One of Those Days

Today was the most stressful day we've had in a while. We went to bed way too late last night so we were tired (Ayden slept on David while we watched a movie and pretty much always wakes between 7:30 and 8am whether we go to bed "on time" or not). The house was a wreck because we came in from our pool afternoon, didn't unpack any of our bags and were lazy for the rest of the night. Because we were lazy and didn't do the dishes we woke up to ant city all over the kitchen not to mention a messy house in general. Not a great way to start the day...

Oh but there's more! Since I didn't get much sleep I tried to sleep during Ayden's morning nap because I knew it would be my only chance to get a little extra rest today. After laying there for a half hour trying my hardest to sleep, I got up with a terrible feeling of anxiety. It's funny because the movie we watched last night was "In Time" and in it, time is money. Literally. If they were out of "time" there was nothing left. The poor people who didn't have much time, ran everywhere and lived one day at a time.  I totally feel like one of them. Laying there for a half hour without sleeping was SUCH a waste of time. All I could think about was all of the things that I could have accomplished during those precious, baby free, minutes that I'd never get back. When I finally got up, I got started on a project and not 5 minutes had passed before Ayden woke up. For the rest of the day, David and I were busy with various projects, the ant situation, etc. Poor Ayden got to the point where he was fussy and didn't want to be put down because he needed some one on one attention.  It's not always easy to find balance between productivity and parenting, though there's no question as to which is more important, you sometimes get overwhelmed by life and forget to prioritize properly. After arguing a little, David and I stopped and reminded each other that we are in charge of our happiness and though we can't control everything that happens in our day, we can control how we react to it. I quickly finished meal planning so we could get to the grocery and as soon as we got out of our neighborhood we could feel some of the stress melting away. It turns out, we just needed to step away from the problems so we could breathe and clear our heads.

Also adding to the stress of the day was the fact that we are having a heat wave here in the Bluegrass.

101*, feels like 102*.  YIKES!

Aparantly it was hot enough to make this car spontaneously combust in the Whole Foods parking lot...

Actually we aren't certain about the true cause but I wouldn't be surprised if this heat caused it!  The fire trucks were pulling away as we got there.

The atmosphere in Whole Foods is always nice for us and today they were having a local fest which made it feel a little like the farmer's market, which we also love.

Getting some much needed snuggle time!

By the time we got home, we were feeling much better and it was a good thing because we were headed to my parents' house for a cookout. Our good friends joined us there as well so we had good food and great company. My uncle is visiting from Canada and he plays the banjo. David brought his guitar and the two of them played together for us all.

Ayden found his toes and pulled them to his mouth for the first time while we were there!

We know that there will be rough patches along the way. The important thing is to stick together and support one another through it. No one else can understand what i'm feeling better than my partner in it all. I am so glad that we were able to recognize when we started turning against each other and turn it around. Things aren't so bad when you have a partner to go through them with! The day really turned around in the end and we are looking at it as a learning opportunity. Gotta focus on the positive, right? And more good news, we have a another day left in our weekend. We are hoping to make it great from the start!

Sleepy baby listening to Daddy play guitar :)

Did you ever just have one of those days??

~ Sarah

Hawaii Day

Getting harder to snap pictures of him without his fingers in his mouth! :)

David had a wonderful surprise for us today!  He took a half day at work and came home so we could spend the afternoon at my parent's pool!  After he called to give me the good news, I spent the rest of the morning getting the house in order for the weekend.  I find that if I vacuum and straighten up and we go into the weekend with a clean slate, it's not too overwhelming to put back together on Mondays.

Buddies hanging out while I vacuumed.

 David and I went to Maui for our honeymoon and for the rest of that summer, we'd spend every Saturday at my parents' house by their pool and called it "Hawaii Day."  It was fun to bring Ayden along with us today and maybe we'll start making a new Saturday tradition.

(I got pictures too but they are on our nice camera.  You know how that goes...)

The sun and all the playing really tuckered Ayden out!  He was asleep before we even got his car seat into the car.

It was so hot that I put him in the Ergo instead of a wrap while I made dinner.  He watched me for a while and then gave in for another nice, long nap.

Sleepy baby in one of his favorite places to be!

Now in true Friday night fashion, we are watching a Red Box movie while Ayden sleeps on David's chest.  It was such a great fun family day.  

