January 2014

2014.  Here's to the start of another year for us as a family.

Charlie and I just celebrated ten years of marriage - it's crazy how fast this decade has gone by!  We feel very blessed in so many ways, and are really looking forward to what the next season will bring.  We're still deciding how we should celebrate this milestone - somehow the Pizza Hut deep dish and Netflix movie that we enjoyed on the day itself doesn't seem to do it justice!

The big item on the "to do" list for January was going to be sleep training with Abby and Bruce.  We feel good about where we're at, but not too successful!

Abby is doing fairly well with putting herself to sleep and back to sleep at night.  When we went through this with Bruce at this age, he would scream and scream and scream and it was so hard to believe that letting him cry himself to sleep was "good" for him.  Abby mostly just fusses for a few minutes, and then drifts back to sleep - it's been so nice!  However, she's still waking up several times at night and only taking 20-30 minute naps during the day.  And she's transitioning from 4 to 3 naps and that's been a little rough going.  She's tired at the end of the day, but won't settle down for another nap before bedtime.  So I would say that the sleep situation is still less than ideal with her, but for the most part she has a wonderful disposition during the day so I'm trying not to stress out too much about it.

Bruce.  That quirky little monkey.  We had every intention of having him start to sleep in his toddler bed beginning this month, and we gave it a good go - but failed.  When Bruce moved out of the nursery last Fall, we didn't want to deal with the challenge of keeping him in his bed right when the new baby was coming, so we opted for letting him sleep in the pack-n-play in his new room.  Four months later, he still showed no interest in sleeping in a real bed, and actually seemed to enjoy the pack-n-play.  I was getting tired of setting it up every day though, so we made the switch.  At first, he did really well at night and wouldn't get of bed, but then he started waking up and wandering at 2 or 4 o'clock in the morning when Abby was crying and it was impossible to get him to believe us that it wasn't time to get up yet!  Naps were always a challenge - bribes and rewards worked for a day or so, but quickly lost their appeal.  I'd put Abby down for her nap, and then attempt to get Bruce to take his nap.  Unfortunately, I would have to put him back in bed over 50 times (not an exaggeration - I counted!) and by then Abby would be awake again.  Since I couldn't keep putting him back in bed and nurse Abby, and since we didn't want to resort to punishments for getting out of bed (we really don't want him to think his naps are a punishment!) I would have to put him back in the pack-n-play.  And on top of that, now of all times, he has started having issues with imaginary fears - like wind-up chattering teeth and monsters coming to "get him" while he sleeps...  So, after a week of all of that, we decided now is not the time to make him switch to the toddler bed!  I don't know when we'll try again, but it will definitely be after Abby starts sleeping better!  Hopefully that'll happen before Bruce gets too big for the pack-n-play!

Other developments for Abby?  She is working so hard with her hands now!  Most of her reaching and grasping of toys still seems almost accidental, but she's getting there.

She will still sit in her bouncy seat fairly content, but now she has to have a toy in her hands.  Bruce is really great at choosing toys for her, and switching them out so she doesn't get bored.  "Probably she doesn't need that elephant" is a phrase we hear a lot when I give her the wrong toy...

She's not showing any signs of rolling over on her own yet, but thinks it's really fun when I swivel her hips and flip her over.  Maybe by next month.  

We have her 4 month check up on Monday and we'll discuss starting baby food then - exciting stuff, I know.  I asked Bruce the other day if Abby's first food should be a fruit or vegetable - he said vegetable.  "Nice" brother, right?  When I asked if she should have peas or green beans, he said jelly beans.  Really nice brother, I guess.

Since Abby isn't needing as much constant attention from me now, Bruce and I have been able to do a lot more playing together and less television watching.  Hurrah!

We're still mostly homebound with Abby, so to help keep things fresh and not so mundane, I've started using the storybooks we read to come up with activities to do together.  I've started a new blog to keep track of all we've been up to - check it out if you're interested!  www.playingwithstorybooks.blogspot.com.  For a taste of what I mean - after reading Michael Rosen's We're Going on a Bear Hunt, we went to a nature trail in Norman and took Bruce and Abby on a bear hunt.  Completely coincidentally, we actually came across many of the elements from the book including long, wavy grass, a deep, cold river (well, lake) and a big, dark forest.  Bruce had fun telling all the other park-goers that we were on a bear hunt, but he was okay with the fact that we never found a cave.  And I'm incredibly thankful we didn't have to walk through a snowstorm like the family in the book!  It was a great way to spend such a surprisingly warm winter afternoon, and Charlie was even able to leave work early to join us!

Charlie had a couple of business trips this month to San Antonio and Arizona, but we're starting to get the hang of how to manage while he's away.  With the exception of the hour immediately preceding Bruce and Abby's bedtime, things really aren't too bad.  Life is always better when Charlie's around though.  We sure like that guy.

meeting Johnny Lee  

Last weekend I had an all-day meeting for church planning on Saturday, so Charlie took Bruce up to Perkins for the weekend.  They had a great day fixing the pump at the water well, and that night they went to see Byron Berline and his band play at a small local venue.  I think Bruce might have stolen the show though - here's a quick video link.    

Like the rest of the country it seems, we've had some crazy weather this month.  For the most part it's been cold and colder, but we've encountered a few sunny days here and there and have enjoyed them like champions.

And when it's too cold to play outside, there's always music to keep us entertained inside!

Bruce likes when we pretend the guitar
is an upright bass

Bruce playing along with Clarence Clemons

As the past few months have pressed on, Charlie and I have found ourselves confessing to more than one person the revelation we've come to - we're not "baby people," but that's okay!  That doesn't mean we don't love our kids, or that we're not happy - not true!  We just aren't the type who go ga-ga over tiny tushes or get our kicks making googley eyes at babes for hours on end.  In an effort to enjoy and appreciate this season a little more though, I've started making a mental list of the things I'll miss once our babies aren't babies anymore.  So far the list is pretty short, but I'll add to it as I think of more - here's what I've got so far:

Expressive eyes.  Babies have the best expressive eyes!  It's impossible to know what they're thinking, but you can only imagine.  I get great giggles watching them take in the world through those amazing peepers of theirs.

Sleeping in your arms.  I don't have a picture of Abby sleeping in my arms because it's a rare occurrence and I wouldn't want to risk waking her up, but I love holding a sleeping baby.  I don't think there's anything more peaceful than holding a baby while they sleep.  It's a guilt-free time to just relax and enjoy the only time either of my babies would actually snuggle with me.  

Effortless smiles.  I love how easy it is to elicit a smile from a baby.  And I don't mean just a smirk, or a gratuitous grin.  I mean an "I can hardly contain myself" smile that makes their eyes squint shut and their whole body wiggle around.  I love how easy it is to get a smile like that from a baby.  When do we stop smiling like that?     

The thing I'm going to miss most of all though is being her favorite, and the only one who really matters.  For the rest of her life Abby will be giving pieces of her heart away to others she chooses to love.  But for now, for this short moment in time, I get to be her favorite.  And I unashamedly love that.  

I have so much to be thankful for!  As we enter February, I thought we'd do a little activity as a family focusing on how "A Thankful Heart Prepares the Way."  I made a banner with that phrase on it, and we'll take a letter each day and write down something we're thankful for.  It's cliche I know, but grateful hearts are something we're really trying to foster, so it's worth being a little cheesy!  Feel free to join us!