8 months...35 weeks :)

Miya turned 8 months old on the 29th, and I can't believe how time has flown by. I look at her and am amazed by how she is growing and changing. She is up on all fours attempting to crawl, but it looks more like she is doing the "worm". She almost does belly flops as she attempts to propel herself forward. She is definitely getting more proficient in being up on all fours, so I think it's only a matter of time before she is all over the place! (which I will still admit I am in no hurry for!)

She also is all about fingerfoods these days. She has never been a fan of purees even from the beginning, which has made starting solids interesting! She wants everything we eat and she is a very...enthusiastic eater :) As soon as we sit her in her highchair she screams demanding food, and when the food is gone she cries hysterically as if the world has come to an end, yes that is our drama queen! She still has no teeth, but gums everything! She has eagerly eaten everything we have given her, which has been a big surprise. She even likes things we eat...like lentil casserole! She loves her food.


She loves getting out, it's so funny to watch her excitement as we leave our place and head out for a walk or to visit friends, seriously this girl is so content to just be out the house no matter where we go! She is a big fan of the grocery store too.

I was laughing when I got an email that said "your 35 week old" I thought "wow it's been so long since I marked Miya's age by weeks!". And I realized that in a few weeks Miya will have been in our world longer than she was in my belly. I just can't get over how quickly time is passing, and I can honestly say it is such a joy watching her grow before our eyes!

Our girl on thanksgiving...

Silly girl looked up at me right as we were taking it, it's very hard to get a picture with all of us looking at the camera anymore!

For Nana and Grandpop...

Miya opening her book from nana and grandpop! She loved hearing your voices :) Don't worry about all her fussing, she gets upset when she is forced to sit still for too long, but she loves it! We read the story (actually you read it :)) over 3 times before bed and she giggled and squealed each time.





And Miya reunites with her paci. It was hilarious, she found one of her old paci's (which she has not taken for many many months!) and she popped it in as if she had never been apart from it! But then she finds all kinds of other things to do with is :) She is such a silly girl! When she is older we can't wait to share the love hate relationship we had with her paci in those early days!!

A little glimpse...

...Into how fun a day with Miya can be :)







Sometimes she likes to laugh...just because :) And it makes me smile, even when it means she is way too wired before bedtime!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

Wow does this blog ever need an update! I have wondered how and when I would resurrect this blog, and I guess now that we have so much going on, this would be the perfect time! I love blogging, mainly because it's fun to go back and read through all that was going on in our lives in a particular season, but I also despise the time it takes to upload pictures etc... So I will admit I have been mostly micro-blogging on Facebook and posting pictures there (because it really only takes a minute!)

But here is a mini update of sorts!

Baby girl is...ready for this?...almost 8 months! Talk about time flying by. I still can't get over that, I really feel like we just brought her home from the hospital. But she is growing in leaps and bounds. She is starting to repeat sounds and sometimes words, but she definitely is coming up with her own little language. You know the kind that only Mommies understand? :) The other day she was watching Baby Einstein with me and they were showing all the animals and saying their names and Miya was just in her own little world and all the sudden goes "doooog" I was shocked because it was right after they had said "dog" on the video! Amazing how their little brains work. She says lots of Dada, still waiting for that consistent "Mama" she has said it but I think it was more an accident. She is getting mobile which I am so thankful for, now that she can scooch/crawl around more she tends to be more occupied because she can explore a little more. I might not be so thankful when she starts getting into stuff she isn't supposed to..but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it :)

She has been working on the same 2 teeth forever now. I don't know if we will believe it when they finally pop through. They have always looked like they are on the verge, and she sure acts like they are hurting her, but no pearly whites yet. I have a feeling they will come soon though. She just got over her first big virus. We ended up at the ER because she was wheezing and coughing pretty bad. Thankfully after 2 weeks it is mostly gone and now we are just dealing with the teething. Miya is still doing her Physical Therapy for torticollis. For those of you who don't know, because of Miya's position in utero her head was tilted slightly to one side and as a result she has weakened muscles on one side of her neck causing a tilt. Her's is very mild (not noticeable to most people) but the Physical Therapist describes it at very stubborn. We have been going once a week for about 3-4 months now....and hopefully will be able to cut down on that soon.

