good sleep begets good sleep...

...unfortunately, the opposite is also true. ever since the boys got sick in february, they've been working on getting back to their normal sleep schedule. it seems like they're getting close. last week they started falling asleep well, sleeping until at least 7am (often until 8 or later!), and they took their normal naps (2+ hours for jackson and 3+ hours for carter). before this, jackson would wake up anytime between 4:45am and 6:00am (if he slept until 6:30, i

was excited). and when jackson would wake up, so would his brother. they would then take short, disrupted naps and have a hard time falling asleep. it was becoming a vicious cycle. i'm not really sure what changed...maybe they just got so overtired, they finally slept well. it sure has been nice to get more sleep myself, but even better is how much happier and well behaved they are when they get the sleep they need.

a perfect example is what happened yesterday and today. for some reason, jackson didn't nap well. he woke up early and woke carter up, they had a hard time falling asleep last night and then woke up by 6 this morning. those couple hours of lost sleep have really effected their behavior today. i had a couple little grumpies all morning (including myself!). i'm just hoping that they take good naps today and get back to how they were sleeping last week.

*this is what happens when they don't sleep well. i took this a couple weeks ago. it was only 9:25am and jackson was fast asleep in the car.

what's in a name?

we've decided on a name for our baby boy. we are going to name him after my dad...david. and here's why:
the other day i was rolling up a sleeping bag and i had to get it really tight so it would fit into the bag it came with. i had no problem getting it to fit, because many years ago my dad taught me how to properly roll up a sleeping bag. that got me to thinking about other things my dad has taught me.
he taught me how to open a box of cereal. don't you hate it when it doesn't pour out of the bag correctly and you end up with cereal floating around in the bottom of the box? well, that doesn't happen at my home...i know how to open it right! when i was learning to drive, i remember him saying, "if you're going to pull out in front of a car like that...you better step on it." that's come in handy a time or two. the first time he took my brother, sister and i backpacking, he quickly figured out that jen and i didn't know how to pee in the woods. he gave us great tips and i've never had any issues since. he's taught me to finish what i start, to work hard, to be honest, and many, many other important life lessons.
but the most important thing my dad has taught me (and continues to) is the unconditional love of my father in heaven. dad has been the biggest example in my life of this truth. through thick and thin, dad has accepted me and loved me for me. he's always been available to listen to my joys and sorrows. he always has just the right advice for anything i'm dealing with...even if it's hard for me to hear. he's able to be honest and share truth in love.
dad, i have never once doubted that you love my unconditionally...thank you for being such an awesome example of how God loves me. my prayer is that our little david will possess your love for God, his family and those around him.

we're looking forward to the end of may when we'll get to meet our david michael!