I have to say a quick thank you to all of you who left comments here or on facebook or sent me messages and took the time to leave an encouraging note, share some tips, or let me know you were praying. One thing I learned for sure: I am not alone in this! Many of you have had good sleepers and then child #2 or #3 suddenly left you scratching your head! I am already putting to use some of your suggestions and I hope that maybe in the coming weeks I will have some better news to share. But if not, it's awesome to know I have a great community of friends & family to at least send virtual hugs. =)
Thank you, friends.

desperate.

I think I had said that Eden had gone back to sleeping through the night. False Alarm. I am at a loss what to do. She continues to wake throughout the night. Sometimes one time, sometimes two times. Could teething really be causing this for the last 2 months? She doesn't seem really in pain and she also seems fine during the day. Another thing that is frustrating is that when she's eating at night, she doesn't seem that hungry and so it makes me think it's not necessarily because she needs food. She also will not take a pacifier, is this girl particular or what? =) At almost 9 months I am boggled at why she cannot sleep through the night and why we have gone back & forth with this for 9 months. Another crazy thing is that she's completely inconsistent at when she's waking up. Sometimes it's as early as 9 or 10 pm, sometimes it's 1 or 2am, occasionally we make it to 4 or 5am.

So in the last 2 weeks I decided it was time to let her cry it out and see what happened. That's when we found out how determined she really was. :-/ One night she woke up at 9pm, and knowing she couldn't need to eat so soon, we let her go. For 2 hours she would cry and fall asleep, cry & fall asleep. I finally went to feed her, she literally ate for 2 minutes and fell asleep till morning. AGH. That was actually our best night of late. A couple of nights ago, she woke around 2:30 and cried solid for an hour & a half. I finally gave in. 2 nights ago she cried for 2 and a half hours (do you know how long that is?). Last night: major problem. This time when she woke up I knew I was too worn down to listen to her cry so felt like I don't care how many times she wakes up, I am just going to feed her so we don't have to listen to her cry. But whether it was because I am too stressed or tired or worn down, my body could not feed her. We are trying to get her to take a bottle and she just absolutely won't. This might have been the most discouraging time yet because I just wanted to get food into her so she would go back to sleep, and I literally couldn't. She eventually fell asleep until 6:30 and I was able to feed her then. For those who don't believe in the crying method, don't judge, I really truly love her. :)  But I feel utter desperation right now. I have never felt this close to post-partum blues, but it is really a struggle right now. I consistently get only 2-3 hours of sleep at a time and after almost 9 months, I feel at a breaking point. We go to her pediatrition next week and maybe he will have some insight. Is there a problem? I don't know. She seems fine during the day, she eats great, she eats until she's full.....I just don't know it could be.

I share for 2 reasons................not to be a cryfest, I am sorry if it seems that way, that's not my intention.

*I would like to know if anyone else has experienced something like this or if anyone has any ideas!

*And also, if you think of it, please uphold this in prayer. That I would trust God in His sovereignty during this difficult season, that I would experience His grace, and that I would have the strength to serve my family & those around me as I need to each day with the right spirit.

It has helped for me to begin to begin to view this as something that God has ordained for me. I used to think, well, you just do

X + Y = Z and then your kids sleep through the night and bingo, you're an awesome parent. :) But sometimes God ordains something differently and I am learning to trust in His plan.

 The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
 my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
Psalm 28:7

You might also pray that maybe, just maybe, that we could get some sleep around here. =0

oh sleep. I miss thee.

So it's been a little brutal in the sleep department around here. Of course, if I went to bed at 7 when my kiddos did, I could be getting much longer stretches here. :) I do believe a certain little girl is teething. Last week she decided she needed a 5am feeding again. This week she decided, no, it needed to be 2am instead. So I feel like I've gone back to newborn stretches of sleep. UGH. We've had a couple of mornings where she's gone till 6, so hoping we're past the worst for now!

And then there's Gman..........the boy who slept for 12 hours without a peep for 2 straight years is suddenly finding it necessary to get up almost once a night. Sometimes it's a bad dream or a drink of water or something else of great importance.

I usually don't agree with its urgency. *wink,wink. 

The other night I had fed Eden around 2 am and then could.not.fall.back.asleep. Boo those nights.

 2 hours later, I finally dozed off....5am Graham comes wondering into our room in need of............a kiss and a hug.

oh my.........can you really be mad about that?

