Nap Time Woes

Just when I thought Grace was "really" sleeping through the night, we're back to skipping naps and waking up every two to three hours. Again. I'm thinking I should start journaling more and see if I can't track her sleeping schedule to something one of us is eating, but if anyone has any more ideas to try, we'd love to hear them!

She did take a lovely two hour nap this morning though, and it was awesome! I actually mopped the floor for the first time in months, including all the green beans and carrots and butternut squash that have been hiding out under her highchair.

Uncle Josh Comes to Visit

Caleb's Uncle Josh was up here this weekend for a work trip, and was able to drop by Friday evening for dinner. Grace and I hadn't met him before, and it'd been several years since Caleb had seen him, so we were really glad he'd saved some time for us in his trip. We had a great time just hanging out and chatting, and Aunt Bonnie - if you're reading this, I hope you're feeling better!

Seven Months and Counting...

It goes by so fast! Grace was 30 weeks last Saturday, and seven months on Monday. And we're now happily on the other side of a very fussy, but oh-so-productive "wonder week" period. For three weeks or so, I was really starting to wonder if I could do this mother-thing for another 18 years. Grace got sick, then I came down with something, and what with the sleep deprivation and all, it took much longer than normal to shake it off. And then Grace totally stopped napping for a week or two. (Was it really only a week? It seemed like ages!) We thought she had really bad acid reflux (and she does have some, but not as bad as we thought) that was waking her up, but once her second tooth broke through, things got much easier.

I never realized how much I need her naps! Last week I was too tired to cope well with an awake-yet-very-tired-baby, and Grace and I explored much of the Eastside as the only time I could get her to sleep was riding in her carseat. We'd load up in the morning, and I'd drive for a couple hours and let her get a good nap in. I found some pretty little parks I hadn't seen before, and when she was really out I'd stop and read for awhile. By the time we got back home we were both refreshed enough we could make it until Daddy was off work. Sometimes I really wonder how women manage with more than one child!

It's funny how quickly things change though; this week has been just delightful. Grace started sleeping again (at night, and occassionally napping!), and she's just been so sweet and happy and excited to learn and explore. Just yesterday she discovered she could clap her hands together, and she just looked so proud of herself! Last night we put her down in her crib, and she lay there awhile clapping her hands together, with this huge grin on her face. Sometimes she misses, and that's even cuter.

I've been reading how babies go through mental "growth spurts" where they're really needy and fussy and don't sleep for a few weeks while their minds are working on some new skill, and I totally believe it. And it really helps when in the middle of those times to remember it's just a phase and won't last forever. Indeed, someday I'll think they were all too short.

Life at 4am

For the third or forth night in a room, Caleb and I are up again at 4 in the morning. He's been wonderful at helping out with these night-time wakings - it's really hard calming a crying baby when you haven't quite gotten two hours of sleep yet.

Grace has really been struggling with acid reflux this week, and her naps are down to about 5 minutes at a time, unless she's in the carseat. So the last couple days, Grace and I've been sight-seeing the Eastside. We're all pretty exhausted though, so if you have any suggestions, we'd love to hear them!

-Laura

Far More Than Rubies

Laura is amazing. She's been coming down with a cold, Grace just got her first tooth, and work was really busy at the end of last week, so she hasn't been able to rest very much. I was able to stay home from work today and take care of Grace and let her rest. Even though she hasn't cooked for several days, we've been enjoying delicious meals thanks to the stores that she puts away when she's feeling better. We had enchiladas & rice last week, which gave us burritos this weekend, I've had homemade granola for breakfast every morning and sandwiches for lunch on homemade bread, and we ate tacos for supper tonight (spicy food is good for a cold). She brings food from afar and provides food for our household, and I don't have to worry about anything except for giving her rest and figuring out the defrost settings on the microwave. :)

That's not why I love her, but it is lovely. I love you, Laura!
- Caleb

Grace's Fifth Month

I can't believe how the time flies by! Grace is about 5 and a half months now, and it's been an amazing few weeks!

Around January 5th or 6th, she started rolling from her back to her tummy, and she's discovered she'd much prefer sleeping on her side or tummy than her back . After being inundated with "babies must be put to sleep on their backs or they'll succomb to SIDS" for so long, this was a little alarming at first. As soon as I'd put her down on her back, she'd roll right back over. But I figure Caleb and I both slept on our tummies as babes, and we seem to be ok, so we'll let her be. :-) Unfortunately, she hasn't quite got the hang of the tummy-to-back flip, so when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she'll cry until one of us rolls her back over. And she only rolls to her left side.

It's really cute though when she wakes up happy; some mornings when I peak in her room she'll be propped up on her elbows just looking around and talking to herself. And man, she loves to talk! Especially during church service.

Speaking of talking, she's officially babbling! Especially when she's mad, we get a string of "Mamamamamama!" I'd been thinking I heard a "mama" sound every once in awhile for a few weeks now, but early last week she really started going for it. And within a day or two, we were hearing some "Dadadadada"s too. Needless to say, we are two very proud parents.

She's just about mastered the art of sitting as well; she can hold herself up for a few minutes at a time, before she starts slowly tilting to the side. Sometimes she'll topple over backwards and look a bit startled for a second, but then she'll go right back to happily playing with whatever object her hands have found now. All this moving about has made diaper changing a bit more challenging, so we've started keeping a special "diaper changing" toy. And as long as she's got her little yellow duckie to suck on, she'll generally hold still long enough to at least get the diaper fastened.

And lastly, Grace tasted her first "solid" about a week ago. I'm not convinced rice cereal should count as a solid, as her first feeding was about the consistency of split pea soup, but it comes in a spoon which she finds quite thrilling. She is most determined she can feed herself, and getting the spoon to her mouth while dodging her hands and keeping it's full load would keep any fighter pilot on their toes.

All Clear!

I threw on clothes to check out our building. Our hallway was clear, but it smelled like smoke outside, so I checked upstairs. Don't worry -- I touched all of the door knobs before I tried to open them. There was smoke in the second floor, but nothing seemed urgent, so I came down, we got Grace up, and we went outside. By the time we got out, the firemen were lugging fans inside (instead of fire hoses), and the alarm had just switched off. The fireman said that it was just food on a stove, and it sounded like everyone was okay. Praise the Lord!

What did we grab on our way out the door? The laptop and back-up hard drive. Things are just things, but since we had two minutes... I think it's probably time for an online backup subscription.