And like I said, I hate uploading photos here...so here is a link to our Facebook album of Miya for the last few months:
Family Photos
7 Months
6 Months

Another BIG change is we are moving! I still can't believe it (as it's only been a few days since we made the big decision) but before the new year we will no longer be in our apartment! My Parents have so generously offered for us to live with them for 8-12 months to allow us to save up/pay off debt in order to be able to own a home. I am so thankful for their kindness to us. We have been meeting with a financial counselor at our church and he has been telling us that we can survive the way we are going now, but if we really want to make progress towards buying a home, we really need to take drastic steps. In all honesty we are more excited than anything. We will be living in the home I grew up in, so for me it feels like home! It will be so great to be able to save more and make a dent on some of our debt. Plus to have help with Miya will be so great! Originally we were going to have to pay to get out of our lease. In the long run we knew it made sense to pay to get out of our lease, because we would be paying 1,000 to break our lease which would save us up to 12 thousand since we wouldn't have a rent payment anymore. But here is where I clearly see God's hand in all of this. A few days ago a good friend of mine, Rachel, asked if she can stop by with a friend of hers for a visit. They are both moms as well and so it's always nice to have Moms stop by with their kiddos. Anyways I met her friend Jen and we got to talking. She mentioned she moved to this area from Kentucky because her husband found a job in the area. She has been living with Rachel because they are trying to save money and find a place to live. She mentioned she had been looking at our apartment complex (in fact she really wanted the exact unit we have) but has been told that they don't have any openings right now. As soon as she said it I was shocked. I explained to her that we are actually going to be moving out, and she just looked at me in disbelief! Our time lines exactly line up in that we want to move out before the first of January and they want to move in January. So, we call our leasing office to ask if they would allow us to turn our contract over to Jen since they could move in right away and were shocked by their response. They don't allow people to sub-lease, but because we have a replacement they will wave our fee and give us back our deposit. We are both so overjoyed because it's so clear God has opened this door for us, but not only that, in us moving God is providing a place for this nice family to live! It just blows me away. So, now we have a lot of packing to do, on top of getting ready for the holidays...but we are very excited for our transition!

Also this Christmas we will be taking our first big road trip with Miya! We are going to Indiana to be with the Lewis' and couldn't be more excited. We are planning to leave and drive through the night, hoping Miya will sleep most of the way! I will let you know how that goes :)

I think that is a sufficient update for now :) If you have even read this far! I have never been good at keeping things short!

Letter to Miya...

I have been wanting to do this for, well, over 4 months! I had a "goal" to try to write Miya a letter each month to recap the month before, and here we are, Miya is 4 months and 3 weeks today, and not one letter! I have a lot of catching up to do. So, I am going to start now and try to catch up one letter at a time! I am doing this more for me to remember. But also to show Miya what her first 4 months of life looked like! See, the nostalgia never ends...I thought it was a pregnancy thing, but it looks like it's a Mommy thing too :)

My sweet girlie,

How can it be that you are almost 5 months old? The day that I held you as a sweet newborn for the first time seems so far behind us. Life is so full with you and the days go fast. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time for just a moment, I don't want the time to fly as it does and don't want to miss a thing! But I can't freeze time (as much as I try) so your Daddy and I just enjoy every moment with you. I love seeing you explore and be in awe of the world around you. The noises, the colors, the smells, you inspire me to be in awe with you. Sweet girl you make your Father and I feel so rich. So here is my best attempt at a recap of the last 4 months. So much has happened in such a short amount of time, and I can't imagine what the next 4 months will look like.

Month One...