Women constantly say "oh these are the best years....I wish I had them back....savor them................" I will admit when I haven't had more than 6 hours of straight sleep for 8 months, it makes me a teeny bit crazy. =)

But then you have these moments...........and I know exactly what they mean.

• The other week Graham comes up beside me, puts his arm around my shoulder and says, "you're my best friend." I don't even know when/where he learned that phrase.
• Yesterday he came up and gave me a huge hug and said "I love you". The first time he has ever done that uninitiated.

Yes, my boy.........you can still melt me in an instant. :)

And you, my girl, are still as sweet as ever! 

I am reminded to be so very grateful that I have tears to console, noses to wipe, diapers to change, kids to wake me up at all hours.

These precious gifts from God are also a daily joy.

Does anyone else ever get choked up singing You Are My Sunshine? The ending seriously takes my breath away. I guess that's the mom in me.

Thanking God for his grace & mercy.

And my hubby for understanding when the crazy-i-just-want-to-sleep-lady comes out. =)

And dear Sleep, when you're ready to be friends again, I'm here.

I need this reminder.

Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.

Read the rest of this great article by Rachel Jankovic here.

teaching your kids about money

I have recently been reading this book and wanted to recommend it to all parents whose children are not yet grown and gone. Teaching our children how to be good stewards and managers of their money is probably one of the most important and practical life skills we will give them.  This family chose a rather "radical" way to do it. Beginning in 6th grade, they started giving their children a "salary". At the beginning of the month, their kids were given an agreed upon amount of money that they then needed to learn to manage through giving, saving, and budgeting for various expenses - clothes, gifts, entertainment, etc....  As they grew older, the list of their expenses would grow as would their salaries and by the time they graduated from high school, they were managing all of their expenses besides food, tuition, & shelter.

Andrew & I haven't discussed in too much detail how we will go about this exactly for our kids (thankfully we have a little time before 6th grade) :), but I do love this concept. How many kids graduate from high school (or even college!) and have never handled money, budgeted or made financial decisions before?

Seems a much better way than giving our kids $1 a week in which they have to choose between spending it on toys or candy. =)

*

Though small children have very little understanding of money, she does give some tips

to help start instilling healthy attitudes about money.

DO:

Let them observe mommy & daddy taking good care of their money.

Let them see you deposit money in the bank.

Use coins to help teach them how to count.

Give rewards of hugs or praise, not money.

Say, "we don't choose to spend our money that way" more often than you say "we can't afford it".

Teach them about finding the best value in the stores.

DON'T:

Argue about money in front of the kids.

Use money to bribe or manipulate.

Let your child see or hear you worry about money.

Allow kids to be only takers. Help them find ways to give to others.

Overindulge your child.

It was interesting how she said the teen years of her kids went so smoothly, in part because there were no fights over "I want these clothes or this thing or to go here"........ her kids had well-learned by high school how to save and budget for the things they needed or wanted.

Hope some of you will find this book helpful as well!

the big switch

So, in light of little Eden who will be needing the crib in a few short (!!) months, we decided it was time to make the switch to the big boy bed! I think probably every child is different, and some parents do it at 18 months, some do it when they're 3. We already had a spare twin bed, so we decided to skip the toddler bed altogether, which is seeming to be no problem. But we felt he was ready, so we first added the bed to his room for a day or so and let him get used to it. He was SO excited about it. In fact, he would run around in circles like he'd just eaten a snickers or something! So then, day #2, we put him in it for nighttime. He's such a great sleeper, and because I felt he was ready, I didn't really anticipate any problems. He was so excited to get in and sleep in it, but as soon as he realized that he was actually expected to sleep in it, he had a small moment of panic and some very sad tears! So he cried for about 20 seconds (mourning the loss of his babyhood, perhaps?!!) and then was out like a light. YAY! I was a little more anxious about naptime, but so far, he's done absolutely great, doesn't get out of bed and sleeps his regular 12.5 hours at night and 2 hour naptime. Double YAY!
I could be wrong, but I feel like we're still reaping the benefits of the sleep-training in his early months. I feel like the kids that I know that were really trained to sleep well in just the first 3-4 months of life, overall seem to make these kinds of adjustments well. Graham, even this young, recogizes when he's tired and wants to go to bed or nap, because he knows that he feels better when he does! Anyhoo............. that's my not-so-subtle babywise plug. :)
We don't have his room completely finished yet, but hopefully I will get to put up some pics sometime of transformation from nursery to little boy room. He is just loving it!