 

~Sarah

Robot Man!

We had a lot of wake ups last night so I was bummed when Ayden chose not to sleep in today. He was up and at 'em at 6:30am which was nice for David since he got to get a few baby smiles before he left for work. I would have been happier if he had slept until 8:30 like he's been doing lately. The good thing that came from it? A solid morning nap with Ayden in his bed and me in mine! :)

 

Since Thursdays are storytime days, we ventured out and met my sister and her two kiddos at the bookstore.

Ha, he looks absolutely thrilled to be there... :)

At story time they give you a punch card. After 5 visits, you get $5 off a purchase of $10 or more. We came away with Robot Man! Ayden is a fan. The coolest part is that his head spins around and makes a very intriguing clicking noise.

 

We have a new Trader Joe's in our town and we were planning on visiting it for opening day today. We figured out that it opens tomorrow so that plan didn't pan out so we went to Whole Foods instead. When we got home, we played and did a few chores. Look at how much water usually goes down the drain while we wait for the water to warm up when we wash dishes!

 

We used it to water our plants and have added this to our list of ways to conserve water. Then I did some computer work while Ayden napped in the Moby.

When David got home we played some more:

Make way for Prince Ali Ababwa!

and then I made my Love some dinner :).

The first heart-shaped chicken breast I've ever seen!

Enjoying an ice cube in the mesh feeder.  Not long until we start solids!

David's parents are visiting Japan so we went to their house to water their plants and check on things. I wore Ayden on my hip with our pocket sling and he had fun feeling all the plants and watching David wrestle the hose.

 

I didn't think to bring his night time attire and of course, he fell asleep on the way home.  I was worried that he'd throw a bit of a fit while I got him ready for bed like he has in the past but he actually held it together pretty nicely.  I've started a new thing where I get him ready, read him his books (if he's not too far gone), kiss him goodnight and then put him in his crib and sit in the glider.  He fusses a tiny bit, rolls over and back a lot, plays with a couple of toys every now and then, but eventually falls asleep.  I suppose I'm letting him wind down on his own which is definitely favorable over him needing us to help him.  If he needs me for any reason I get up, walk over and tend to him without talking and sit back down.  I need to start timing it because I'm pretty sure it is getting shorter every time.  Maybe in the next couple of weeks we'll be able to say goodnight and leave the room.

~Sarah

Against The Grain

 

I guess you could call our little family "contemporary crunchy." We actually have been called that before and when we heard it, we kinda liked it. From the outside, we look like your standard American family.  We've got the house, the cars, the dog and our sweet little boy; but on the inside we are far from "standard." We question the norm, do lots of research and usually go against the grain. On one hand, this is very liberating, but on the other, it can be somewhat difficult.

We have to remind ourselves when friends and family don't offer immediate support for our decisions, that what we are doing is new and different from what they are used to.  Maybe they themselves do/did it the traditional way and hearing us talk about doing it differently is making them feel defensive.  Maybe they are concerned about what others will think of us or that Ayden will someday be the "weird" kid because his family chooses to live life differently than most of his friends will be living theirs.  Or maybe their looks of bewilderment/confusion when they hear how we do, or plan to do things, are just the result of genuine surprise or curiosity.  Who knows.  The point is that we just have to do what we feel is right for our family, support or not.

 So then, the question is, do we make these decisions quietly and only explain when we are asked?  Or do we openly share our differing, research-based opinions in an effort to open the eyes of those around us to new and different ways.  Not necessarily better ways, just different.  I think the answer here just depends on our mood and whether or not we are up to "justifying" our decisions (though we really should never have to).  I do know one thing, our friends, family and others around us will see through our example that there are different ways to accomplish things that are just as, if not more, productive, effective, healthy, etc.  Here are a few of our "contemporary crunchy" ways:

