christmas eve we spent the day with just our kids at home. they opened a few presents from us and also a tricycle and a wagon, thanks grandma and grandpa davis! dahlia loves them! then on christmas day we went to my sisters house about ten minutes away. opened some presents, ate some good food, played half of a game together and then went home. the day after christmas we were going to drive up to olympia to visit justins family, and we were planning on leaving around 11 or so depending on when valen would need his morning nap. what ended up happening was valen decided to be a cranky pants in the middle of the night and i was up with him for a while, and then justin was also. finally about 5:45 justin came back to bed and then i couldnt sleep after that... then dahlia wakes up at 7 am screaming in her room. so i go get her and she just sets on the couch with me pointing at everything saying, doo doo doo? so i am about to cry cuz i know she isnt going to want to go back to sleep and justin was up with valen for a while so i wouldnt be able to convince him to be with her while i went back to bed, so i was so bummed. but then i had a thought, if valen wakes up then we can just leave right then to go to olympia and maybe i could get a nap once we get there.. anyways, within a few minutes valen woke up. so i went in and got justin up too. we started getting ready and by 9 am we were out the door. the kids actually didnt sleep much at all. valen fell asleep a little after kelso and dahlia was wide awake the whole time. a little cranky, i might add also )= she used to do very well in the car, even on long rides, but not anymore. good thing i brought some cheerios along or she probably would have been crying the whole time. so after we got there we had fun, bla bla bla... but i will skip to the night time part, this is where it gets exciting (= we werent planning on staying overnight, we were going to drive home around 9pm so the kids could just go to sleep on the way, but it was cold and icy so we thought we had better not till morning. i was nervous about that, i didnt think dahlia would do well at all. she barely goes to bed in her own bed at home, let alone a strange house and a big bed too. so she refused to go to sleep anywhere, she was so tired but so cranky and just kept fussing about climbing up and down the stairs... finally almost midnight, she fell asleep on justin and he dropped her into bed. she slept all night with justin and we woke her up at 930. oh my goodness. thankfully valen did well. he only woke up one time(which is normal) and went back to sleep shortly after. then we tried rushing around to get out of there by 10:30, which turned into 11, and dahlia was just fussing over things. she has been different the past week, maybe this is the beginning of the terrible twos.. so we got in the car and she was very reluctant. and about an hour later when we almost were at kelso, she started freaking out and crying. she needed to poo, but couldnt while sitting in her carseat, so she got really frustrated and didnt understand why i couldnt just take her out. so we took a little trip to target. fed valen a bottle and we chased dahlia around until we smelt a lovely aroma. then she was a happy camper (= 

i am soooo looking forward to the days when they sleep good.... just one night is all i ask!  

i am always looking for good music out there, well justin actually does the looking i just do the hoping part. he listens to different pod casts and finds out about cool stuff. he heard about Brooke Waggoner. her style is indie/pop, which is what i like. he ordered her cd from her myspace and we got it in the mail a couple days ago. the package was hand written by brooke herself. pretty cool, it could be worth money someday when she is super famous. (= she is an independent artist and those are always fun to support. you can actually listen to her stuff on myspace and then go to the link to her other website to download it for FREE! anyways, if you like indie (or even if you dont) you might enjoy this.

i also have a friend who i know from when i lived in california who has some cool music. her name is lindsey cook. her style is indie/folk. 

i was watching oprah today, and it was so interesting. first of all there is a lady who figured out how to tell what an infant needs by the type of sounds they make. where was this info 6 months ago, seriously that would have been so useful for us. they should some clips of babies making those sounds and it was evident that she wasnt just full of crap, she actually has something here. the woman is from australia and has a unique ability to hear things others might not. she has a dvd out and i think it would be worth checking into if you are going to be having a baby soon. or would make a good gift for someone who is.

there was also a young teenager who lost both of his eyes when he was just three years old, because they were cancerous. after his surgery to remove his eyes, he woke up and said "mommy i cant see anymore". i just about burst into tears! but then oprah continued by saying that he then at age seven, figured out that he could hear sounds objects give off by clicking his tongue. it was so neat. he was blind, but you just wouldnt have known it, he was so confident and was able to tell where things were by making certain clicking. so fascinating. he could roller blade, play video games and use the computer... crazy.
i have seen some glass eyes before, but these were so real like. i could barely tell he was blind. they moved and blinked too. it was just inspiring, because this kid should have every reason to feel insecure or less than others, but he has just made the most of his situation and excelled in the art of seeing without eyes. what a special guy.