  Notice how his dot blanket somehow made the move from side to pillow. :)

He loves sleeping with his bears and has to account for the 4 he sleeps with before he goes down!
One of my favorite new things is now laying in bed with him for his before bed storytime.
And he ALWAYS wants to sing the b-i-b-i ( also know as the b-i-b-l-e). What's that spell? "bible", he says. Yes, genius, we know. :) :)

Sweet dreams, my little boy, growing up so much!

Dropping the nappy-nap-nap................

Truthfully, this has been behind us for a while, but I still want to write it down and I always enjoy getting the feedback of what has worked for others!
When we hit 12 months, I knew one of our next big milestones was moving to one-a-day naps. Yay! I was excited considering summer was around the corner and 2 naps seems to keep you so close to home most days!

G's morning nap had always been longer than his afternoon one, so I knew that needed to be reversed! So around 11 months I began waking him up from his morning nap, first at the 1 1/2 hour mark and then eventually the one hour mark (sometime between 12-13 months). I know the timetable can vary a lot from child to child, with most books recommending dropping somewhere in the 15-18 month range. Once G hit 12-13 months, his afternoon nap definitely started shortening, so I knew he would probably be on the early end. I think (oh boy, I'm already forgetting!) that around 14 months I started skipping it every other day. That seemed to work pretty well. That way, if we were going to have a late night or extra busy day, he was gradually getting used to cutting it out. His afternoon nap definitely did not instantly turn longer, even when not skipping that morning nap! But after a while it gradually lengthened. After about a month of the every other day, or every couple of days, we were done, right about the 15 month mark. Occasionally, I still might lay him down for a cat nap in the am if he's definitely showing signs of needing it, but pretty much, we're good with the one nap now! And it definitely did lengthen to usually 2.5 to sometimes 3 hours.
One unexpected thing. At first, he still wasn't ready to go down until his 1:30 or 2 (his usual 2nd nap) time. But after a month or two, I slowly moved it up as his tired signs got earlier! Now he goes down at 12:30 and is quite ready!
All in all, it was one of the easier baby transitions that we've done. yay for that! I think it is kind of tricky though. A lot of baby things it can be best to just quit something cold-turkey and get thru a couple of days of chaos! But with the nap, I think their bodies need to be able to make that adjustment maybe over a little more time. Doing every other day or every couple of days is good for that, however, we know how important routine is to them, and so that's where they can get a little confused at a varying routine!
But anyways....we're enjoying our extra summertime hours!

Speaking of naptime, somewhere around the 14 month mark somebody got really attached to his "B". He has fallen in love with this thing! We're making him keep it in his crib because I can't handle all the germs it would pick up if he dragged it everywhere. :) SO FAR, he has been willing to say "bye-bye B" after nap! But he is also giddy when naptime/bedtime comes because he's SO excited to see B. Can't complain about that!!
We would love to know who gave this to him! (Cornerstone baby shower?) It's half-blanket/half-bear, with a silk edge that he loves to rub. The other day, I was vacuuming and found him sitting in the corner hugging it. Sweet, but sad all at the same time. :) But he loves it anyways! (Notice in the top picture, he is sleeping on top of it, which he loves to do!)
So, that's our story, do you have any major do's or don'ts?!

Phases Behind Us, Part 1

I mentioned in G's 12month update that we were soon saying bye-bye to the passy. I honestly didn't think it would be that big of a deal, since he only used it in his crib for sleeping and it would usually fall out of his mouth as soon as he fell asleep. I had read that you should try to kick it by 12 months, because after that is when they develop stronger attachments to things. So one night I decided to put him down without it. You would have thought I put him to bed without food. He was so sad! So.........I caved. I couldn't handle how sad it made him. But I definitely should have followed the advice because throughout his 13th month I watched him seemingly grow more attached to it every day. In fact, he started finding it after he woke up and sticking it back in, which he had never done before! I tried cutting the tip off, like some had told me, but he was not going to fall for that trick!
So, at the end of 13 months, I knew it had to be done. Brace for it. Be strong. It's for his good!! [Mental picture - 3 yr.old with pacifier!]
Put him to bed without it, and yes, sad, sad tears for probably 30 minutes. Ugh. But he did go to sleep. The next nap, just a few minutes of fussing, next nap, right to sleep. WHEW. So, one night of 30 minutes of crying (which to a momma feels like f.o.r.e.v.e.r), but then we were done. Oh Happy Day!
I don't love the cry it out method. Thankfully, Graham has only had to do it a couple of times in his life. But I have learned, that when you know you are doing the absolute best for your baby, that is good and right and ok to do. Doesn't God do that with us? Allow us to go through hardships sometimes so we can enjoy the greater pleasures on the other side?

