Who knew she would LOVE a baby doll?

Christmas was fun this year. I had that feeling you get when you're a child and you wake up and realize Santa came and you can't stop smiling and you want to go run out and see what you got. A whole lot of Christmases have passed without that kind of excitement. It was even better to feel that way FOR a child rather than AS a child. Santa did not go nuts with gifts since we weren't sure what Day might or might not love. Her favorite gifts were from Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw: baby doll with bottle and stroller. She laughed when she opened the baby doll and has been feeding him a bottle every chance she gets. She even makes the sucking sound while she feeds him. It is so sweet! The stroller plays music, so she stands up, does a little dance and pushes her stroller. She has no idea she is walking. As soon as she figures out it is much faster than crawling and easier on the knees, we’re in trouble.









Day and I took a road trip for New Years, just us girls. It was a challenge to travel without any help, but we managed. And the trip was of course well worth it. Madge was trying to get Day to say GG (Great Grandmother) which is what her other “grands” call her. Well, we also have a dog named GG. This was not intentional. It just happened. Our dog GG started out as Girlfriend, but all of our animal names end up mutating into other names. So Madge would point to herself and say “GG”. Day would not respond the first few times, but I could tell she was processing. Finally, she looks at Madge and declares, “DOG!” Madge has another name. At least for now, she is Dog.



While we were there, Day had Chick-Fil-A, Krispy Kreme, and probably a sip of somebody’s Coke while I wasn’t looking. She was totally corrupted and did the food dance every time Cindy walked near her (Cindy was doing the corrupting).



A few minutes after we got to Cindy’s, Suzy blew in with her camera and a big flower headband for Day. Suzy is like Betty in that they have to literally contain/restrain themselves around Day so they don’t smother her with their love. We had to remind Suzy not to bite the baby out of sheer excitement. She took a few breaths before she approached, then took these photos.

I entered the last one in Regis and Kelly’s Beautiful Baby contest. I know. And Ken made me promise not to turn into a pageant mom like on Toddlers and Tiaras. Far from it. I just have a beautiful baby. What can I say?

The next picture means the world to me. Three beautiful daughters. Betty informed me on this trip that although Day looks a lot like me, that she is prettier than I was. And I agree. Apparently, that's how it works in our family. We just keep improving on ourselves. When we were posing these 3 together, David yelled out, "JUST WHAT WE NEED! MORE ESTROGEN UP IN THIS BUNCH!"

All of us were bathed in the kitchen sink as babies. I'm assuming other folks do this, too. It just makes sense for so many reasons. What I appreciate about this photo is the genuine happiness among the baby, the mess, and the liquor bottles. Says a lot about my family and I love it.

And this cracks me up because of the subject matter: baby doll, head down in some brown liquid in a pretend teapot amongst the dirty dishes while being shot at by Layton. But it also cracks me up because it really didn't get that much attention. It's just how we roll. We have passed these pictures around and nobody has said a word about this! And believe me, we say WORDS about EVERYTHING!

As if I have to remind you, Alabama won the National Championship. Here is Day in her houndstooth. She was fussing, about to melt down when she got interrupted by her routine (bouncy, bouncy, shaky, shaky, sideways). She is programmed to go through the steps regardless of what else is happening around her. This is her "sideways".

And one last tidbit...

We had our first visit to the ER this weekend. No, I’m not referring to the Elbow Room. That was another lifetime ago. If you know me well enough, you probably already know this story. If not, you may be better off not knowing. I’m pretty sure DHS is going to give us a call. All that matters is that Day is fine. Only Ken and I are traumatized. Also, first busted bloody lip this weekend (day after ER). I know it will happen again, but there is something very disturbing about the first time you see a bloody face on your baby. Not pleasant. Seriously, the events this weekend had me thinking about all the mothers who really have had to walk through such fear and anguish with their babies in the hospital. I only caught a fleeting glimpse, but it was powerful enough to give me a little perspective on your strength and bravery. You know who you are!

NEXT UP… Day’s First Birthday (February 16)

Could that much time really have gone by already?

Santa Claus

Baby Day was oh-so-serious about meeting Santa. Ken and I did all of our tricks to make her smile, laugh, or at least look relaxed. No. Very Serious Baby Day. But she didn't cry. In her defense, Santa was not very interactive. But, he kept that friendly smile plastered on the entire time. Speaking of plastered... maybe Santa had a little something stashed away in his boot.

