Sleeping like a baby!!!

IT HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!! The Holy Grail of parenthood (or mommyhood in my case.....)

She slept through the night without needing to be fed for 13 hours!!!! The best part is she has been doing it for a full week now. I'm a new woman- rested and ready to conquer the world...... well maybe just rested, but that's beside the point.
She will wake up, stir, make a little noise, and then magically go back to sleep. It is wonderful and totally worth the wait. I was sure the first time it happened that it was a fluke and surely wouldn't continue, but she has proven me wrong.

She has also become extremely predictable with her napping schedule. This is nice for a couple of reasons: I can plan around her sleep schedule, she gets good solid naps in her crib, oh and did I mention I can PLAN something...... Ahhhh, some parents feel a schedule is too rigid, I think it gives us more freedom.

Anya is celebrating St Patrick's Day today. She is wearing a shirt touting herself as "Daddy's Lucky Charm" and ate some Irish soda bread for breakfast. She asked for "green milk" but I think we will stick to the soda bread for now.

We went to the Coal Creek YMCA today (where I teach) and used their pool for the first time. It was very warm and Anya had a blast. We practiced in a life jacket so she will be used to wearing one when we go to Hawaii in May. It is amazing how they flip them right over onto their back. Anya was hanging out, floating on her back with her head resting in the flotation cushion. I think I want an adult version of that- it looked really relaxing!
Anya has been spoiled and had grandparents, friends, and neighbors watch her while I teach classes. I started teaching at the Y because they have an awesome family environment and great childcare. Little Miss Anya however has been reluctant to accept being left in the child care. We have had good days and bad (the bad resulting in me leaving the Pilates class I was teaching twice only to return with her for the last 15 minutes with her "assisting" me.) So needless to say, I can't be taken out of a class I am leading to tend to my slightly distraught daughter. To acclimate her I have been taking her during times when I don't teach so I am accessible when she has a melt down. This seems to be working so far. We also have had grandma accompany us to the Y during my teaching hour and leave with Anya when she gets tired and needs a nap. I'm sure by the time she is 3 it will be no problem to leave her while I teach! Sheesh!

Cruising and bruising at 9 months

Anya is a BUSY girl. Thankfully she is fairly good about entertaining herself but we have to watch her every minute because she tends to stand up and fall over a lot right now. She will be quietly sitting playing with her toys (Boone's gross dirty toys- but whatever) and then the next moment she is across the room pulling herself with Herculean strength up on the coffee table tottering around reaching for the remote control. She has stood on her own two feet without holding onto anything several times but we aren't close to walking yet. I think we have about another month or so.

As I have mentioned before, one of the mom's from my PEPS group and I trade off with child care. I take her son Harry on occasion and she takes Anya for me sometimes. It really works out well and both kids get used to sleeping other places and playing with each other. They know each other now and get excited to see one another. Belinda has an awesome double stroller and I took Anya and Harry out for a walk which resulted in both of them falling asleep. Too precious!

Sleeping is always such a fun topic so lets discuss her latest escapades. She stands in her crib, flops herself down like a WWF wrestler and rolls with abandon. This maneuver can be done playfully or as part of a nasty tantrum depending on the day (or night). She has a tendency to reach over head and grab her mobile that seemingly should be out of reach but I have witnessed her standing straight up in the middle of her crib, arms overhead, swaying with the mobile. Time to remove it I guess. Probably one of the most hilarious things Myles and I have witnessed in relation to sleeping would be her "sleep crawling". Similar to sleep walking Anya can be spotted crawling banging her head repeatedly in the crib while fast asleep. We hear a bang followed by several more bangs and peek at our video camera monitor and see her sleep crawling. She makes a few snuffly noises but never cries and if she were awake she would let us know so we have deduced that she must be sleep crawling. Who knew babies did this sort of crazy stuff!



Naked time is a favorite activity and as long as we keep her on the hard wood floors clean up is easy! There really is nothing cuter then a butt naked baby, buns in the air, crawling around the house.

With the nice warmer weather the past few days we have taken Anya outside to explore a little more. She loves having her bare feet in the grass and playing with the lawn and leaves in her fingers. Inevitably though grass, leaves and dirt all end up in her mouth (maybe she will be a vegetarian after all!!!!) LOL