So, Mr Bink, it's been a good run. I couldn't have done it without you. You soothed our fussing baby many times. You kept meltdowns in check. You allowed for several peaceful airplane trips. And road trips. You helped us sleep-train to the 12-hour sleep at 14 weeks. You soothed our buddy right to sleep every time without crying. Thanks for all that. We can only hope that all our of children will love you as much as we do. :)

PICKY? Say it ain't so!

Graham has become slightly choosy in the food category of late. It can't be! I don't know if I can deal with a picky eater. So tell me, how do kids become picky? They start on vegetables. Those are the first foods they are introduced to. How can they suddenly not like them? One thing I've noticed for Graham is texture. He absolutely won't touch a piece of broccoli, cooked or raw! And green veggies in general he seems to be slightly leery of. He has always loved green beans, and suddenly, not so much. He will still eat peas, but again, for the texture, I just think he likes anything in the shape of a ball. :) He has always had a strong aversion to eggs, weird, right? He really can't stand them - hard-boiled, scrambled, omelet... One success: for some reason he liked my recent zucchini & tomato frittata. That was shocking. But....it was good! :) He has also decided to steer clear of kidney beans as well. I will give him a mouthful of food with a bean mixed in (even mashed!) and he will pull out the food, take out the bean and put the rest back in his mouth. Ingenius, really! He WILL eat any fruit, any time, any where. Taking him thru the produce section at the grocery store almost causes him to hyperventilate. :) So far it's not too big of a deal. He still eats most things without a problem. We're just having to get kind of creative on how we sneak in the big-bad veggies  (since it's not really an option for him not to eat them)- zucchini & squash in his lasagna, peas & corn mixed in to his taco, lettuce & tomatoes in his chicken salad wrap (he loves anything in a tortilla!) or when desperation calls, even dipping a bite of a pasta dish in a dab of yogurt! The only problem is that I have to feed him these dishes. If we give him his own dish, he very seriously picks thru all the food and only pulls out the bits he wants. Hmmmm, I suppose he will only let me feed him for so long! A friend is passing along Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, I'm very interested to look at that! So...I am just wondering, does every kid go through choosy-stage? Do you have any tricks-of-the-trade?!

"Playpen in a Purse"

When we were expecting little G, we had taken a parenting class offered at our church.
Led by Randy & Lynne Hilton (parents of 8), they knew a thing or two about parenting!
One of the tips Lynne told us about was the "playpen in a purse" concept. Which, simply put, is training your child to stay on a blanket when necessary.
I thought it sounded like such a great idea, however, as time went on, we didn't really have a huge need for it to be put into practice. Well, until now! We recently went to dinner at a friend's house and since G finished eating before the rest of us, he took off like a little tornado. A little hard to enjoy chat & dinner with our hosts! SO, we decided, it was time!
Andrew actually did it with him for about 10 minutes one night, and of great shock to us - he understood immediately! He wasn't crazy-happy about it, but he understood! So the next day I decided to try it while I was working on the computer, since it's in a very non-kid-proof area. I put him on the blanket with his toys and immediately, sad, sad tears!! But the funny thing is, he realized he had to stay there and didn't even try to "escape". So after a few minutes of sadness, he got busy playing with his toys. And stayed content for about 10 minutes or so. amazing!
It came in handy again this week with our little projects going on!
Sometimes he'll look up at me and clap 2x (his please), and if I shake my head no, then he goes back to playing. Somewhat cute!!
So, it hasn't been tested out of our home, but we're certainly hoping it will make the difference between sitting & enjoying a meal vs. chasing after a very busy little guy!

Anybody have any other tips on training during this stage?

My one year as MOM.........