Independent Woman

Apparently, I have been impeding my child's development. The pediatrician asked me last week if she was crawling to which I had to reply sheepishly, 'Well, she CAN. She just DOESN'T." That's because at the slightest whimper, I would run to pick her up. Yes, the one obstacle was ME! (Imagine that.) This week she has been sick, and we were home together for 5 LOOONG days. I think she finally got tired of me holding her, and she is now Ms. Independent Woman. Pulling up on everything and crawling (the REAL thing, not the army crawl) around like mad. She's even crawling AWAY from me to explore. She has finally realized that she is a whole separate person!

Pumpkin Patch

Day had fun at the pumpkin patch even though she looks a little concerned in some of these pictures. It was just all new to her. This place is a wonderland of pumpkins, gourds, squash, etc. Every variety you never knew existed.



She’s still not pulling up on anything, but we love to “pose” her standing up…



Baby Boo is one of her many nicknames. Yes, we do her like we do our animals. Lots of nicknames.



She wasn’t so sure about the corn.



This is a proud daddy.



Look how fat her cheeks are!

And another stand up pose. First we sat her against the “How Tall” wall, and then Ken had this idea. He is smart.

It was such a sunshiney beautiful day. I think that’s why I love this picture… muted colors in the shade. And a smiley girl.

We saw lots of people we knew that day, so we snagged someone to take this family photo.

To me this look says, “What is the heck is going on over THERE?”

Happy Tractor Baby

Momma-girl (another nickname)

Day and I went back to the pumpkin patch last week with Jason, Lucy, and Caston. In case you didn’t know, “tractor” is one of Caston’s favorite words. And favorite things.

Look how BIG he is…

This look on Caston’s face (and his posture) pretty much sums up the experience for him. He was generally annoyed by Day. He didn’t want her touching him or even getting too close.

Caston did not like the corn.

The problem with getting his picture against the “How Tall” wall was getting him to stand still.

Again… Caston is annoyed and Day is oblivious.

I love this! My baby brother and our babies. (Sorry, Jason. You ARE my baby brother.)

“She’s touching me again!”

And this is how it ended… Jason peeling Caston’s fingers off the tractor steering wheel.

Life is Kinda Normal

I feel like life might be returning to something close to normal. Like maybe I’m coming up for air. Regular sleep will do that for you. Day is growing fast and is developing a personality that I find so amusing and hilarious. She is a studier, not really a jump-on-in kinda gal. She’s also quick to let you know what is working for her and what is NOT working for her. AND she finds the greatest things funny. Like ME! I swear, she thinks I’m a comedian. And I’m really not that funny. Which to me, makes the whole interaction really funny.

She loves playing peekaboo and is still mesmerized by McWolly the cat. She likes the dogs ok, and GG is definitely her favorite, but when McWolly walks by, Day stares. She’ll crane her neck and turn around backwards to watch what the cat is doing. Which is usually nothing more than just sauntering by. Then she’ll look at me and SMILE like, “Did you see that incredible animal?”

We’ve gotten into a good routine these days. A 30 minute nap after school (for her, not me), a stroll to the park or just around the block, din-din, bath, then bedtime by 7:00 PM. I sometimes even have time to pay bills, fold clothes, etc. Mornings are not as smooth. Sometimes Ken and I have to decide who is going to be late for work. Mostly, it’s me. I am so impressed with people who can actually make it to work on time after getting themselves and a baby ready for the day without help from another adult. I’m pretty smart, but I have yet to figure that one out. And please don’t offer the obvious advice… Get up earlier. It’s irrelevant.

I make all of Day’s food. And not because I am Susie Homemaker. (That just made some of you laugh.) I do it because it is cheap and because it makes me proud. It’s the kind of cooking that I can handle… boil some water, blend it up, freeze. Last weekend we spent about $8 on fresh fruits and vegetables and made 3 weeks worth of food. It took me maybe 45 minutes total. Nice, huh? Pretty soon, we’ll start doing more finger foods and help her learn how to feed herself. The few times we’ve tried to encourage this, Day kinda gets icked out that there is food on her hand. And she has not made the connection to put it in her mouth. She just shoves it off the tray.

Bath time for Baby Day:

I guess kids just want to have what they see you with. This is probably why she reaches frantically for the remote, cell phone, beer bottles, and laptop. Here she is checking her Facebook in her UGG boots that FAB sent her before she was even born. And leg warmers with a skirt and camo onesie. Isn’t she the perfect combination of me and Ken?

I’ll admit it. Sometimes I get stuck in my thinking. Ken is so much more creative than I am. I have been strolling Day to the park for months now, but all we ever do is look around or maybe visit if we see somebody we know. Then one day, Ken sends me a picture of Day on the swing at the park! Incredible! I thought she was still too little for those! No, she is not. They are made for babies her age. And she loves them. Thanks Ken for reminding me that she is not 10 weeks old anymore.