• No cable, or really any TV for that matter, in our house -  We will actively try to keep Ayden from watching the "magical box of lights" until he is at least 2 years old, if not 3.  Instead, we'll read lots and lots of books and get out and get moving!!
• If it's yellow, let it mellow - In our household, we put forth much effort to conserve energy and natural resources.  We recycle, wear clothes more than once, only run wash cycles when the machines are full, etc.  And most recently, David convinced me that we should adopt the "if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down" mentality.  I was a little hesitant about this one... My only stipulation?  He MUST  remember to flush all toilets when we are expecting company.  He is very eager to see this month's water bill to see if our efforts have been worth it.
• "Let thy food be thy medicine" - We eat clean, whole, organic and healthy.  Also, as you may have noticed in my posts about mastitis, we give natural remedies for illness a try before resulting to Western medicine.   Food is a very social part of our lives and there are a lot of pressures from both friends and family to indulge regularly. We support each other and stand strong remembering that artificial ingredients, GMO's, hormones and pesticides are toxic for our bodies.  Without healthy bodies, there's not much else you can do with your life. 
• The people of Wal-mart - We try not to support industries or businesses that are detrimental to our society.  We also try to think twice before making purchases big and small.  Where was it made?  From what materials?  Could we get it used?  Waste not, want not.
• Happy Homestead - We hope to eventually build an eco-friendly, low maintenance home and live off the land around as much as possible.  This is in our 10 year (if not 5 year) plan.
•  Home Birth - We attempted a home birth with Ayden that you can read about here.  After giving it the old school try for 33 hours, it did not work out for his birth but we do plan on trying again for our next baby. 
• Circumcision - Though David is circumcised, after doing a lot of research we chose to leave Ayden in tact.  There were a lot of reasons but the bottom line?  It is his body, and therefore should be his choice.  This surprised our families but we stood our ground and did it (or didn't do it) anyway.
• Cloth diapering - My parents cloth diapered us but the ways of cloth diapering have changed...  No bleaching in this house!  We are the only cloth diapering family that we know personally.  I am hoping that some of my friends jump on the wagon with us when it is their time because it is totally awesome!  When I was pregnant and told friends and family of our plans, some were interested and supportive but others (those who were mothers already) just said, "wow, good luck with that." Now we are happy to be showing them how easy (and CUTE) it really is!
• Baby wearing - I am still amazed at the looks and comments that I get when I wear Ayden in public.  It's just not the norm around here.  Most of the comments are good, but I've had a couple of, "What are you doing?  Getting ready to work the fields?" comments. According to research, there are actually a lot of psychological benefits that a baby can gain through baby wearing, not to mention that you can hold your baby and still have free hands to get things done.  More than a win win situation!  
• Baby-led weaning - We plan on skipping puree's all together.  Again, this totally surprised our friends and families and is way against the grain in our area.  I personally can't wait to let Ayden get his hands on food.  There's no better way for a child to learn than by getting their hands in there and doing it themselves!
• Staggered vaccines - we actually entertained the idea of not having him vaccinated at all.  In the end, we decided that they are important but he is getting one shot every other month. I also take supplements and give him an infant pro-biotic via expressed breast milk in a bottle the week before and the week after his shots to help his little body process and detox.  Again, against the norm.

There may be more but you get the picture.  The intent of this post was not to say that we feel we are "right" and that everyone else is "wrong."  I just hope that it may inspire someone out there to question the way things are typically done, do research and make different decisions than those around you if you feel like it would be better for your family.  Stand strong in the absence of support and lead by example.  We only have one life so it is so important to live it the way you think is best.  Not the way that society or people in your life would expect you to!

~Sarah

Every Age and Every Stage

Enjoying some diaper free time to really practice his moves!

 I had such a productive day! It seems as though sitting up has given Ayden a whole new reason to play independently. Before, he was ready to see the world from an upright position but couldn't do it on his own so he was depending more on us to help him. It was fun and all but it also made it difficult to get anything done. Today, I was able to sit him up with some toys, with the Boppy behind him as a safety net, and stuff diapers, fold and put away clothes, as well as a few other things. It was great! We also rolled a ball back and forth a little which was a lot of fun too!!

Enjoying a whole new world of play!

Naps went a little more smoothly today as well. I decided that we need to gradually work back to independent napping, but after going all of recital week with a very unpredictable nap routine he's just not having it. So I bounced him on my stability ball until he was almost asleep and then tried laying him down. I had to pick him up and put him back down a couple times but the overall time spent getting him to sleep was a lot less and the whole process was much more enjoyable for both of us. My plan is to lay him down sooner each day until I'm not needing to bounce him at all.

Along with sitting up, Ayden has also developed more stamina for his door jumper. I set it up downstairs today while I ran the vacuum and he was content in it the whole time. It is still more of a door spinner but we're working on the jumping. He was just as happy to hang out "literally" and watch me and Maverick while I worked.

