Ready or Not

Our little peanut is going so quickly and she has several new tricks. She now shakes her head "no" when she is told no. She also will shake her head no when she gets close to "no" objects (outlets, entertainment center, etc). This is pretty cute and you have to see it to get the full effect.

Sweet baby girl also has found her tongue, this is pretty cute.

I know I've said it for quite some time now but I think we are maybe close to a tooth, or the fussiness from today was her way of expressing her displeasure with not being able to walk yet. She is so close to walking, she has taken up to 5 steps. She is so proud of herself when she does take steps. When she happens to plop back down on her bottom she is thoroughly frustrated.

The last two days I have put Karoline in the car and she has done really well. The screaming has been minimal and she actually doesn't seem to mind being in the car, this has been really nice, I hope she keeps it up. The yelling was awfully hard to deal with. Funny thing is now I am constantly waiting for her to get fussy so I am still on edge. When my mom came to visit last weekend Karoline was just about horrible in the car. I think she is so excited that her nana is here that she wants nothing to do with being away from her. Just an add on to her visit, we took Karoline swimming and it was a blast! She also got to go for a nice walk with her nana and she seemed to really enjoy it.

I think I am too hard on myself when it comes to being a "good parent." I want so badly to do the right thing that some times I don't just enjoy the now. I look back at when Karoline was a new born and I think about how I constantly was trying to keep up with the house work and cooking and cleaning. Note to self, never move right after a baby is born. Anyway, I now know that it is ok to just hold the baby and to send someone out to get food. I am trying to make sure that the lessons I learned from the newborn stage are put into practice now. The hard part about being the stay at home mom is knowing that yes, it is ok to leave the dishes in the sink for a little while. But, at some point you have to do something about them. I have been told that I can't just relax and that I am always doing something, this is true. But, if I don't do the cleaning, dishes, laundry, etc, who will? I suppose it is just finding the right balance.

Well, I suppose I ought to get to bed, never know how much sleep you are going to get when you have a baby. Sleep while you can!

One Foot in Front of the Other

Our little princess is such an adorable little thing. She can pull herself up on anything and everything and is working very hard at getting form sitting to standing with out any help at all! Not only that but she can now take steps, ALL BY HERSELF! Her first two steps were on 2/7 and yesterday she took four. I am beyond proud and by the look on her adorable little face so is she. Our little tea pot (short and stout) is growing up so quickly and her physical achievements are just amazing. 

One other little random thing, I love my wedding ring. That is all. Have a great weekend!

Things In Your Hair

As I sat down to write this I verbally expressed the comfort of sitting. It's been a long day. Karoline has always slept in a sleep sack (pretty much like a wearable blanket), for a long time she had her hands free at the end of her sleeves. Recently we made the decision to cover them since she could pull herself up on things. This decision probably wasn't the best one, kind of like placing a band aid on a wound that needs stitches. However, it was the decision we made. So, last night we decided it was time to let her have her hands back. We did not put her in a sleep sack, just her pajamas and made sure her room was set to the temperature that she prefers (about 70*). At 7:30pm she woke up, stood up, looked around and went back to sleep. I was so excited and thought, "Okay, we can do this." Well, come 3:30am she stood up and was screaming, I gave her a few minutes before rushing right in. She calmed down and played in her crib, but after an hour she began to tire and the screaming started again. At this point in time I decided to go in and try to calm her down with out picking her up. Yea, right. I caved, I nursed her and got her back to sleep and we all slept until 7:30am. Normally our mornings are pretty easy, Karoline plays while I sit and watch her or we read books while Tim sleeps. Today she was just fit to be tied and cried and cried all morning. If I was holding her she wanted down, when I put her down she wanted me to hold her. When it came time to try for a morning nap after about two hours of pretty much constant screaming she wanted nothing to do with her crib. But, she did fall asleep only due to sure exhaustion. She actually fell asleep with her face on the bars of her crib on her knees. We didn't feel it was right to leave her like this. I'm sure you can only guess that trying to move her to her back didn't work and she was up. I took her to the store with me in hopes of getting her a change of scenery. She did ok for the most part. At lunch I stripped her down and let her feed herself avocado (her favorite), she enjoyed this for a while, it resulted in a sink bath which she also seemed to like. When Tim headed off to work I was dreading the fact that I knew we would have to go through another battle of the nap with out her sleep sack. I caved, I didn't even stick to my guns for a full 24 hours. However, not 60 seconds in that sleep sack and she was out cold. I know she was tired but I have decided the sleep sack must be comforting to her. The only reason I wanted to take her out of it was because she has started to try and pull herself up in it and slips. My new plan of action is to let her sleep in it, why not. When she is awake enough to pull herself up in it then I guess that means it is time to get up. I am sure that come summer time or as soon as she is old enough she won't want to be in it anymore. For now, she can stay in it, if she's happy then I am happy!

Enough of that ... the last couple of days have been pretty eventful as far as "firsts" for Karoline. She made her first mess by opening my water bottle and getting completely soaked. After she played in it for a while she started saying "mama," and crawled my way. Funny girl. she also has been propping herself up on her toes and hands, it looks like she may get herself to the walking position soon!

You may be wondering about the title of this post, right? I've decided that just one party of being a parent means finding stuff in your hair. Just now after cleaning up lunch I went into the bathroom and had butter in my hair and I have no clue how it got there. Yesterday Tim had Karoline on his shoulders and she spit up on his head. I have also come to the realization that I was over confident about being a parent. I though it would be easier. I thought that after being a nanny for several babies that I would be able to figure out our baby, I was wrong. Karoline is worth every struggle and every ounce of frustration while I try to figure out what is wrong. I am so thankful for the blessing that she is and that she was a planned addition to our family. Every time she smiles, laughs, talks or does pretty much anything I am so over joyed and proud and I forget that she has just been yelling and screaming at me for the past two hours. I guess I am making this realization to say that I sure wish that all babies are blessed to be a part of a family that is ready for the undertaking. Having a baby is hard work, it's the job that I've always wanted and I am so happy to have my sweet girl. I pray that all babies are loved the way that I love her. That parents will always be able to see the bright side and know that the crying and the frustration will end and that sweet babies really are just trying to tell you what is wrong in the only way they know how. Karoline has been asleep (in her sleep sack) for 40 minutes now, I am going to take advantage of this time and go lay down myself. Here's to a happy and well rested afternoon!