This particular hand in mouth position is what I call her anchor. It happens when she is so excited or scared that she doesn’t know what to do with herself. In this case, excited.

Is this the cutest baby girl you have ever seen? Yes? Why, thank you.

I’m sure Day will not appreciate me sharing this, but she had an awful diaper rash last week. They called me from daycare to come get her. I told my friend Sarah that I guess I was just going to take her home, get her naked, and let her pee on everything so she could “air out”. Then, Sarah (who truly is a genius) says, “Why don’t you use puppy training pads?” I guess because I’d never thought of that! It worked perfectly. The cloth diaper is taped on - again thanks to Ken for his mad creative thinking skills.

This dress on this baby makes me smile.

I promise I’m not trying to rush things, but I just knew she would stand there if I propped her up and showed her how to hold on. She was so proud of herself. She hasn’t quite mastered pulling up by herself, but I have a feeling it won’t be long.

Operation Tough Love

I wanted to wait at least 4 days before I shared this news. Just in case it was a one time thing. Or a two time thing. But, because it is at the very least a four time thing, I feel confident in sharing...

BABY DAY IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!

And through the night means only getting up 2-3 times between 7 PM and 6/6:30 AM. This is miraculous. We had been averaging 10 times a night before we enacted Operation Tough Love. From 10 times down to 2 or 3 has changed my life. How have I functioned this long without sleep?

So, here’s how it went. Last Friday night was awful. Up every hour. Wiggling. Kicking me in the stomach and the boobs. Head butting me. At one point I just got out of her way and she stretched out in MY spot and was happy. At some other point she started her fussing business and I had already nursed her 135 times so I scooted her over to Ken and told him, “I am sick of nursing her. HELP ME!” So he was trying to soothe her and about 15 seconds later I grabbed her feet and pulled her back to me to nurse… yanking her FAST across the bed. She hushed (partly because she was startled by the scoot, mostly because she got what she wanted = NURSE), but I realized that I was MAD at her and that something had to change.

So, I staged my own intervention.

Some quick background info: Day has been sleeping in our room for 7 ½ months (her whole life). She started in her bassinet, then spent a couple of months in our bed. Then we moved her crib into our room. I spent another couple of months moving her from our bed to her crib every few hours, several times each night. Then over the last 4-5 weeks, she has been back in our bed full time. And just recently started waking up EVERY HOUR. I took it for as long as I could - maybe 3 weeks of that, then last Friday happened…

Ok, back to my intervention. Saturday morning I called Cindy and told her I needed advice. She said, “You don’t want to hear what I have to say.” I explained to her that, yes, not only did I want to hear it, but it was why I had called. I knew what she would say. She gave me a pep-talk, told me yes it would be hard, but MOVE that baby into her own room. She also told me that I was the biggest B*TCH she knew, so it was time for Operation Tough Love. That worked for me. No offense taken. Time to put the big girl panties on. After all, if I am honest with myself, I had her in my room more for MY comfort than hers.

And it actually has not been that tough. Obviously, we are all sleeping better. I did miss her pretty bad the first night, but one night of loneliness is NOTHING compared to months of sleeplessness. Now, when she gets up Ken or I go to her room and rock her (or I nurse her) back to sleep. It usually takes less than 5 minutes, then she’s back in the crib. Sound asleep. We’re living like normal people.

Philosophically, I believe co-sleeping is ideal. But if you will notice the root word there is sleep. That was not happening, so we were never really co-sleeping. We were co-laying in the bed and fighting. Nobody can say I didn’t give it everything I had. We tried.

Last night she went to bed at 7, got up briefly at 10:30, then not a peep until 5 AM. Even then, she went back down until 6:30. And yes, I did go check on her twice. At 4:00 had wiggled herself into the corner and was on her stomach with her butt in the air. HEAVEN! She could have never gotten into that position in our bed. So, I think she’s happier. I’m definitely happier. Ken gets a little less sleep, but happy momma makes him happier.

I’m sure that the next growth spurt, illness, or tooth will disturb our perfect pattern, but now I know that it CAN be better than it was. And I am stubborn enough that I needed to learn that lesson all on my own. It’s how I operate.

In other Big Girl news, Day is drinking her milk out of a sippy cup at daycare. She doesn’t look really thrilled about it in this picture, but Miss Jackie says she’s doing a great job.

And this was Monday… out enjoying the beautiful weather. She kept her leg propped up like that and her shades on the entire time. Hollywood.