I've said it before and I know I'll say it time and time again but every stage so far has been my favorite. When Ayden was a newborn, I wanted him to stay my tiny newborn forever. Now that he smiles, laughs, reaches out for us and everything else he finds interesting, sits up, and has become a very active member of our little family I can't imagine going back to the newborn stage. He's our little sweetie and has changed our lives in amazing ways!

~Sarah

Transitions

 

Now that I've read both Secrets of a Baby Whisperer and The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, I feel like I have a variety of knowledge and tools to help me when sleepy times get tough. I would recommend that any new parent read them and if at all possible, read them while you are pregnant and try to have a plan in place before your baby comes. Baby training may not be for everyone but I personally thrive on predictability.  Following the Baby Whisperer's advice has given me as much predictability as you can possibly have when dealing with a little being who has free will yet no ability to reason.  That can be a tricky combination... When I first read The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, it actually really did answer a lot of the questions I found myself asking after reading the first book, one of which being, "How long will he stay on a 3 hour EASY cycle?" The answer that I found was her 4/4 rule.  A baby should transition to a 4 hour feeding schedule around 4 months old. 

Now, Ayden is a little small for his age and it is important to remember that weight is a more important factor than age when it comes to feeding requirements.  So around 4 and a half months, I started trying to extend times between feedings and for the first time today, he ate every 4 hours.   Once his little body adjusts and he is doing this consistently, it should help us add even more time to his nighttime sleeping.  If you think about it, when a baby is on a 3 hour feeding schedule, going say 6 hours at night is a lot.  Some babies do it but the average baby would be famished after going twice as long as they are used to going all day.  When Ayden was on his 3 hour feeding routine, he would go 4 sometimes 5 hours at night (if he wasn't wanting to eat every 3 hours round the clock) so once he is used to eating every 4 hours during the day we should be able to work towards 5-6 hour stretches without him getting too hungry in the meantime.  And that's not even considering that we'll be adding solids before you know it.  I'm thinking positively and see much more sleep in my future!

Speaking of sleep, Ayden still didn't have the best nap day today.  At least instead of fussing he was being so stinkin' cute that I couldn't be bothered by it!

If that becomes his new "fighting" sleep routine, I'll take it!!

We had a great day today.  He is still chomping on his little hands and drooling a bit but the pain of teething seems to have subsided for now so he barely fussed at all all day. 

It's so fun that he's sitting up so well now!  He can't get there by himself and still falls pretty often but playtime has taken on a whole new level of fun for us all!  Today, Little Miss, Ayden and I sat together on the kitchen floor and worked puzzles.  Well, Little Miss and I worked puzzles while Ayden tried to eat all the pieces. :)

Ayden has also stated to do "the plank" in preparation for CRAWLING!  I can't believe we'll have a mobile baby within the next couple of months.  Man, it really does feel like we just brought him home...

 

 

Work that core, Ayden!

Here is a video of it that David took when he got home from work today:

In other news, the schedule changes that I made with Little Miss have been working out perfectly for me!  Now that I'm not teaching dance I am even considering picking up Fridays with her.  This sounds strange but I think as Ayden starts to become more active, having them both will be a little easier on me.  When Ayden can sit independently and play with us, as apposed to me having to hold/wear him and juggle whatever Little Miss is needing from me.  I'm sure it will add a new element of fun.  

Now I shall leave you with yet another video of cuteness...

~Sarah

Pajama Day!

That's right! The Ladnier family lounged in our PJs all day today. It was pretty fantastic! Well... Ayden eventually had to have a wardrobe change due a spit up explosion that also got my shorts, leg, foot, cellphone and the carpet on the stairs. Yeah, I'd say that explosion adequately describes it.

Our cutie in his fresh onsie...

David and I took turns working on projects while the other played with Ayden. When Ayden was ready for his early afternoon nap we took the opportunity for a family nap. Ayden and I napped for almost 2 hours and David joins us for the second half. I got up before the boys and while I was in the next room I heard Ayden start to fuss and then stop all of the sudden. When I came in to see if maybe he had fallen back to sleep, I found them hanging out awake together. David said all he had to do was let Ayden know he was there and he immediately stopped fussing and starting chattering away like he does in the mornings. The nap was so long he may have actually felt like it was morning. Though it is pretty normal for a baby to be comforted by the presence of his parents, it is surreal for us that we play that roll for Ayden. Sometimes, even after 5 months, it still surprises us at times that he's ours to keep.

