Holiday Traditions

I know it's not December yet, and I am supposed to RESPECT THE TURKEY, and all that, but something started me thinking about what I want to incorporate into our family traditions for Christmas.

Of course we will try our hardest to go to a Christmas Eve church service. I also want to buy E "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and begin reading that every year. That can be her one gift to open on Christmas Eve this year! And I can't believe it has been playing on TV already, but I LOVE "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and want to make sure we watch that. Although maybe not until Christmas day.

The Grinch may not make an appearance this year though, because I am trying to wait for at least a year, maybe longer, before E is consciously plopped in front of the TV for her entertainment. Now, she has definitely watched the TV- whether by just being with us while we have the TV on or when she was younger to get her attention enough to stop her crying, but I am not ready to include it in her life as a go-to activity at this point.

Also, something that we had a lot growing up- since it is one of my Dad's favorites- is Swedish tea ring , for Christmas morning. Luckily, my mom will be around this year, so I won't have to start making that just yet :)

And I think a really important thing to realize is that we are a complete family- there are others that we love and want to see or miss- but all we really NEED to do is be together and enjoy the day. This is especially true while E is young and still caught up in the magic of Christmas. As I have already seen and my co-workers keep telling me- she will be grown in no time and I want to be able to squeeze every bit of joy out of this time as possible.

OK- now I promise to think about Thanksgiving for the rest of the day....

First birthday as "Mommy"

When we got up this morning and I told Michael that E didn't wake up during the night last night- he told me that was my present. Not a bad one as presents go I would say! Maybe she will think I deserve a whole week of celebration for my birthday- that would be nice.

Michael worked today, so us ladies hung out. I felt like the whole day was a process of putting down for naps and trying to fit in enough quiet housework before E woke up. I rocked her to sleep 3 times before it was even noon! Needless to say, I didn't get a lot done. We did go shopping though. There is a children's consignment store across the street, so I went in search of a few new toys. E got a toy telephone just like the one she likes to play with (chew on) at daycare, and some fabric block with nesting toys. Also, she found a couple of warm hats for the cold weather- she will be especially needing them when we visit NY for Christmas- brrrrr!

#2 on its way

E's second bottom tooth is coming in!

Only Mommy will do!

Sometimes this can be a frustrating thing, but it is hard for your heart not to melt when a screaming baby immediately rests her little head against your chest and relaxes into peace as soon as she in your arms. The bad thing is that Daddy has pretty much given up trying to help put E back to sleep, so Mommy is still going to bed about 8:30 pm because she knows she will be getting up numerous times during the night. For the most part she doesn't get fed during the night, but she must be having teething issues, because sleeping through the night has been occuring very rarely for the last couple of months.

Fortunately, during the day, E still seems happy just to be with anybody who will give her attention. She is getting a little closer to the stranger identification and separation anxiety age, but hopefully since she has been in daycare for the past 4 months it won't affect her too badly.

Developmental Update

Just wanted to say that for the last couple of days E has been getting up onto her hands and knees by herself (as opposed to us putting her down on the floor that way) and rocking back and forth! It won't be long now before she is off to "real" crawling.

It is her daddy's job today to make sure the floor in the living room and the stairs are clean- and then we will need to move the shoe rack up to the top of the stairs b/c she definitely loves to get into those! I wish I could put up a gate in front of the area around the door to keep her away from all the leaves and dirt that are brought in. The wall there is kind of angled so I will have to do some searching online to see if there is something that will work. I will have to wait until the weekend to clean up and finish baby proofing her nursery since she basically crashes for the night as soon as we get home from daycare.

I'll keep everyone updated on the crawling adventure!

So are we cosleeping or not?

For the past week or so, and off and on for the past 6 weeks, E has been sleeping in the bed with her mommy- and sometimes her daddy, but that isn't as comfortable. She will go to sleep in the evening without a problem and sleep in her crib for a few to several hours. But then... she wakes up and will not tolerate being put back in her crib. No matter how asleep I think I have gotten her, as soon as she hits the mattress it's like a little electric shock has gone through her!
And then there was last night...she only woke once and was content to be placed back in her crib- YIPEEEE!

It's not that I mind co-sleeping so much. There are definitely pros and cons. Firstly, she gets some great sleep when she comes to the bed and it really does make me happy to have her there with me, even though I often don't sleep as comfortably myself. My main concerns are the fact that I don't want it to become an unbreakable habit should we enter a situation where mommy can't or doesn't want to co-sleep anymore. And also, I can't really get up during the night to go to the bathroom or wake up early to get ready in the morning. Not only would I be concerned for her safety when I wasn't there, but she needs the opportunity to sleep longer in the morning without being woken up at the same time I am.

So now I am wondering- was she just being really "needy" recently since she has obviously been teething, or was last night just a fluke. I guess only time will tell. All I know is a person could go crazy trying to figure a baby out.

"WE'VE GOT ONE!!!!"

A tooth that is :) I need a firehouse bell to ring a la The Ghost Busters.

I found the little sucker last night. One of E's daycare providers and I had been talking about her teething- we both really thought she had been lately- so I decided to stick my pinkie in her mouth when we got home. There it was- the sharp little edge to her first tooth (it's on the bottom right)

So bittersweet- I just loooove her big toothless smiles but I am so happy that she is growing up and we are able to witness it. It's truly amazing.

I am sure the next tooth isn't far behind- I'll definitely be on the look-out!

BOO!

You are surprised right?!? That I am posting I mean....

My work computer has been on the fritz, so no updating on lunch breaks, and we have been busy busy at night. In fact, E went 4 days without a bath b.c we were so busy in the evenings and she would get too sleepy before getting to bathtime. Do worry though, she was a clean girl for the big Halloween festivities at daycare.

I thought I might be updating with some fun Halloween stories, but E decided that when she got home from daycare, that it was bedtime! I thought I was just putting her down for a nap, but apparently she had other ideas. So I will just have to share some pictures from the daycare, where she dressed up for their costume parade! All the little babies and kids were so cute. It was adorable b/c in the infant room there was two of everything: 2 lady bugs (that was E's costume) 2 lions and 2 peas in pod.

Alright, must go! E has been sitting with me while I type this and she is getting very "grabby"!jhhh hy,p n (that was her saying "goodbye!"