Let me start by saying I LOVE BEING A MOM!! It is something I have dreamed of since I was a little girl. And guess what? It's been even better than I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams. I LOVE IT. No doubt about it!!
That being said, 4 years of college, 6 years of teaching, 4.5 years of marriage..........nothing compares to the learning curve I experienced this year! Navigating the first year of motherhood was by far the most challenging thing I have experienced! whew. getting to the one year mark was kind of like getting a breath of fresh air. Everything seems so much easier now! NOT that I
have mastered motherhood or that there aren't PLENTY of challenges to navigate in the next, oh, 20+ years, but for me, I feel like I can at least peek at them after making it thru year #1.

Here is my run-down of year #1...................

I've learned that I can:
survive childbirth, still function after 4 hours of sleep (for a limited time), type one-handed, cook with someone wrapped around my leg, *count anything as exercise*, lug around 27 lbs quite easily, have more fun than I thought possible staying home, ask my hubby to takeover when needed, accept a favor when offered, be never too busy to stop and play, be heartbroken over an abused or neglected child in a whole new way, multi-task more than I thought possible, work a 12-hour work day [every day], and love my job more than I ever dreamed!

Best advice I was given:

1} the many friends who introduced me to Babywise. I wish I could shout from the rooftops how wonderful it is to have a baby on a schedule!! This has single-handedly been the best. resource. ever. in navigating the first year. Graham has such a good disposition and while I would LIKE to say he just takes after his mother :), I know the secret (he is on a beautiful schedule and THRIVES on his routine). But to the many who have said, "I tried that and it didn't work...." let me share a secret: sometimes you have to work really, really, really, hard. Some friends told me their babies "fell into a easy routine", Graham decided that wasn't the way for him. He prefered to go about it the hard way. So we had to work really, really, really, hard. So, while it may have been nice the other way, I am thankful. Because I can tell other moms who might struggle with this. I've been there. You can do it!

2} "parenting is not a competitive sport". (Parenting Mag) I love this! Everywhere I go, I can find moms that are more creative than me, smarter than me, thriftier than me, the list could go on....and on.... I must stay focused on doing what is best for me & my family and not worry about those "jones'!"

3} What you want your children to do in public, you must train them to do in private. (the Hiltons & Ormistons) My best example so far is that I have places in my house that Graham is not allowed to touch/get into. While it would be easiest to kid-proof everything, I want to train him at home that there are things that are off-limits sometimes, and I am hoping as he gets older, that will sink in. :) We will also try to apply as he gets older to training him at home to sit through worship times, or grocery trips, sharing, etc....

Favorite moments:

1} of course, seeing his face for the first time! I can remember it like it was yesterday!

2} first smiles

3}GETTING TO THE 12-HOUR SLEEP!!! (happened at 15 weeks for us)

4} seeing him express joy in something

5}goofy expressions

6} when he started voluntarily snuggling

7}belly laughs [the best baby thing ever!!]

8} seeing him giggle & giggle with his daddy

9} doing family activities. I love hanging out and going to do things with the 3 of us!

Biggest Stressers:
no schedule at 2 weeks, or 4 weeks.....5 weeks we had a glimmer of hope and it finally came together! He had cried a LOT of the time those first few weeks, as soon as we were able to hit a solid schedule, he stopped crying. It was wonderful. :) Another thing I learned about the schedule is that it fluctuates a LOT throughout that first year! Every 1-2 months you might be adapting a different routine, but the concept stays the same, so as long as you stick to it, it's not too bad!

Food! For some reason, food has been the single. most. stressing. thing. of our year.
It was not my plan to stop nursing at 6 months, no way.... I was settled in for the year! But God had a different plan in mind and I had to come to accept that doing the best thing for my baby meant that he was getting adequate nutrition. And whether that was from me or from formula, it was okay. He was still a happy, healthy child and.........well, it was OKAY!
I also had a lot of stress as he began to eat solids on how much to give him, if he was getting enough, or too much........well, obviously he has never been under-nourished at any point of his life. :)

The thing I miss from pre-motherhood:

Running. yes, probably sounds weird, but I really do miss it. And yes, I do have a jogging stroller. have you tried to run pushing a 10 lb. stroller? with a 20+lb. baby in it? yeah, that's why I no longer run.

craziest thing to navigate:
lack of communication. most of the first year you are left to guess what the issue is! As a first-time mom, it sometimes would take a couple of DAYS to figure out OH, he's....teething or growing or needs an extra feeding or whatever it may be. It gets SO much easier as they start to be able to communicate their needs!

