February 2014

John and Larkin are no longer restricted by the walls of their cribs. Paul decided to take down one side of their cribs to get them used to sleeping in big boy and big girl beds. This will be a big step forward for them and allow Paul to stop hauling so many pack n’ plays around when traveling. Truth be told, John and Larkin really haven’t been trapped by their cribs for some time now. They’ve had the ability to climb out for well over the past year, but have been, for whatever reason, content to stay in them. First and foremost, in the early days, both of them had a fall or two that scared them from wanting to get out, but more recently, we’re guessing it really has to do with having a sibling in the same room. They are fortunate to always have someone to talk to, console with, and show off to. They’ve always enjoyed jumping on their beds, watching each other go timmmmberrrr and fall to their mattresses, and climb on the top of the railing to reach things on their dressers. However, over the last month Paul has seen a different maturity level in the two of them and just knew that it was time. Plus, he knew that once trained, they would enjoy sleeping at their grandparents, in the mountains, and at their uncle and aunts houses more easily. Well, it’s been a huge success. Both of them have slept through the night without getting out of their beds. We’ll at least not purposely. The other night John fell out of his bed and Larkin was sleeping half on the floor and half on her bed. Nap time has been a bit different. When initially being put down for a nap they snuggle in and act like they are going to peacefully rest, but as soon as you leave the room, they jump on their beds, switch beds with one another, read books, and even chase each other around the room. So nap time, has become John and Larkin fun time, instead of sleep time, but that’s okay as long as they are sleeping well at night (and as long as the adults get their mid-day break!).

The 2nd game changer of the month is Larkin’s boppy (pacifier). Larkin has always been a huge fan of having a boppy at night and really, really has not wanted to give it up. Paul had tried telling her that big girls don’t use boppies and had tried to use her 3rd birthday as a ploy to get her off it, then had told her it is bad for her teeth and the dentist wasn’t going to allow her to use one, but kept delaying the inevitable crying session. Well, early on in the month, we couldn’t find Larkin’s boppy when it was time to go to bed. Both grandpa and Paul went looking around the house, but couldn’t find it. After a little bit, Paul decided to take advantage of the situation, and told Larkin that we couldn’t find the boppy and she’d just have sleep without it. This did not go over well. Larkin yelled and cried for her boppy for the next hour. Paul talked to her over the monitor and gave her many hugs and consoled her on multiple trips to her room, but it really didn’t help her. Finally, Paul decided to just let her cry it out in the end (kind of like their sleep training days), which thankfully didn’t last too long. Larkin slept through most of this first night, and actually did even better on the second night. The third and fourth nights were a bit more difficult, but every night since these first few nights has gotten easier and easier.

J&L’s 1st dentist trip! John and Larkin were super excited to go see the dentist. They walked in with confidence and sat down right into their chairs as instructed. The room was nicely sized and had two dental chairs on either side of it, which allowed Paul to sit in the center of the two of them. Both listened to the dentist and dental hygienist as they instructed them to turn their heads one way or another, open their mouths more or less, and to take sips of water. This was their first appointment, so both had lots of plaque on their teeth, but they sat there perfectly quiet as the dentist scraped away. Both came away with glowing reports, as well as a toy of their liking. Larkin even had her picture taken and put on the wall because she had given up her pacifier just two days prior. Way to go Larkin!

Paul and his High School basketball teammates were honored during one of the East Chapel Hill High School basketball games. They called it, “Return of the Champions” because Paul’s team won the state championship in 1997. It was a nice tribute, but the best part about it for Paul was spending time with his old coach and teammates.

This month brought some crazy weather in NC. There were beautiful days in the high 60’s and then the next day it would drop below freezing and bring lots of snow and freezing rain. The kids were excited to have some snow days off from school, and loved playing in the yard, throwing snowballs, sliding down the slide into a big pile of snow, and making snowmen. Reagan learned the word snow this month and started telling us quite often that she wants snow and therefore wants to put on a hat.

Despite the volatile February weather we had many visitors throughout the month. Doug, Nessa, and Aiden came for a long weekend visit and Kat’s friend Sara and her son Bennett joined us for a weekend. The kids love showering their cousin Aiden with kisses and hugs and Reagan seems mesmerized by her baby cousin – giving him looks that say, “Hey, I’m supposed to be the cutest one here.” Bennett is around John and Larkin’s age, so they loved having him around. We were lucky enough to score UNC Basketball tickets and the 3 year olds loved eating treats, watching the game and clapping with the other Tarheel fans. Given it was Bennett’s first basketball game, he might just become a life-long Tarheel fan. The Kindem-O’Brien families are determined to convert all our visitors to Carolina fans!