Life on Fast-Forward

So much has happened in the last few weeks, I feel like life has been a complete blur! Here's the basic outline...

~ We dedicated Brooks at our church on Mothers' Day with all of his grandparents there as witnesses and we hosted a brunch for a few friends afterwards. Mothers' Day 2007 now ranks in my Top 5 Best Ever Days. It was pretty close to perfect.
~ I was in Nashville with Brooks the week after that for a reunion of sorts with my girlfriends from Auburn. It was great to see Kat and Deb again and to meet baby EEC and to hang out on my parents' back porch. While home, I went to my first kid birthday party (SLC was five and adorable as "Snow White") and spent time with CHA at Starbucks and enjoyed the beautiful new symphony hall with Dad and Sissy. I also got some short but very sweet individual time with Momma, Daddy, and Sissy while was I was home. Those visits are even more precious since they are soon going to be more infrequent.
~ Eric's younger sister SEW got married to her darling fiance over Memorial Day weekend, and it was joy to celebrate with the Wheeler family. I love my in-laws. How lucky am I?! Congrats to the happy couple.
~ We had our official "goodbye dinner" for Newly Marrieds leadership. Amazing to look back over the last three years and see what God has done. Donna prayed that the next few weeks and months would "be filled with more sweet than bitter". What a kind wish, as we're already tasting some of both even as we say goodbye to our ministry obligations and privileges.
~ Eric went to the FAC seminar and got his FSA diploma - WAHOO!!!!! He's done! Forever!
~ My dear friend Dr Kiki came in from Boston to visit in early May, and we had a lovely 24 hour marathon catch-up session...
~ My bookclub started in May and I so enjoyed that first meeting discussing Peace Like a River. I can't wait for the June discussion of my book selection (Year of Wonders).
~ Our NMs small group co-hosted a baby shower for one of our couples - they'll welcome their new little one in June. We also met three (or four?!) new babies born to couples involved in the ministry with us. Happy times.
~ In and among the travel and houseguests and other fun events, we've chosen a realtor and are starting to get some of our pre-London list checked off.
~ Today, my mom arrived to watch Brooks for a few days so we could focus on purging closets and cleaning the nooks and crannies in an effort to get our house on the market by the middle of next month.
~ We're making plans to see the Rice crew in Colorado over July 4th weekend and the Mission Group is heading to Culver, Indiana during the last week of June.
~ I'm also attempting to meet up with my college roommate (RPR) in Memphis next week and am hoping to see my highschool friend (ESS) in Nashville before we go to London.
~ In the next six weeks, we still want to take Brooks to his first game at Wrigley, enjoy one last ride on the peugeot tandem bike before it gets sold, and have at least a few more BBQs on our lovely treed back porch.

I'm thankful for all the things that shout of summer... the beautiful weather, the vacation days, the happier Chicago faces around me, the long evenings of warm sunlight. I just pray for lots of endurance and periodic rest for all three of us - so that we're able to enjoy all the life that we're trying to live these days!

Pictures and details of these happy events to come soon... I'm going to sleep now!

Hilton Head Island

Okay, before posting about our vacation several weeks ago I was trying to figure out how to upload video to this site, but that is proving beyond me this week. So without further ado...

Hilton Head was wonderful! Everything that we needed and wanted in a vacation... some thoughts:

- We took the El to Midway again. I thought Eric was nuts as it was difficult at the holidays, but once we got moving, I realized that it really did work very well. And we confirmed that our Maclaren stroller was a great one for public transport. I could pick up the stroller with Brooks in it and confidently climb a flight or two of stairs when needed. Wahoo!


- This was an easy trip for a first vacation with baby... familiar and comfortable housing, friendly neighbors (thanks to Jerry and Joann for the pack n play) and all the beach gear we'd need in the storage room right outside. With a separate living area, we were able to put Brooks down at night and catch up on some movies we'd been meaning to watch. Plus the use of a washer and dryer really helped - we did lots of laundry!!

- The weather was perfect. In the 80s, sunny with puffy white clouds, and a nice breeze, particularly when we were on the beach. We both came back with a bit of color, but Brooks didn't even have a freckle - we were vigilant about the spf 45+ sunscreen and shade for him.


- Brooks loved the ocean, the sand in his toes and the extra play time with Mom and Dad. I'm not so sure that he loved the pool. When we dipped our toes in, it was really cold, so I can only imagine he didn't just love that, but he was interested in looking at it. Maybe next time.



