on a schedule to help with her sleeping habits. I realized that I had just let it go trying to keep up with the other two. It's hard getting the third child on a decent schedule when your carting the other two around! I was giving myself lots of grace, however, the lack of consistency was showing up with her lack of sleeping through the night. After the first few days of feeling like I had a newborn again, she turned a corner! Sadie also tasted her first rice cereal and did fine. She is doing much better with it this week. I can't get over how much fun I had! I was able to spend two days making baby food for the upcoming weeks. I have never attempted this and I was quite pleased with myself! It is always fun to try something new! I had lots of projects I wanted to cross off my list and the main one was getting the girls room ready to share. I made them this cute picture frame that says, "Sister will you...make believe, play dress up, let me be the princess, tell me stories in the dark, always be my friend?" How precious is that?! I also made them a door sign with their names on it and added an "S" to the lamp. I'll have to get a better picture of that as well as their room...maybe when Sadie gets to move in! That was my whole goal, to have Maddie come home to a roommate, but we are not quite there yet! Sadie has now been moved to our foyer, still in the bassinet! I am proud to report that she slept 12 hours last night and I feel like we are almost there!

Thanks so much Gammie and Papa for being brave enough to go for the first, and I hope not the last, Gammie Camp! The kids had a wonderful time and enjoyed being with you so much! We are grateful that Sadie is doing so much better and we have you to thank! We love you!