Long Nights

I totally tried to upload pictures and video last night, but the internet was not supporting my efforts and I was crazy tired, so I'll try to get it done later today. Last night was a difficult one, with Estie screaming from 9:30pm until about 1am. As he is a part of Estie's sleep training (Lev was a different story), Shalom is now becoming aware of the fact that babies can mess with you. He thought maybe she would calm down if she was in bed with us, but she tried to make a run for it, so back to bed she went. We tried Motrin, but the screaming continued. Finally, Lev came and slept on his mat in our room and he and Daddy went to sleep while Mommy continued checking in with Estie every 15 minutes with a pat on the back and a 'shhhhh' in her ear. I have been advised that, considering the big dinner she eats and her age, to let this continue for 4 hours. I was planning on nursing her around 1/1:30am, but she finally gave in and slept until 3:30am (haha, now I know she can go until 3:30am!). Around 2am, Lev woke up asking for 'crib,' so Shalom took him back to his room. Both babies were up and ready to go at 6:18 this morning, with Estie kvetching- but refusing to nap, and Lev 'playing' 'sleeping,' which means he stops playing with his toys and lays down for a few minutes with his pillow and blanket. Hopefully this was the worst of it and hopefully Estie will learn how to calm herself in a time span shorter than 4 hours.
In other Estie news, she's learned to pull herself upright and is attempting to 'cruise'- move while holding onto things. It's nice that she's the age where I can put her down and then tell her that if she needs me, she can come to me. We did that this morning. She wanted to be on the ground as soon as she got out of bed and I wanted to go back to my bed, so I told her she could come to our room when she was ready, and she did!
Lev, B"H, still loves Estie. Every once in a while, he seems to remember that she's there and that he loves her and he'll go up to her face and say 'Essie!Essie!' until she laughs. Then he'll say 'Mommy, Essie so happy.' He also enjoys playing 'Two Babies,' which involves me carrying the both of them, wrapped in towels after the bath, from the bathroom into the main room (which Lev calls the other room, since we live in Israel and have a main/kitchen room, the courtyard, bedrooms and bathroom) while saying 'Oh, my two babies. I'm so happy and lucky I have two babies.' Lev then chimes in 'Two babies, two babies.'
Our big goal of the week is to wean Lev from the Thomas the Train movie and his other DVDs. It's just gotten too out of control. So far we managed all day yesterday and this morning with no DVD intervention into our days. They are supposed to be there to help us when we need a break or as treats, and they've become to engrained in our daily routine. Hopefully, Estie's increased mobility and his new books will keep him so busy that he won't notice the computer is out of our lives.
Lev also loves cooking. Yesterday, I was reading a book (I like to read all new books before I read them to him, just to approve the content- yes, this is important even in kids' books. We try to watch all movies ahead of time as well), and I saw him pushing a chair around the room. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was going to cook for me. So sweet! So, we made dinner a bit early. We made tuna patties, which he calls tuna cookies. He also enjoyed lots of Israeli salad, which makes Mommy happy. I like knowing that my kids eat fruit and veggies well. Estie saw him eating the salad and wanted it too, so she got some cucumber and the three of us enjoyed together. Actually, they enjoyed eating my dinner while I fed it to them. If you ever wonder why I'm so small, it's because my children eat all my food!
OK, this is out of control long. Pictures and videos to come. If you think I write too much, then come visit and I won't feel the need to use words to introduce you to my two babies, you'll see them for yourselves!