- Renting a car from Jacksonville and driving up worked well for us for lots of reasons. We used SWA Rapid Reward coupons to fly down, the trip was all easy highway miles, and it gave us time to decompress going up to the island and ramp up for an airport adventure as we were leaving. We enjoy road trips a lot and with Brooks at this age we can discuss whatever we like while he sleeps in the back!


- We didn't realize that the car rental company was only going to have convertable car seats, not the convenient "infant bucket with base" kind. Brooks still naps beautifully in his car seat at restaurants here, and we both were counting on this for our evening meals out. When we didn't have that option, we went with a highchair and some extra padding and one of us just kept a hand on him the whole meal. It actually worked out pretty well and of course Brooks charmed all our servers and the other patrons each place we went. I was so proud of our little traveler.


- Unfortunately, Brooks didn't sleep as well as normal which was difficult at times. We've now realized it was probably his teeth bothering him. Poor Little. We did lots of "wee hours" rocking with him in the second bedroom ... and lots of napping at the beach.



- We had a great time with Aunt Hope & Uncle Don our last night there. They took the three of us to a lovely dinner at Alexanders and we enjoyed hearing all their news and sharing about London and our lives as new parents. I feel very fortunate to have married into such a warm, wonderful extended family. I didn't have the chance to meet Eric's Grandma Joy, so I was thrilled to get to know her sister Hope a bit better. And Don is just too fun - watching him entertain Brooks across the table was a highlight.

- We paid lots of new attention to nap times and meal times and sunscreen and shade and blustery beach breezes. We didn't take the usual long stroll along the shore together or finish any of the books we brought or didn't sleep in any morning that we were there. We didn't linger over a glass of wine at the end of a meal and we came home early every night. It certainly didn't look too much like our vacations together in the past, but we enjoyed almost every minute. And most importantly, we realized that, yes, vacationing with a baby can be a lot of fun.

Ouch!

On Tuesday, my moms group (a wonderful group of new friends from my church) gathered for a mothers day brunch. Since we have recently finished the book Captivating and haven't started our new study yet, we used our discussion time to ask and answer each others questions, to learn from the collective wisdom of all those moms. Great idea! I'd been planning to seek advice, among other things, on how we could help Brooks sleep better. Since April 21st when we left for Hilton Head, Brooks had not once slept through the night, and often woke multiple times. I thought that perhaps we had ruined his good sleeping habits during one extended vacation.

So, we're sitting around chatting and I'm mentally forming my question, when all of a sudden Brooks' usual gnawing on my thumb turned really painful. Ouch! What in the world?! Um, hello momma! Duh! I'm cutting my first tooth. That's why I've been screaming a lot, especially at night. I'm not just grumpy, I'm in pain!

It was the smack in the head realization, the cartoon light bulb over the slower mind blinking on! I mean we knew he was teething as there has been drool everywhere for weeks, but I didn't think he was actually cutting one yet. And I felt so BAD for the little guy. In my exuberance to "sleep train" him this week, I had been patting him, speaking to him, comforting him from afar when he woke up in the middle of the night. But I had not been giving him children's tylenol or gotten him out of his crib for a little extra cuddling! No wonder we'd all three been getting so little sleep.

So, it's hard to take a picture of the top of a tiny new tooth in a mouth full of drooling gums. But thought I'd attempt it... Any luck seeing it?

If you have a chance to hold Brooks in the next week or two, I'm sure that he'll show you his new tooth by chewing on your fingers.

Wahoo! Another big milestone.

Yep, I love my chair!

Could my child not be a model for the Bumbo Chair Co?!

At our 4 month visit, his pediatrician informed us that we needed to do all that we could to correct Brooks's assymetrically flat head, which came from him lying in the same position on his back. So he's been sitting in this chair rather than on the ground or in his bouncy seat whenever I need to have my hands free. I must say, I think he's pretty cute.

When we received this chair as a gift, I wasn't so sure about it - we're actively trying to limit any unnecessary baby accoutrements for lack of storage space. But now I can say that this chair is one of his favorite places and one of our best tools for getting stuff done during the day.

Doesn't he look happy? What a cute little guy!!

Food, glorious food

Brooks is more or less always hungry. Unless he's spitting up the meal that he just finished, I can usually nurse him more, and he'll eat it with enthusiasm. The last few weeks, however, he's become quite accomplished at grabbing at my toast, triscuits, strawberries, bananas, pita chips, fork-fuls of chicken, salad, fruit, glasses and mugs of beverages, pretty much anything intended for my mouth.