My snoozing boys!

Staying on the topic of sleep, Ayden has started fighting it hard core. He used to only fight his late afternoon nap but now it's every. single. one. It can be so frustrating so it is important to remind ourselves that besides teething, a) he has recently learned a new skill (sitting up) which can often change sleep habits. Who would want to sleep when you could finally sit up and play with your toys? And b) he still isn't completely back on routine from the crazy recital week when he was either in the car or a wrap for every nap. Of course he may object to falling asleep on his own after a week of that. Consistency is the key so we shall continue to take deep breaths, call on each other for backup when needed and patiently remind Ayden of the ways of the past that he used to know. He has also gone back to a 3 hour wake up schedule the past few nights so it's possible that a growth spurt is involved as well.  Maybe?  I try to add in extra feedings during the day when this happens and "tank him up," as The Baby Whisperer advises, in the few hours leading up to bedtime; but Ayden spits up SOOO much as it is and extra feedings only make it worse. We will admit that the we are beyond ready for the spit up train to leave the station. Because of the spit up issue I'm afraid that I just have to let him get those extra calories at night when he needs them.  We asked his pediatrician when we might begin to see a decrease in his spitting up and he said in the next couple of months.  We are counting down the days!!

While I was pregnant, I went to a huge consignment event in my area. That's where I purchased my breast pump and Moby D which would have both been worth every penny brand new so buying them used at such a discount was like a triple bonus! I also purchased a frame backpack that has been waiting on the shelf in Ayden's closet until today!!

We had been wondering for a couple of weeks now whether or not Ayden had grown into it yet. We decided to get it out and give it a little test run and it's perfect! He was so cute in it. If you've been following this blog for a while then you know that Ayden is well versed in the ways of baby wearing. I can probably count the days he hasn't been worn on my two hands as we try to do it at least once a day. When he got in the backpack he checked it out a little at first and then settled in and acted just like he does any other time he's worn. It's almost like he goes into his own little baby wearing world. He watches whatever is going on around him quietly and contentedly and only has a change in facial expression if you sing him his favorite songs or get in front of a mirror and start acting super silly. He just hung out with David and watched while he did some stuff in the kitchen. The best part was when Ayden eventually reached out to play with David's hair or pat in his shoulder. It was so cute! It was also cute that David went to look in the mirror 3 or 4 times. I could definitely tell they were both enjoying the experience. I think we have some hiking in our future!

"What?  I can't help myself..."

After dinner I decided to try a new healthy, yet decadent, dessert that I found on Pinterest.

The original recipe was a bit bitter in my opinion (maybe a little too much cocoa powder?) but after adding a good amount of honey, it hit the spot.

 

Ayden has already woken up twice since we put him to bed at 8 so I'm hoping that tonight doesn't end up being too rough on me! One thing that I've heard many times before and am finally beginning to accept is that "the only constant in life is change" and I think the part that was left out of the well known quote is "especially when it comes to babies." Just when everything falls into place, they start to teeth, hit a growth spurt, etc. and you're back to the drawing board just like that. As a parent it definitely keeps you on your toes!  None of that matters, though, when your baby looks you right in the eye, smiles and reaches out to touch you and you know that you are one of the most important people in his little life.

~Sarah

Practice Makes Perfect

We had an easy day today.

 

We woke at 7:30 as usual and had housework on the agenda. We're a little concerned that our veggie plants aren't happy in their pot homes so David promptly got to work on digging up our yard.

Soon to be veggie garden!

I got Ayden down for his morning nap and then got to work on my usual morning routine (making the bed, getting myself ready, unloading the dishwasher, etc).

He only slept for about 40 minutes so I decided to make sure his early afternoon would actually be worth something. I needed some rest too so I napped with him for a full hour and a half. It was glorious! I had dreams and everything (not something I'm aware of having in the night). Ayden's bedtime has been getting later and later since recital. We were okay with it moving to 8 or 8:30 but when he didn't get sleepy until 10 last night we decided we needed to get him moving back toward an earlier bedtime.

