Sunday, Salmon & Sleeping

This past Sunday morning, we made plans to get out and explore this fine city we get to call home. The weather was nice—overcast, yet warm, and we were itching to get out as a family and do something fun! Just a short drive (well, it was actually walkable, which I proved when I walked home wearing a sleeping baby!) from our house and we were able to hike down to the James River. We had a great time!

{Hey, who’s that outdoorsy family over there? Oh, that’s the Worthingtons! They’re just out exploring God’s beautiful creation with their kids…don’t they make life with two kids look easy?! HA! Insert appropriate amount of sarcasm here :) }

We found a nice little spot with huge, flat rocks where we could spread out. Wade was happy to spend the entire time throwing rocks into the water. I wondered to Philip how long he’d willingly spend doing this if we allowed it…

Miss Thang enjoyed herself as well. {Miss Thang is the way we affectionately began to refer to Holland during those early weeks when she was quite particular about her likes and dislikes. We’ll see if another, perhaps more endearing name surfaces… After all, she’s quite a bit more easy going these days.}

We brought homemade Snickerdoodle cookies—they were yummy! I like my cookies really soft, so I used this recipe, but cut the baking time by about a minute or two. I also used an egg replacer so my little Slippy Dippy (that’s Wade, and that name is sticking with him :) could have some.

{Loving Wade’s new bag! I debated back and forth over whether I wanted the text to be a different color from the accent color on the bag, and I’m happy to say I really love it this way! And when I say debated, I mean that I ended up calling the company the morning after I placed the order and asked to speak with someone in that department so I could change my order! Ridiculous!}

And speaking of my little Wader-Tater, let it be known that the child just loves him some salmon. For all our eating woes we’ve been through with Wade, I have got to count my blessings that he is really not a picky eater. Especially considering he’s two! I kid you not, if I give him a plate of salmon, green beans, and mashed potatoes, the one thing he won’t be too keen on is the mashed potatoes (hence, the substitution of tater tots)!

And finally, I’d like to document some recent sleep-happenings, primarily for my own memory’s sake. You may recall that Holland has been co-sleeping with us since she was born. I’ve LOVED it, but have begun to wonder if it might be time for her to move on into her crib…I haven’t been 100% sure I wanted this, but my neck hasn’t been able to heal nearly as quickly when I’m sleeping on my side with a baby, and there have been a few nights when my husband has moved to the sole remaining bed in the house (which is in Wade’s room). I’d like for my hubby to stay in our bed, so I thought we’d try Holland out in her crib. Here’s how the past four nights have gone:

Friday/Night 1: nurse—>sleep in crib at 8:45 pm, nurse at 11:45 and need a little extra help getting back to sleep in the crib, up at 1:15—I did not offer nursing because I didn’t think she was hungry so soon during the night, and I wanted to see if we could push through…we tried comforting by patting, but I must confess, there was some crying. I think she slept for a while and then woke back up…there was on and off crying, never “bloody murder” crying, though I didn’t feel great about it (full disclosure here, people). I could tell she was mad and wanted to be with me, but I was sleepy and not really thinking clearly, so we kind of slept through some of the fussing…It maybe went on for 45 minutes to an hour, off and on. I think she got to sleep for good around 3-something and slept till 7:15.

Saturday/Night 2: nurse—>sleep in crib at 10 pm (for some reason, she was not tired until this time), nurse at 12:45, required some extra soothing, then back to the crib. nurse at 6 am—>came to our bed and slept with us till 8:15.

Sunday/Night 3: nurse—>sleep in crib at 8:30, nurse at 3:45 (!), then back to crib, slept till 8 am!! We are thinking we are on a roll…

Monday/Night 4: nurse—>sleep in crib at 8:45, nurse at 11:45. trouble falling back to sleep, so I brought her to bed with me for the night…{do you know what the really good news here is? I wasn’t angry, frustrated or resentful toward my daughter for seemingly “regressing”. Praise Him!}

We’ll see how tonight goes! I kinda love having her with me, but I also kinda like having room in my bed…I’ve been praying that God would lead in this process.

{Oh man, I look at these pictures of my precious baby girl and wonder how I could ever not want to snuggle her in my bed each night!}