Mother's Day and Other Fun Stuff

Just a quick post to update you all on the latest. I'm supposed to be grading 21 narrative essays while the baby is sleeping, but blogging is much more fun. Plus, I don't want to get behind in my photos to you. God forbid!

The latest: Fiona is now sleeping in her co-sleeper in her own room for most of the night (except for last night when she was awake between midnight and 2:00am chattering up a storm, pumping her legs as if she was on a bicycle, with eyes wide open as if she had just downed a Starbucks espresso. Mommy is exhausted....but still blogging). Moving her into her own bedroom was a big step for Bryan and I. Now we just have to transition her into her own crib, and the process will be complete.

Fiona is full of chatter these days. She loves to give her two cents especially in her car seat as we're driving, or while Mom is on the phone. She also discovered coughing for affect. She now coughs to see what reaction she'll get out of people. She is hilarious. She also has taken to her cousin Micaela's old blanket, and loves to sleep with her face pressed against it or, as you see in the photos, with the blanket completely covering her face.

Last weekend was my first Mother's Day. Fiona and Daddy brought me to Ponzi winery and vineyards for a picnic with our good friends, the Buckendorfs. Then they surprised me with a gift card for a facial and body massage! I'm so looking forward to cashing that in.

She was introduced to the beach this weekend while Papa, Uncle John, and cousin Caitlin were visiting. She didn't seem terribly impressed, but got a good nap in while we enjoyed a long walk along the beach.

That's the latest and here are some photos of her. She turns 5 months old today! The weeks are flying.

This week

New Mexico Photos...6 Weeks Later...And Newer

The house is quiet, my child is asleep, my husband is off playing basketball, and I have a few minutes to myself. So, I thought I'd say hello.

I began posting the slew of photos we took on our NM trip after our return, but interrupted those postings with more recently taken photos. Now I'm posting NM and and recent photos. Hope I haven't confused you.

The latest...Fiona is 4 1/2 months old now. At exactly 4 months, as if on cue, she turned into a different person it seemed. Suddenly, she was screaming for no apparent reason and became extremely clingy. She would also behave as if she hadn't slept in days. Up until that point, we had been able to lug her around just about anywhere in her "bucket", and she would nod off without a second thought. But at the 4 month mark, I became hesitant to leave the house for fear she'd have a melt down wherever we ended up. We couldn't figure out where the old Fiona had gone, and wondered who this new kid was in her body. I began sucking information out of Mom, Mary Frances, and friends with infants, and learned this is very typical of the 4 month mark. Little Missy needed more frequently scheduled nap and bed times. That's when the real fun began.

The first night few days and nights of her newly established bed time ritual were not fun. Up to this point, she'd been falling asleep on Mommy or Daddy or the couch. She would snooze for an hour or two, then would wake up for milk and some play. I'm sure she wondered why these horrible ogres, these so-called parents of hers, began telling her when and where to fall asleep. It was more than she could handle for a few days, and she certainly let us know. I spent the commencement of several of her naps and bed times at the foot of the stairs, crying as she screamed. Since graduating college, I've held down several harrowing positions, dealing with demonic bosses, trying to reason with and "rehabilitate" pedophiles, drug addicts, murderers, and the like. But while sitting on my hands, listening to my heart and soul crying her eyes out, it dawned on me - this parenthood position has been the toughest, most heart-wrenching job I've ever held.

However, I'm happy to say the worst lasted only a couple of days. Now Fiona smiles at me when I lay her down for naps as if to say "thanks, Mommy. How'd you know I was so sleepy?" Bed time is still hit and miss. Many nights she still fusses when I put her down, but usually it's because I've misread her sleepy cues, and have waited too long to put her to bed.

Thankfully, the four month mark has also brought about some amazingly adorable developments. This week, Fiona has figured out how to make Mommy laugh. While nursing, Fiona randomly pulls her head away, flashing me a huge grin. Then she giggles and goos. Naturally, I laugh hysterically, which only encourages her. She laughs, then I laugh, then she laughs...you get the picture. This goes on throughout the nursing process which, you can imagine, lengthens feeding times considerably.

Now that I've updated you, I'll go ahead and post those photos as promised.