Naptime

When Emily was about four months old we could put her in her crib awake. She would sweetly smile, turn her head and go to sleep. We were thrilled.

That lasted about 2 weeks.

Now she can be completely asleep -- it doesn't matter for how long--and she will sense when we move anywhere in the near vicinity of the crib. Screams. Move away--peaceful angel.  Make the same movement toward anything else. Silence. Move toward the crib. Shrieks. Move away. Sigh of contentment. (How do they know?)

So when she falls asleep in her high chair, I take a picture. To be used as blackmail  a reminder of her adorableness later.

She does take naps in other places too, her favorite being anyone's willing arms... Failing that, she'll sleep in her bouncy chair.

Lucky for us, she sleeps through the night and has for several months, barring an odd night here or there. But a few weeks ago, for about a week, she was ready to party all night after sleeping for 5 minutes. We finally got out the carrier. Some pictures are worth a thousand words.

Wordless Wednesday -- Baby Blogger

Baby Blogger

Hold on a sec, I gotta get this down.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's a cold day and the ground outside is covered in snow. The perfect day to stay inside and snuggle with my sweetie. Here are two books we have enjoyed to day to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Baby, I Love You by Karma Wilson; Illustrated by Sam Williams. The refrain "Oh my baby, I love you!" make snuggles and hugs irresistible. The adorable babies in it are hugging a little dog. (so cute.) The "baby" is both the baby being read to and the dog baby being loved.

Emily's Aunt J gave her Clifford, We Love You! by Norman Bridwell for Valentine's Day. Emily's eyes got really big when she saw it and sat mesmerized as I read it to her. Then she read it to herself for a long time after, turning the pages. No matter that it was often upside down at the time! This one is extra special because the little girl who "loved that pup...loved him so that he grew up" is named Emily. This is one for my Emily to "grow" with.

Do you have a Favorite Valentine book to share?

Project 52 Update

I have to say this project 52 has been very motivating! And it's been a great way to get organized and prioritize things. I've already started a P52 for 2013! The liberating thing is, instead of an even longer (and demoralizing) list of things to do, I can give my self permission to not do those things this year. It can be on the list for next year. Nice.

So here's my update.

4. Get a manicure DONE!

Went on a girls-day-out! Brunch, manicure, coffee shop, girl talk! So much fun!

7. Gather 25 books for Advent Calendar 7/25 gathered

8. Complete 12 monthly fitness goals 1/12 done!

Nothing very exciting or earth shattering, but I completed the first challenge.

9. Complete 12 monthly health and wellness challenges 1/12 done!

The Great Sugar Fast was (mostly) a success. I only cheated a couple of times toward the end of the month but I savored the sugar when I cheated. And that was the point after all. I have no intention of giving up sugar forever, but wanted to get rid of the crazy cravings and bad habits. More work needed on that front but by and large I did what I set out to do.

February's challenge is to have at least 5 servings of fruit or vegetables a day. After I have a least 5, I can have a small bit of sugar. So far this is working!
 

10. Read 36 adult/YA books 4/36 read! 

11. Re-read Voyager so that I can read Scottish Prisoner DONE!

So good to revisit and old friend and discover a new one! Now I have to wait until 2013 for the next installment. Sigh. But that will give me time to re-read the books that lead up to next one. 

14. Overhaul closet DONE! 

15. Dance at least 6 times 2/6 

16. Write 100 Blog posts 4/100

Ugh, I have to get going on this! I've been spending lots of time doing all the other P52 things that I've neglected the blog. Ironic. It hasn't helped that our internet has been on the fritz for a while. And yes, that's the excuse I am going with.

20. Read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover & discuss with husband DONE!

So, we haven't completed the TMM, but that wasn't the goal. It's going to be a good tool to get going on the priorities we have for this year. For those of you who are familiar with Ramsey's steps, we are starting with step #4. We don't have any debt except our mortgage payment, but going from two incomes to one has been an adjustment. So we have some work to do in the areas of budget and financial planning.

