hello monday

hello monday

hello gray skies hiding our sunshine

hello finding coffee ice cream in Germany (finally!)

hello countdown till Bonnie arrives~ less than 2 weeks!

hello hospital trip & finding out if Bo's foot is healed,

or if we are in for a little surgery

hello lots of prayers

hello nine month old (& dropping another feeding tomorrow. yippee!)

hello starting The Couch-to-5K Running Plan (disregard my mention of ice cream)

and... hello Art Class starting TOMORROW!

what are you saying hello to this week?

rockabye

Ok, so Katy Jo officially has to be rocked to sleep now if I ever want her to nap. We worked so hard with the sleep training, teaching her to self-sooth and basically just fall to sleep on her own. Now, she is pulling up, holding on to the crib rails with a death grip and screaming her best scream for as long as it takes for mommy to give in. I just can't take the screaming. I'm sure the neighbors must think something awful has happened, like I've fallen and hurt myself, making it impossible to care for my desperate baby. Fridays are bad, because the cleaning lady is mopping our shared stairwell and I can't imagine what she must think. So after about ten minutes, I go rescue the baby and rock her to sleep. The napping process takes double the time. But, that is okay. Because she is growing super fast and I can hardly stand it! I'm trying to really savor these times. I'm thankful for my friend Jan, (who watches Katy Jo) as today she reported that she enjoys the chance to rock and cuddle with Katy Jo. Originally I had asked Jan not to rock Katy Jo to sleep because I didn't want her to become accustom to this special treatment. Now, however, it is practically a requirement. I don't know how long this will last, but at the same time, I don't know how long I will have a little baby that needs rocking.

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue, Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peek-a-boo
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullaby, rockaby lullaby loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep! I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.
- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

hello monday

it's here again... monday and this time it's bringing rain, sleet and snow (can't make up it's mind)

hello brand new week with new expectations

hello new nephew (James Ryan was born three days ago!!!)

hello messy kitchen after lunch guests yesterday (which was super fun, especially with my two sous chefs)

hello new art project. yay!

hello to missing the people I know and love deeply

and hello to leftover potato soup (trying to end on a happy note)

please tell me~ what are you saying "hello" to this morning?

mommy notes

Today is the day I am going to be the "mean mom." I spent almost twenty minutes trying to teach Little Bit how to sit back down after pulling up. She just doesn't get it. I think she is too afraid to fall down. So after three days of this: pulling up on the crib during nap time and then screaming because she is 1. overtired and 2. doesn't know how to lay back down, I have decided today is the day I am not going in there. Last night our date night was close to being cancelled because she stood up after I left the room. After all our success with sleep training and now having the convenience of just laying her down to sleep... it's all coming back to haunt me. I have to actually rock her to sleep so she can't watch me walk away. Ugh. so hard. During today's nap I tried to rock her almost to sleep, then carefully (this is an art and maybe I will soon post on it as well) lay her down, as well as stand there for what seemed like an eternity and pat her back while waiting for those little lashes to point down. Well, now that the crib is lowered, it's a real physical challenge to do this for very long. So I queitly slipped out. Before the door was closed, she was pulling herself up and screaming.

Any guesses on how long she can scream for? If Bo were here I know he would be worried about her "rupturing something". I am determined for her to learn how to sit back down. How hard can it be? I just hope she doesn't hurt herself. We shall see. On to make my mom's mac n' cheese because it's just one of those days.

hello monday

Hello!

Hope you are all enjoying this silly (but fun) "love holiday." I am remembering a past Valentine's day spent with my dear friend, Kristen House. We were in Burkina Faso and had saved two Dr.pepper's (which I think we had packed and brought all the way from NY) and somehow also had some peanut M&Ms. It was a grand celebration for sure. I remember we both thought it was so sad and silly. But now, looking back it is the best memory ever! Here's to Kristen House (pretend I'm toasting with some bubbly) who is at this very moment in Mali - actually, in the bush by herself learning Bambara. Really hoping she is enjoying a small piece of chocolate or at least enjoying a meal of chicken and peanut sauce. Happy Valentine's day!

hello gorgeous weather (yay!)

hello screaming baby standing up in your crib during nap time (any suggestions?)

hello finding sweet little love notes all over the apartment this morning

hello double date this evening (so looking forward to it!)

hello "love day"

what are you saying "hello" to on Valentine's day?

new things

Recently I have been falling more and more in love with Katy Jo. She is starting to do so many new things now. In the last two weeks she has not only perfected her crawl, but she is pulling up to a standing position and the latest - and cutest - thing: she is babbling little nonsense words. To me, this babbling is like pure heaven. I really think it is the cutest thing ever. I've been working on a little video compilation to share. Please forgive me for how long it is... I hated cutting any of it out.

enjoy :)

hello monday

hello crawling baby

hello new toys from Kristen~ we love pink girly toys!

hello bonus day with daddy (no school after superbowl)

hello gorgeous day in France wandering around (it's finally sunny here)

hello fishies in the water and loud birds in their cages

and hello to trying on silly hats at the toy store

what are you saying "hello" to this February day?

my two front teeth

Yesterday Katy Jo refused to take a nap at Miss Jan's house. It wasn't until 4pm, once I had arrived to "fetch" her (trying to sound British like Jan) that she zonked on Jan's shoulder. So cute. :)

Well, today she took a beautiful nap. She slept from 2:30pm till when Bo and I both arrived for her. So pleased. I think she is on the up side now that her second top tooth has broke through the gum. Here she looks rather strange, but you get the idea.

I know it's really not the cutest picture, so here's a better one.

one of the few with her mouth closed