Fun New Things

The last two days I've noticed a couple of fun new things S is doing.  First she was sitting in her high chair and bouncing to the beat of the music I had playing on my Ipod.  Then Matt told me she's been doing it a lot.  It is SO cute!!

I also noticed that she's just now starting to mimic a little bit.  I've been trying to get her to wave for a while now and just Friday I saw her raise her hand up and try to wave back.  She's done it a few times now.

She has been babbling so much more lately.  Her voice is the sweetest sound I've ever heard.

I love watching my little rosebud bloom.

In the right place

Driving to work the other day it hit me: I am exactly where I am supposed to be.  I looked back for a moment at the time I decided to leave church work to pursue a career as a public school teacher.  I remembered the person who told me I'd be letting God down by leaving the ministry.  I remembered feeling conflicted about that statement.  Could he be right?

Friday as I pulled into my school parking lot I knew.  He wasn't right.  I was exactly where God wanted me to be.  Every moment up until this point has been orchestrated by His hand.  He has brought me here to this specific place, this specific class, these specific students and families.

I feel honored to be called to such a position in the lives of children.  I pray that I make the most of it and God guides me to be exactly the teacher I need to be for the kids in my classroom and their families who love them.

It Must Be Recorded

Today is a date that must be recorded.  At 7:00 pm I put S to bed completely awake.  She stood up one time, fussed a few seconds, then laid down and quietly moved around a tiny bit and chewed on her doll for 20 minutes then...FELL ASLEEP!!!!  The quickest and quietest bedtime of her life...all 7 months of it.  :-D

Pulling Up

It's a little nerve-wracking to sit and watch your 6 month old pull herself up on a coffee table.  I imagine the cracked tooth, the broken nose, the busted lip and so on as she slips and smacks her face on the edge of the table.  I suppose this is the risk that one takes as they learn new things.  And the risk I take for refusing to cover my furniture in foam and rubber.

Today she made her first attempt at cruising.  I guess she really wanted that book on the other side of the coffee table.  It was a failed attempt as she only moved one foot and fell forward (into her mother's loving arms) BUT we tried again and she did it!  I certainly didn't expect her to start cruising before 7 months old. I doubt she'll be able to keep it up when we get home because our furniture is bigger and I don't think she can reach the top of most of it yet.

My Traveling Bear

I'm guessing the people with the hotel room next to ours were really wishing they had chosen somewhere else to stay last night and this morning and probably yesterday afternoon too.  S has been a miserable pile of poo since we got here yesterday.  Screaming till she choked at naptime and bedtime.  Shaking her hands in furry and screaming at the sight of a bottle at dinner time.  Woke up all night and refused to go back to sleep more than once.  She finally ended up in bed with us around 4 am (for the 2nd time, but for good this time) and FINALLY went back to sleep around 5:30 until 7 am.

I'm glad this is a work trip for Matt rather than an actual vacation because if I had paid to be here I'd be more than a little annoyed...and let's face it, I'm already quite annoyed just because I'm exhausted!  And poor Matt had to be out the door around 6 something this morning.

When we get home, life as S knows it is about to change.  I am done feeding her ALL night long.  We will be phasing out the nursings and comforting her from the side of the crib.  I am quite certain it will be more exhausting in the short-term but I am praying for more sleep in the long term because I need my rest to be a patient, thoughtful and loving teacher and mother this fall.

Saw the most precious thing today

First let me say that I'm celebrating today because S slept for 3 three and a half hour stretches.  Probably seems silly to most to celebrate such short stretches at 6 and a half months old, but since she's been waking every two hours for the last couple of months...this is progress.  I've been trying to stretch her daytime feedings so she's only eating every 3-4 hours instead of every 2 hours.  I was hoping that maybe it would change her nighttime feeding schedule too and so far it seems to be helping!

Anyway, this morning (at 8:00 am!!!!), I heard sweet baby coos on the monitor.  I waited for a while...waking up slowly.  And when I finally went in, she was laying on her side, eyes slightly open, thumb in her mouth, cooing.  It was by far the sweetest thing I think I've ever seen.

A tiny angel

Sometimes when S is just tired enough to fall asleep in my arms without the thrashing and screaming battle that commences on most nights and pre-nap times, I look at her tiny little angelic face and forget that she ever screams, ever kicks my arms with her insanely strong legs, ever grabs hold of my tiny hairs at the bottom of my hair and holds on for dear life, ever keeps me up all night long and makes me feel like my sanity is slipping away.  She's just a perfect angel, resting, peaceful.  And I smile.