Sleep - Oh how I miss you!

Sleep - it consumes the thoughts of new mamas. We cruelly ask each other, "How long does your baby sleep at night?" I don't know why we do this. It is no fun to hear when someone else's baby sleeps better than yours and usually, if you are asking the question, that is the case.

I try not to compare my kids, but I'm going to right now. Elise was an amazing sleeper. She'd sleep 12 hours straight at night and then take 4 hours of naps during the day. I credited this to God, because I prayed regularly for a good sleeper when Elise was in the womb. But, I also gave myself a pat on the back - hey, I must be doing something right! However, today I give all the credit to God and the power of prayer because I didn't think to pray about this with Lilah. I figured I'd get another good sleeper. I was wrong.

Not that Lilah hasn't teased us into thinking she was going to be a good sleeper - she slept several 12 hour shifts in her 3rd and 4th months. Then she was on a once up a night routine for months five-seven. That was fine, too - very manageable. However, as we creep closer to month 8, things have not been going well. Lilah is up at least twice a night. We've tried changing her bedtime, more solid food, her cry it out; none of it works. Nothing works but milk.

Oh how I miss sleep. I've pretty much given up on getting it this year. Perhaps next year.... (Good thing she's so cute during the day!)

A Stroke of Creativity

A friend of mine mentioned wanting to hang up some sort of line for her kids' art work. I loved the idea! We have drawings, paintings, and colorings of Elise's all over our fridge. It would be fun to be able to display and contain her art in a better way.

I am sure you can buy something already made for this, but coming up with it on your own is more fun, don't you think? I wandered around Hobby Lobby looking for inspiration. When I came to the aisle with all the drawer pulls, inspiration hit.

Here is what I came up with:

All you need are:
2 drawer pulls
picture hanging wire
mini-clothespins (these are the type sold for baby showers - don't say BABY! I dislike that game. This is a better use for the clothespins).

Total cost: $10 (and it could have been less if I had waited for sales or 40% off coupons)

When I Grow Up....

I hear this statement a lot these days, "When I grow up, I want to be...." Here are some of the careers Elise is considering (in her words):
Animal Doctor
Actor
Rock Band Singer
Recycle Collector
Building Builder
Dolphin Entertainer and Feeder

Like her daddy, she is full of ideas. In the meantime, she is enjoying being a kid.

7 months old

Another month gone by? Lilah is now 7 months old! This month hasn't held any huge milestones. She is moving around by rolling. She likes to sleep on her side and tummy more than her back. And she continues to try more foods (prunes, squash, peas, and carrots are the new ones this month.) Although these first two pictures are adorable, the third (with Elise and cousin Katherine) with the fingers in her mouth is how Lilah is 90% of the time. She loves those fingers. Lilah is a really inconsistent sleeper, which may just be her personality, but I've decided it is at least worth trying giving up caffiene in my diet. That's right, you heard it here, no caffeinated coffee for me, at least for awhile, to see if it makes a difference.

Modeling

The other day, Elise, my parents, Wes and I were playing a rousing game of Go Fish. Whenever someone would ask Elise for a card she had in her hand, she would make this silly throaty sigh to express her irritation for having to fork over the card. We all found it amusing and wondered where it came from.

Fast forward a few days, I'm doing something around the house, honestly I can't remember what. But I encountered a minor frustration - just something slightly irritating that created more work for myself - and all the sudden I hear myself making this throaty sigh of annoyance.

I am the cause of Elise's silly noise - I make that noise. The reality hit me - this girl is watching me and she's modeling me. Not that I didn't realize it before, but now there is evidence. What other qualities, actions, idiosyncrasies have I passed on to my little girl? Are they good, are they not so good? Probably some of both. I'll be watching myself more carefully these days to make certain my words of instruction to my girl match what I am showing her with my actions.