Happy Halloween!

Our Fearless Firefighter


And Not-Yet-Bouncing Tigger

Come Birds!

The Giving Tree has a sad ending and a scary picture of the author on the back, but Noah doesn't seem concerned by either. He just loves that there's a boy in it who wears shoes, climbs a treat, and eats apples.

This morning, we were kicking a ball in our backyard when Noah decided he wanted to climb a tree like the boy in the book. Our neighbors recently planted several small (5-6') trees nearby, so he grabbed the branch of one and held on tight, "climbing" the tree. I "climbed" the Bartlett Pear next to him.

After about 15min of standing there, holding our trees, discussing how the Brachiosaurus eats leaves off trees, how trees fall when it gets cold, and how we don't want to help them fall by pulling them off Mr. Bill's trees, I noticed that my pear tree had tiny (dime-size) pears growing on it. I plucked one off to show Noah as an example of a seed. He asked if it was an apple and whether he could eat it. I said no, but that birds eat seeds...

"See birds?"
Mom: "I don't see any birds right now."
"See birds?"
(squinting into the sky, then holding up the seed, shouting)
"Birds come! Eat this, birds!"
(no birds appear)
"Come right there!"
(pointing to a spot on the ground)
"Here you go! Come Birds! Right now. Please! Eat seed!"

It was so precious. Him holding the tree with one hand, holding up the tiny pear with another, calling out to the birds to come eat "right now please."

Sometimes I really wish I could get inside his head. This morning, I didn't have to.

D. and A.

After 3-4 nights in the swing (to break the night-feeding cycle and give me a rest), I put Aaron back to bed in his crib 2 nights ago. He ate every 3-3.5 hours - better than before. Then last night, he went 6 hours!!! Mommy's doing a happy dance. She's also loving the fact that we're approaching the 12-week mark, and she can see his colicky-discomfort decreasing and his smiles increasing. Even more miraculous: Aaron is the only member of our family who has stayed healthy. Lots to smile about.

Sick Days

It's one of the dirty-little-secrets of being a stay-at-home mom: you don't get any sick days. A fever used to mean lying in bed, sleeping and watching TV. My biggest challenge was drinking as much Ginger Ale as I could. I even got to eat my favorite foods when I was recovering. Pop tarts. Fish stix. Pot pies. Illness was uncomfortable--even miserable sometimes--but it had its benefits.

Not anymore.

Which is why when I came down with the flu last Thurs, I couldn't help fantasizing for a few moments about lying in bed, resting, drinking, reading, nursing the little bug right out of my system...then I took 2 more Tylenol, popped a cough drop, and got back to work.

Thank God I love my job. I love my job. I love my job...

Tired

Aaron's sleep habits have regressed. Three weeks ago, he was regularly sleeping all night (10pm-8am) in his crib with a 5-7 hour stretch between feedings. Since then, he's begun eating every 2-3 hours at night and having difficult going back to sleep after 6am. The regression could be due to our upheaval (travel, company, and illness), a growth spurt, or the whimsy of an infant. Regardless, it's self-perpetuating. The more he eats at night, the less he eats during the day, the more he needs to eat at night. A vicious cycle that wears me out.

So as I see it, here are my options:

A. Put him to bed in the crib and keep feeding him when he wakes in hopes that staying home for a while will help him settle down and gradually lengthen the time between feedings again. (but what about the vicious cycle bit?)

B. Put him to bed in the crib and try just rocking him when he wakes in hopes that he'll go back to sleep without eating and eventually not wake up in the night. (wishful thinking? probably leading to A or C)

C. Put him to bed in the crib and let him cry it out at night in hopes that he'll learn to soothe himself back to sleep and eventually not wake in the night. (at 11wks is he too young for this?)

D. Put him to bed in the swing where he sleeps 7-8 hours and just wean him off the swing later, once his nighttime is well established. (attractive, but develops a dependence on the swing...)

And this is just nighttime! I'm still confused about his daytime sleep. The books make "eat-awake-sleep" every 3 hours sound so easy. But what do you do when they wake after 30minutes and want to eat again but it's only been 2 hours? And if he falls asleep right after eating but it's during Noah's naptime, I'm loathe to wake him because it may be my only chance to sleep. And then there's the fact that he's been fussy after eating so it's easier to let him sleep then - though this seems to be improving.

Overall, Aaron is more awake, alert, interactive, and happy than ever. I'm amazed at how well he's tracking us, how he lights up with eye contact, how much he's "talking," and how well he's eating. I really am in love with the little guy.

I'm also tired. And confused. Which makes it even harder to get rest. If you think of it, please pray that we'll have wisdom as we train Aaron to sleep. And let me know if you have any tips on A, B, C, or D.

Fall Snapshots

The last few weeks have been such a blur of family, friends, travel, and late-night feedings, that I thought I'd just pull out a few snapshots of Noah's latest antics. More on Aaron later...

Noah's fantasy-come-true: pizza at Costco with 5 Franklin firefighters. Noah demonstrated his firefighting abilities using a fork as a hose. He'd also point to the man next to him and say, "What's this?" And then answer his own question, "Firefighter!"

Is it a Ball? No, sadly pumpkins don't roll, kick, throw, or even eat all that well. It's a little hard to explain why Mommy wanted it to just sit there on our front step. Buckets, on the other hand, require no explanation whatsoever.

I call this one, "PB&J Post-Two-Year-Old." I'll let you imagine the two-year-old post-PB&J.

Noah-saurus! Noah loved this towel from Grandma so much that he slept with it. It also came with a dinosaur puppet/washcloth. During his bath, he was chasing a toy seal with his hand in the puppet and suddenly the seal disappeared (slipped behind him). Noah was stunned. Where'd the seal go? So he took off the puppet and looked inside. Dino eat seal? ;)

Awakening

On Sept 19, Aaron smiled at Josh while we were standing in line at the 5-points Starbucks. Ever since, he has really come to life...

-- I See You! When I get within a foot of his face, Aaron lights up, smiling and cooing and gooing like a little conversationalist.

-- I Know Where I Am! Or at least, I know where I'm NOT. I didn't think Aaron would have any idea that we were traveling last weekend. I was wrong. He was lovely during the day but would not sleep at night until around 1am and then was up every 2-3 hours. As soon as we returned home, he slept...well...like a baby.

-- I Know Who You Are! Monday night, I was holding Aaron and he was just fine. I handed him to someone else and he started crying immediately. They handed him back to me, and he was just fine again. Sweet, but not good for Mommy's sanity. Thank God for an awesome husband, babysitter, and church nursery -- all of whom will help us expand his horizons.

-- I Know How to Get What I Want! That bottom lip just kills me.