In month one we began the adventure of being your Mommy and Daddy, and it was just that, and adventure! The days in the hospital still seem like a blur. I remember I got about 3 hours of sleep a night because all I wanted to do was stare at you and watch you sleep. Daddy would laugh at me because for the first month I wanted to be everywhere you were. I remember the nurse came to take you to the nursery to give you a bath; after you had been gone for about 2 minutes we tracked you down and insisted on being a part of your bath. I missed you too much to be apart from you, I mean I did wait 9 months to meet you (not to mention the 48 hours of labor!)

When we brought you home I remember thinking, wait it's just us now, what do we do!? I then began to wish I had taken advantage of the opportunity to sleep while in the hospital! The sleep deprevation began to set in, and whew what a funny place to be. I think no sleep just makes you feel like time is standing still. The days seem long and the nights seem even longer! I remember feeling so fearful at night when the sun went down and I knew that I wouldn't be getting a full nights rest, in fact I now know something I was not aware of before I had you: I NEED sleep, I LOVE sleep, sleep has become a dear dear friend that I am very thankful for! Amazingly you never had day/night confusion which I am very thankful for. You meant business when it came to sleep so you went down and slept for 3-4 hours at a time at night occasionally throwing a 5 hour stretch in there. In fact on the first day of week 4 you went 6 whole hours! I almost went crazy wondering if you were ok! Yes that's right I woke up several times wondering why I hadn't heard you screaming to be fed yet :)

You slept a lot in the beginning. People would visit and many would ask "is it normal for a newborn to sleep this much!?" Well it was for you! You ate, slept, and slept some more your first entire month. I would sometimes forget you were there because you would just sleep so peacefully in your little seat in the living room. You never made a peep until it was time to eat, and than you would sound your alarm! I kid you not you have the strongest set of lungs I have EVER heard. When you wanted your voice to be heard you had no problem making that happen. We would kid and say you have 3 volumes: loud, louder, and loudest. We hardly ever needed a monitor to hear you.

It was in your 4th week that you began to make your presence known. This was the point when we began to call you (yes you my dear!) a fussy girl. You began to become very picky about, how you were held, when you were held, where you would sleep, when you would sleep, how you would eat, when you would eat, what noises you would hear, etc.... Daddy and I would just look at each other and say "what now? We fed her, changed her, she's is probably tired but won't sleep! What do we do!!?" We spent many weeks trying to "figure you out." Of course "nurse" Mommy would try to figure out the medical reasons for your crying. "It must be reflux!" "It must be gas." "She must have a dairy sensitivity." "Maybe she's sick!?" So many possibilities to fret over. Dear girl, I hope you will respond differently one day if God gives you a child of your own. Your Momma responded in fear so many times, that first month was so scary and God taught me SO much about what it looks like to really depend on Him.

That first month was so sweet. I loved to just stare at you and try to comprehend that you were our gift from God. We had the joy of getting to care for you and watch you grow! And grow you did :) You gained so much weight that first four weeks! By 4 weeks you were close to 10 pounds. You had gone way up from your 6lb 8oz birth weight. It was probably because Mommy fed you every time you cried. What can I say, I didn't know what else to do.

Month one also meant LOTS of fun visitors! People came far and wide to meet you. Here are some of those people:

Grandma and Granddad Lewis :)

Uncle Enoch

Aunt Hannah

Meema and Pop Pop

Uncle Sam and Uncle Jeremy (Aunt Pri came too but I somehow didn't get a picture!)

Aunt Rachel. She even stayed in the hospital with Mommy overnight so Daddy could go home and get some rest :)

Aunt Rissa and Tommy

The Remmy's and "meeper" their baby girl who you will meet in November! I am hoping you will be good friends growing up.

Auntie Cherai made a special visit from Chicago to see you!

