Could things be getting better?

Dom slept through last night. Yay! Unfortunately, both he and Noel were up before six for some reason. That's just a little too early for me. We're hoping that Dom is starting to get over whatever it is that has been going on lately. Bedtime has been slightly easier the past two nights, perhaps because Dom was so tired, but we're still not back to normal there. Both boys need to be sleeping well at night if they're going to share a room eventually. Otherwise, I don't know how that will work.

Noel took two long naps again today, which gave Dom and me plenty of time to enjoy the weather. We even had lunch and a snack outside on the patio. Incidentally, I finally ordered some vines to grow on the pergola. We've always intended to plant vines, but I overthink things so much that it's taken me two years to make a decision. I went with crimson glory vine (vitis coignetiae), which is an ornamental grapevine. It has big leaves and spectacular fall color, so there's something to look forward to.

While we were outside, I moved some plants around, probably killing a hosta, or, as Dom says, "pasta," in the process. (Dom's favorite plants are the lambs' ears and carex, which he always points out by name.) When I was digging, Dom was happily looking for worms. He carried around three of them for some time, and as a result they have gone on to that great pile of dirt in the sky. Poor creatures.

...and many more rough nights

How sad is it that the baby is the easy one at night? This stuff with Dominick won't stop. I've started dreading nighttime because we never know exactly what it will bring. We know that Dom won't go to bed without major assistance from us, and that later our sleep will be interrupted by intense screams. For a few nights, Dom was acting very hyper at bedtime and refusing to stay in his room. One time, after he finally did fall asleep, he woke up around midnight and ended up with us the rest of the night. For some reason, he was sleeping with his feet at the top of the bed, so it was pretty much a given that he would kick me in the face. And then last night had a drama of its own. At 3:00, we heard the screaming, but it was slightly muted. Mike went down, then called for me. I went downstairs, thinking Dom must have gotten sick. Instead, I find his face and hands completely covered with blood. The floor by his door was also bloody. His nose was gushing. I guess he had something in there that just had to come out, and he had really gone at it. (He will hate me later for sharing this story!) On the plus side, Noel has become a champion napper.

This weekend, Mike bought Dominick a Slip and Slide. They set it up on Saturday and are out there again now. Dom likes it, but he prefers to crawl rather than slide. Here are some pictures:

Ah, a foreshadowing of Dom's teen years. Here he's playing with the phone, but his posture and glazed expression make me picture him playing video games (Halo 9, perhaps?). He was playing with the phone again today, which drives me crazy. He managed to change the display to Spanish. Fortunately, I was able to change it back. It wasn't easy, considering all the menus were in Spanish, but I guessed that I was looking for Idioma, then selected Ingles.

And finally, here's a sweet picture of Dominick holding Noel while sitting in his papasan chair.

Sleep

Oh, my gosh. Dominick is asleep on the couch! He wanted to lie down with an afghan ("cape"), so I covered him and went to make some tea. When I came back, he was still there, which was surprising enough. Then just now, while checking some things on the computer, I realized I could hear him breathing, so I took a peek. He is really sleeping. What's even better is that Noel is, too, so I have a few minutes to myself.

Last night was a massive improvement over the previous one. Dom slept all night, though he didn't want to go to sleep initially. I had to lie down with him until he fell asleep. Noel woke up at about 10:15 and cried rather halfheartedly for about 30 minutes, then slept until 4:30 am. Dom has still been talking about the lights coming down today. In addition to all the ceiling lights, he seems to have dreamed about the desk lamp, too.

Sorry for all the posts about sleep lately. Anybody with little ones knows how big an issue sleep can become. The problem is that as soon as you get one thing sorted out, another emerges. That was always the case with Dominick, and now that we have two kids, it's even more true.

And another rough night

Man, I am so tired. Last night the boys alternated waking up, so that I never got more than about an hour and a half of sleep at a time. I made the mistake of closing the bedroom window when I went to bed (11:20ish, later than usual). It was an attempt to keep Noel from getting cold during the night, but it just woke him up, so I had to feed him to get him to sleep again. Then Dom woke up around 1:30, screaming. He told Mike that the light was coming down, but it would stop if it were turned on low. He went back to sleep completely hidden by the covers. Noel woke at 3:00. Dom woke a second time (4:00ish?), screaming again, and Mike finally got him back to sleep on the couch around 5:30. Noel was up for good by 6:00, Dom by about 6:30. What's going on with these boys? If anyone has any advice for dealing with nightmares in three-year-olds, please share!