Ayden always has his best naps when I sleep with him and lately it has just worked best with my schedule to join him for his late afternoon nap. I think him sleeping for an hour and a half to two hours so close to his old bedtime was giving him the energy to party into the night. I proved this theory right today. He took that monster nap with me around 1:30 then just a cat nap while we were at the grocery around 4:30 and then he was ready to go to sleep for the night at 7:30. It's great that as easy as it was to get him off of his routine, it seems to have been just as easy to get him back on.

 

After the grocery, I packed Ayden up and took him to a little get together. The Kindergarten team I used to belong to when I taught was so kind to invite me to join them and it was great to catch up with everyone.

Ayden fell asleep while we were there and since he'd been wanting to go to bed later, I wasn't prepared with his nighttime diaper or PJs for the first time in a while. When we got home, he woke up and started crying so I changed him as quickly as I could, nursed him back to sleep and put him in his crib.

My family reunion is coming up the weekend after the fourth and we always camp out for it. To prepare, we plan on camping out in our back yard tonight so we can work out any kinks with Ayden or otherwise while we have the convenience of our house nearby. We practiced once before and though I didn't sleep at all (I was up worrying about whether or not Ayden was warm enough), Ayden did great! I'm hoping that since it's warmer and that Ayden is older (less suffocation risk) that I'll sleep better this time around. Our friends joined us for dinner and a bon fire and just left so we'll find out soon enough!

~Sarah

Sitting Tall

 

Look who's sitting tall!!

 We've been working with Ayden on sitting up all month and guess what happened the day after his 5 month birthday??  I typically support him with the Boppy or my lap/hands/etc. but today I thought I'd challenge him to sit on his own and he did it!  At first (the picture above) it was just a few seconds but by the end of the day he was actually sitting for a minute or two.  He also does better on the bed which comes in handy when he does eventually fall over.

Ayden is absolutely adorable in the mornings.  He wakes up smiley and is super quiet at first.  I feed him and after about 10 minutes or so, he's ready to warm up his voice and today this is what it sounded like:

I remember making that creaky noise with my voice for fun when I was little.  So funny to hear a baby do it!  I think the cutest part is that he put himself back to sleep doing it and slept for another hour.

While he slept I got ready and had breakfast.  Usually when he falls asleep after a feeding I just feed him again after he wakes up and even if he just eats a little he's still back on his EASY routine.  This morning he wasn't hungry and didn't eat so he was a little off for the rest of the day.  The good thing that I've learned is that if he gets off for a day we just get back on the next and it doesn't seem to affect anything.  When he finally woke up we took Mav for his morning walk:

Mean Muggin'

And then played until we went to eat lunch with David at work.

 When David got home Ayden took a monster afternoon nap and then we went to the pool.  Ayden is such a water baby!  I took a little yellow ball with us just in case he might be interested and he LOVED fishing for it in the water. 

We are ending the evening as we do most Friday night's with dinner and a movie.  Ayden is asleep on David's chest, which is probably David's most favorite part of Fridays.  He misses him throughout the week so it's kind of their little Friday night tradition.  Instead of putting Ayden to bed, we get him to sleep and settled with David on the couch.  It's pretty sweet. <3

We are looking forward to a weekend at home!!  Bring on the projects and productivity.  Ha, never thought I'd be so excited about such things...  I guess I really am an adult now!

~Sarah

5 Months Old!

Today really snuck up on me! David texted me saying, "5 months today!" and it hadn't even crossed my mind. Luckily I had just changed his diaper and hadn't dressed him so I grabbed the camera and did our little monthly photo shoot.

5 Months Old!

Click to see: 4 Months, 3 Months, 2 Months, 1 Month

These little photo sessions are becoming interesting to say the least.  Ayden has discovered his owl friend and keeps scooting down  in the chair.  I was still able to catch some great shots!

As usual, Ayden is right on track with the standard 5 month developmental milestones.

 

We've been working on assisted sitting and he does very well. We can even let go for a couple of seconds if we position/balance him beforehand. He has mastered rolling back. As for emerging skills, he has found his feet, as well as his boy parts, but doesn't bring them to his mouth (his feet that is...). He thinks it's hilarious when we put his feet in his mouth and I bet he'll be doing it on his own in no time. He does not yet reach out to be picked up but we are very much looking forward to that milestone!