26. Find new dentist DONE!
 

27. Organize pantry DONE!

30. Continue weekly date nights 7/52
These have included dancing, Caribou Coffee, dinner out, and the Alpha Marriage Course (which I highly recommend. Email me if you are interested in hearing more).

31. Birthday letter to Emily DONE!
 

33. 1^st Birthday party for Emily DONE!

(Will blog on this later.)
 

34. Get a professional massage DONE!

Had a great Mom's Night Out and got a massage. Ahhh...

36. Curtains for Living Room DONE!

43. Use chocolate fountain! DONE!
Well, sorta. Brace yourself for the tale of woe...I bought a chocolate fountain at Goodwill for $5 (such a deal!) but never tried it out because it takes a bit to use one properly. So for Emily's birthday party, I got the chocolate and all the fixings. Strawberries, pound cake, peanut butter pretzels....is your mouth watering yet? Time comes for the party and I think I've tested the motor properly to see that it does in fact work, but mommy brain must have kicked in because while the motor made a noise it didn't actually turn the mechanism. This was extremely obvious once I had the melted chocolate in the fountain. Anyway, we had chocolate fondue in the crockpot instead of the fountain. :-( Still tasted yummy... Oh, well.

47. Fix Bathroom Wall paper DONE!
Here's another, "sorta". I did in fact fix the wallpaper, but now it's back to looking not so great. It really needs to be removed but that won't happen this year. So I am counting this as done even though I'll probably need to do it again. If I can figure out a better and still easy way to do it.


So, 12 done in 6 weeks! Woo hoo!

There will be some weeks I won't get any done, and since some goals are monthly, I can't finish them 'til the end. It feels great to have gotten a strong start on these things. 


Anyone else want to share their success of a P52, a goal or a resolution?

Simon Says

The other day Emily was eating dinner and as usual was telling me about her day or what she thought about her dinner or some philosophical idea she had. I really have no idea what she was saying because I have not yet learned the complex language of toddlers. But she really had a lot to say. Then she started playing with sounds. To the uninitiated, all her babbling might sound like nonsense. But there is a difference, sometimes subtle, between communication and sheer joy at making noise. Sometimes when she is playing this game, I play along and try to imitate the noise she is making. This often makes her laugh.

This particular day, after imitating her a couple of times, I made a different noise. She paused and echoed it back. It's so cute when she does this, but usually she it doesn't last long until she's on to something else. But this day was different. Each time I made a different noise, she paused and did her best to mimic me. Then I shook my head, which is one of her new things, and she did it back. On to nodding and then the big challenge, clapping. Clapping is something she's only done a couple of times. But she was game and paused just a bit before clapping with a huge grin and giggle. She was so proud of herself for clapping she did this the rest of the night. It's now become her new favorite thing. It's especially funny when she she is in the middle of doing something else and tries to clap at the same time.

It's just such a sweet and cherished thing to have these moments together. All these little accomplishments and connections. So blessed... I am clapping with her every step of the way.

Furry Friends

Emily loves touch-and-feel books. I can remember a few months back when she really started to notice them. She would tentatively touch the book with one finger and find the spots that were different. She had this look of wonder and satisfaction on her face as she found each one. My favorite memory is when I found her reading this book.

Quack! Quack! has bold photographs of farm animals. Each animal has one spot that is furry or soft and they've done a great job making it look and feel like the animal. One day she was sitting with the book flat on the floor. As she turned each page, she leaned over and kissed the special spot. The duck's belly, kiss; the pig's nose, kiss; the dog's ear, kiss. Since the spot isn't in the same place on every page, she'd have to lean a bit one way or another to find the spot. It was so sweet to watch her give her little open-mouthed kiss to each animal! Sometimes when we read the book together, she still gives them kisses. I'd love to know what is going through her little mind!