there were some other good stories on today, but i felt these were worth mentioning. they have more of each story and pictures on her website if you are interested. you should at least check out that little boy, very cool! 

i had to kick justin out of our bed about a month ago.. then i soon followed..... our bed was very creaky due to the fact that our mattress was actually too large for the frame. so whenever we got into it or moved at all, it made a lot of noises. and since justin moves all night long, i couldnt sleep. i would wake up every time he would move... which is especially frustrating since i already have trouble sleeping for multiple reasons. so justin started sleeping on the couch, then a couple weeks later i started sleeping on the love seat, so i wouldnt accidentally wake up valen. i surprisingly slept very well, even though i didnt really fit on it. but we finally got rid of our bed and now have been sleeping on our mattress. it is very nice to be back in there with justin (= just sleeping next to each other, we feel closer emotionally. awe, isnt that sweet (=

valen makes noises at night too so i would hear him and wake up. and since i am breastfeeding i have to lay on my back a little propped up. if i dont then i usually get plugged ducts which are uncomfortable and i cant sleep very well after a few hours. sleeping on my side is so comfortable, but whenever i do, i get all clogged. such a bummer! i dont know if every mom is as sensitive as me, but i sure hope not.

since i started pumping, about a month ago, he has been gaining weight again. he was actually losing weight for a while there. but i think being able to see exactly what he is getting and then supplementing one bottle a day is making a huge difference. althought pumping is very inconvenient, especially with my two babies. i was doing it about 6 times a day but have cut back to four lately. my supply is still pretty good, at least he is getting mostly breastmilk and only a little formula. it just isnt realistic to pump for 30 minutes 6 times a day... way too time consuming. ive tried feeding him straight from me, but it doesnt go well. i am just thankful he has had a full six months at least.

his appointment for his six month checkup was yesterday. he has only gained a pound since his four month visit, but that is due to the fact he was losing for a while, but we have fixed that problem. other than his weight, he is very healthy! so bouncy and smiley. the doctor thought he was just adorable and so sweet! he didnt really like her poking at him though, he got his little lip all curled under, it was so cute. sometimes i feel like it is so unnecessary to go to those visits. well besides the shots, it doesnt really do any good. they just weigh him and measure him and then ask me if i have questions. if i do, they are questions i have already researched myself, but i ask anyways just to see what she would say. but i guess there are plenty of parents out there who need to be taking their children to be checked on so that the doctor can see if there are any signs of abuse or neglect or whatever. but i am kind of disappointed that she never asks me about (at dahlias app ) what types of things she is eating or if she takes a multivitamin or if i read any books regarding childrens nutrition... what if i had no idea about what a child needs and was feeding her doughnuts and ramen all day long? what if i thought that tylenol was fine to give a child every night to get them to sleep? she didnt suggest anything to me about health or diet. i thought that was odd. but maybe she wasnt concerned from just talking to me, maybe she could tell that i was doing what i should be. but still, i think that it should be standard for the doctors to bring in a info sheet about things that a child at this or that age should be getting. just simple things, that maybe the mom doesnt know or has just ignored. but i do think our doctor is very nice and i am not saying she isnt a good doctor, but i just think there should be a little more prying into a childs lifestyle.

valen seems like he wants to start eating solids because whenever we are eating or holding something, he leans over and tries to grab it and put it in his mouth. i tried feeding him rice cereal, but he just got really frustrated with it and started crying. he doesnt understand how to eat instead of drink. i will try again in a couple days. it would just be nice to strap him in a chair and give him something to eat while we are eating. but i am really in no rush. dahlia didnt really eat solids till she was closer to 9 months i think. the only reason i would is for the iron. 

on a different note, i have not had a chance to do any drawings! by the time the kids are in bed, i just want to sit back or lay down, so hopefully when valen is sleeping better and i am not so tired, i can get some artsy stuff done. thanks for inquiring!