We had a special treat for story time today. A old high school friend of mine, Ashlie, and her little girl met up with us and then had lunch afterward. I actually have 3 friends from high school who, no matter how long we've been apart, I can pick back up right where we left off with and this gal is one of them.

We went and fed the ducks afterward as per usual and there was a mommy duck with TINY babies trailing behind her. I love baby animals and seeing them totally made my day! Then we went to Whole Foods for lunch.

 

Ashlie is 21 weeks pregnant and they just found out they are having a boy so her little girl was very interested in Ayden. She asked me if she could, "pet his head," and kept pointing out his, "little toes." It was adorable. It's always good to catch up and since she's been through all of the baby stuff before, and is about to again, we had a lot to talk about!

When we got home I tackled a few more chores around the house which finally got me caught up from the chaos of last weekend! Ayden hung out in the Moby while I prepped dinner and then we took a nice, long nap together.

 

When David got home, he put dinner in the oven while Ayden and I finished our nap. After dinner we took a walk and then met some friends at a local park for some disc golf. Ayden rode in our City Mini and was such a trooper!

 

We are loving David's new schedule and these long days of summer! It's hard to believe that this time next month will mark half of a year with Ayden in our lives! Since the dance season is over I don't have to go teach tomorrow night. Whatever will I do with myself?? I know that we are going to eat lunch with David tomorrow and then maybe we'll hit up BuyBuyBaby and Barnes and Noble because I have a couple of gift cards to use up.

~Sarah

Making Time

Today was a little better overall but we're definitely still teething over here. We know he will have symptoms on and off until a tooth actually breaks through and we also know that symptoms can be present for a few days, then subside for a few only to return and start the cycle over again. This being said, we're just going to take it day by day until we make it through. I'm not sure what we'd prefer (if we were to have a choice in the matter) have all the teeth come in at once just to get it all over with or have them come one at a time with breaks in between...

I've truly been enjoying the improvement in the sleep department! Just in case it's temporary I celebrate every consecutive hour of sleep that I get. We're still at the 4/4.5 hour mark but just a few weeks ago it was only 1.5-2 so I can't complain! I've still needed naps, whether I manage to take them or not, but even if I don't get one I never feel like a floating head by the end of the day.

Today was a Little Miss day and I got both of them to sleep for their morning naps at the same time.  I considered joining them but decided to take some time for myself instead.  I laid in my bed listening to an audio book (Delerium) and did some computer work.  It was a tiny reminder of what downtime was like pre-baby and was nice.  Ayden slept for about an hour (!!) and Little Miss for about an hour and a half.  It really was perfect because I had just enough time to nurse Ayden, change his diaper, read him a book and play with him a little before Little Miss was up and ready for lunch.

After lunch we headed to Target to get David some BPA free water bottles and a few other odds and ends.  I met my sister and her kiddos there and we meandered around for about an hour together.  Nothing like sister time and retail therapy in one fell swoop.

<3

Ayden was asleep before we even got out of the Target parking lot.  I dropped Little Miss off at her family's store at 2 and then came home to tackle a few chores.  I am still playing catchup from last weekend.  Everything is slowly coming together and our bedroom is the only room left.  My desk in our office could use a de-clutter as well but that will only take a couple of minutes once I get started.

Ayden was pretty patient while I ran the vacuum, stuffed diapers and put away some of his laundry.  Then we moved down stairs and he hung out in the Moby while I unloaded/loaded the dishwasher and got dinner started.  

David moved his alarm clock across the room and has been getting up an hour earlier! He's also staying up 30-45 minutes later at night.  He was feeling like he didn't have enough time for everything he was wanting to accomplish while he wasn't at work and sleep just happened to be the only thing that he could sacrifice.  Yesterday was his first day of the schedule change and he was tired.  Today was a little better so we're hoping by the end of the week his body will have adjusted.  I told him I was confident that it would since I am the queen of half way functioning on very little sleep :).

You may be wondering what we've been doing with the extra time together in the evenings?

Dinner
He's loving ice in the mesh feeder!

Music

Bath

Now Ayden is in bed, I am typing this post and David is working out. To complete the evening, David and I are going to get in bed, eat some dark chocolate and read. I am relaxing just thinking about it! I think this extra time thing just might work out :).

~Sarah