So yesterday, 2 weeks from his six month half-birthday, we tried feeding him solids for the first time. Actually, the meal wasn't solid, per se. It was rice cereal powder mixed with breast milk, much more like broth with a bit of texture to it. Anyway, it was a big hit with the little man. Much of it ended up on his chin and in his bib (which was, apparently, also appetizing), but he did swallow some of it down and seemed to enjoy the new discoveries. See pics below for the play by play.

Ooh, what's this thing around my neck? A "bib"? Interesting...


Yippee! My first meal!! Is it steak, Dad? Is it steak?!


Is this what I'm smelling!? Gimme!


What do you mean, swallow? Can't I just lick it?


Are you going to watch me eat every bite?


Momma says "look up" so she can wipe off my chin!


Can I have some more, please?


What, I'm not supposed to lick my bib clean?

I think I'm done now.

Oh, the JOY! Fire!

Last night, we gathered with a group of friends to celebrate the year anniversary of Eric passing EA-2B, his actuarial exam nemisis. He took this one test four times on the road to his FSA and EA credentials and hated every minute of the IRS minutiae. At least six or seven of the other nine exams, he passed on his first try, so this one was particularly abhorrent by comparison.

Here are a couple of pictures of the festivities... We actually burned Eric's study notes and 2 volumes of IRS code in a weber grill on our back porch (thanks CP!) The "snow" that you see in the pictures is actually the paper ash from the bonfire blowing around.


Look at that happy man!! Burn, baby, Burn!!

Thanks to all our friends who helped us survive that challenging season of life and to the ones who celebrated with us his huge achievement!


And thank you, Lord, that it's behind us!! FREEDOM!!

Oh, the JOY! Sleep!

Wonder of wonders. Brooks is STILL asleep in his crib! I put him down for his morning nap around 9:30 and had to replug his pacifier once around 10:20, but he's been out for over two hours! Hallelujah! Sleep, child, sleep!



This is a HUGE blessing. Those who have seen me in the last 10 days can testify... I'm pretty tired. Brooks' loose but comfortable schedule has gotten ridiculously off track since we left for vacation the third week of April. Since then he's gotten up at least once, often twice a night - every single night - and he's just taken cat naps during the day. This is from a child who had been sleeping 7 or 8 hours straight at 3 months old and napping like a champ for weeks now.

I read all the sleep training books, the "Cry it out" and the "gentle" methods. I thought we were on the right track... And frankly, I didn't realize how much these last few days of sleep issues were affecting my mood until last Thursday night in Nashville. I was up with him for the second time in the wee small hours and we were both crying. "I'm done. I'm just done." was all that could come to mind. It was a low point.

Lots of factors are at play here, not the least of which is my effort when we're in TN to not disturb my parents whose room is next to Brooks'. At home if he cries during the night, we occasionally comfort him to remind him we're here, but we don't get him out of the crib unless absolutely necessary. While we're on the road, instead of doing that, I've been picking him up to quiet him... and often to nurse him, even if it's just a few hours after his bedtime feeding. Well he's a smart cookie - he's learned what it takes to get up and get more food in just a few short nights. And now he's just confused. "I'm crying the same as usual, why aren't they picking me up? Where's the milk, people?!"

Our biggest challenge is that we've been a very mobile family, which means that any routines and patterns are broken just as soon as they're set. The sleep experts all say that you need at least three weeks to "sleep train", and naps and night-time routines shouldn't be interupted during that time, so that the child can really get into a rhythm. But we won't even have TWO weeks of sleeping in the same bed between now and when we move to London in July. I guess the key is just to keep my head about me and try to act as consistently as possible, even when we're on the road.

Any advice for the road warrior parents?

Horrible Near Miss

Important lessons in child-rearing: Don't sit a baby in a Bumbo anywhere close to the knife block, because he can and will likely reach farther than you think.

That near heart-attack I just had was from turning around (my back was turned less than a minute and I was less than 2 feet away) and seeing my adorable five month old grasping the handle of a paring knife. The phrase "you could poke an eye out" has never been more terrorizing. Instead of screaming "drop it and never touch that again!" I had to calmly remove his discovery from his fist and remember that at this point, my child likes anything new and shiny... this is normal behavior. It's up to me to make sure he can only explore safe things.

Please don't call Cook County Child-services on me. Has anyone else had a child safety near miss that I should learn from? This is definitely a teachable moment.