Moment of truth: I used to think people who used baby sign language were just showing off. yeah, gasp. Getting to the moment where Graham learned a few signs and was actually COMMUNICATING in a tangible way. Well, let's just say, I am now a believer.

Most unexpected:
cloth diapers no longer terrify me. In fact, I love them!

pre-child - I could sleep thru a hurricane and Andrew would wake at the sound of one raindrop. Now, he can sleep thru G crying out! And I pop awake up at the slightest little peep.

Biggest adjustment:

viewing my work at home as my "job". Since we both worked the first 4 years of our marriage, we got pretty used to sharing the tasks and workload at home. This year, I had to re-adjust my thinking to viewing our whole home as my primary responsibility. Not that Andrew doesn't help out, but it did take a while for me refocus my thinking on doing whatever I could to free him from "his chores".
Funniest daddy moment:

You know how it takes 20 minutes (at least) to get everything together to actually leave the house? One day, Andrew announced he was going to Home Depot. I said, "take Graham with you". He slung him over his shoulder, and out the door they went. I was a little in shock. He didn't have a diaper bag. a spit-cloth. a passy. a toy. shoes. the other 101 essentials. gasp, gasp, gasp. Well, guess what? They came home just fine and had the BEST time! Gotta love it daddy-style. :)

[my advice to] Take time for:

Reading God's word. It can be VERY difficult to be consistent (and give yourself lots of grace!), but this is the one thing that will bring complete peace to your soul. (I didn't say your DAY, but your soul) :)

Time alone with my hubby (and after 7pm when they're in bed, don't always count!). Even though I still find it hard to leave Graham and miss him when we leave him, it's still important to make those times away. This is not only good for you as a couple, but I think it's a good learning experience for baby too.

Take some mom time each week. It's usually not a massage or anything fancy (I wish!), in fact, it's usually grocery shopping or other errands, but one of the best things that Andrew does each week is give me an hour or two out of the house by myself. I highly recommend this to all moms as I find it very refreshing.

Favorite routines:

Andrew & I checking on our sweet baby sleeping each night before we go to bed.

Bringing him in our bed on weekend mornings for a little family snuggling.

To new moms, I would suggest:

Prov. 3:5 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Ask lots of questions & advice!

No matter what you do, your baby will survive and everything will be ok. :)

____________________________________

Thanks to anyone who managed through this long [pictureless] post! It's mostly for my sake, so I don't forget "the good ole' days"!

Thanks to all those who took my phone calls and emails. (I am sure there will be more in the future!)

____________________________________

And so ends the first year. Now on to navigating year #2!!!!!!

The "real" parenting begins!

So, I've barely been on the computer this past week. Multiple reasons...however the main one is probably this: we are now the parents of a crawler! It's so fun, I love to see him learn new things! He is SO excited to explore things all around the house. You see this little look of determination when he sees something that he MUST check out...and then you see a face a sheer joy as he gets to shake/rattle/pound, whatever he has found! So I am working on baby-proofing what I need to and figuring out what is going to stay and teaching him "the big N word"! For the most part I am happy to let him explore. He is not being naughty, just learning about a whole new world that has opened up to him!

But while I happy to let him search out new things, it is also VERY difficult to get anything done. I am doing a lot of rescuing! Such as when he gets parked into a corner and isn't sure how to get back out! Or reaching that toy he wanted ended up in a nose-dive!

Or, help! I'm stuck under the chair!

It's an interesting stage...

The first few months of life they have 3 needs - eat, sleep, and hygiene (diapers, baths, etc...) And these needs are continually & constantly met and they have no other thoughts about anything else! Well, now, he is learning that there is a lot of things going on around him and he is going to find out what this world is all about! For the first time in his life, he sees something he wants and mom may not let him have that. GASP. What? I have never been denied before!! So, he is starting the process of learning the no's & yes's of life. (and he's doing pretty good so far!)

And look what now may greet us after naptime! He's not always interested in naps when he can sit up and even STAND up in his crib!

This past week instead of sleeping 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the afternoon, he's been going an hour or less. AGHHH. I'm not sure what to do about this. Because the worst thing is that he then needs another nap between 4 & 5. And we were so past the 3 naps a day! We haven't faced a napping issue since he was about 4 months old. Anyone else have this problem around 9 months?

He sure is excited to see us after naptimes though. I just love the giant smiles and squeals we get for "rescuing" him from the crib. :)

Love each new stage. We learn as much as he does. :)

It's such a joy.