Jessica from the small group Daddy and Mommy lead

Jeannine also from small group

Mandy also from small group. Did I mention all these fine people brought us food too! :)

Mark and Brandy are very good friends of ours

They are expecting their second baby in January and we are pretty sure it's a girl! Another girl we hope you get to be good friends with.

Mark and Brandy's cutie pie Matthan. We are hoping he will protect you as you grow up, since you don't have a big brother!

Great Grandma Kouneski.

Mommy's good friend Kelly

Dustin from small group. You were the first baby he ever held!

May also from small group :)

Good friends Mari and Dave :) We just found out they are moving across the street from us and we are so excited!

I know more people visited but these are all the pictures I could dig up for now. That is my best summary of your first month. It is hard to believe you are no longer a newborn. But you still are our cuddly girl, who loves to be held and snuggled. And we are so very thankful for that!

Love
Mommy

Coming up next: 2 month letter...

Seriously...

Seriously yummy.
Seriously easy.... cupcakes.

Made these this morning for Mama's birthday and they were good, and lovely! It's my new favorite cupcake recipe.

:o) Thanks Joy the baker, you're the best!

Domesticity Strikes

I am trying to get back into my domestic groove. I think I have had plenty of excuses after having a baby: "I'm too tired", "Shower -vs- cooking dinner...no competition", and just feeling tired after caring for a baby and feeling NO drive to make a meal, or do anything creative in the home for that matter.

So after a vacation and now that Miya is getting to be a little more independent I have gotten my mojo back, or at least part of my mojo. I think one can only tolerate frozen trader joe's meals for so long (they are good, but can't replace home cooked meals.) So I planned my first week of meals and did my foodshopping and am on a roll. I planned many meals from The Pioneer Woman and it felt good to be working in the kitchen again. Also now that Miya seems to be tolerating dairy again (praise the Lord!) I feel like it's easier to plan normal meals now. Next time you see me I may be a whole 20 pounds heavier because I am making up for lost time with my beloved friends cheese and ice cream :) I can't get enough! Here are a few recent discovers that have been keeping me busy:

Easy homemade Artisan Bread

I found this great way to make bread that is seriously NO FUSS! I love my bread maker and still use it for a lot of different stuff, but I love artisan bread and you can't really get that from the bread maker. I found this great Instructable online that comes from the book "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day". It is seriously some good stuff. Basically you follow the instructions and make a batch of dough that doesn't even need to be kneaded. Store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and grab a ball when you need for loaves of bread, pizza crust, or rolls. You can get creative and make a round loaf or a baguette. She includes videos with instructions on how to prepare and cook the dough. You can use it to accompany meals or use for sandwiches.

If you don't think you can use it in 2 weeks you can parbake (bake 90% of the way) and then freeze it like that and bake the rest of the way when it thaws. I also halved the recipe as is suggested in order to have room to store it in the fridge and since I don't think I could use the whole batch from the original recipe. The dough develops a nice sourdough flavor after a few days...Mmmmm.

Another of my favorite blogs is Simple Mom. She posted this link in her weekend links: "20 Tips to Waste Less Food" from Small notebook. This was so helpful as I am still trying to learn how to not waste food! She has so many great pointers and you can find even more helpful tips in the comments section. My favorite was freezing fresh lemon or lime juice in ice cube trays so you can use it for recipes when you need it. She also mentions freezing leftover wine in ice cube trays for soups and or sauces. Such a great idea.

If you need some fresh inspiration check out Simple Mom, she is doing a whole series on Homemaking called Back to the Basics!

More on life soon...

living life

So, obviously there hasn't been much blogging going on! I think (especially with a baby) we have just been living life and haven't had so much time to blog about it. Life is good, we have so much to be thankful for. Our little girl is growing up (she is 16 weeks!) and time is just flying by. Lew and I keep finding ourselves sighing before bed saying things like: "before we know she will be potty training!" It just blows me away how she is literally changing before our eyes. Growing in leaps and bounds and learning so much. I am enjoying every moment, watching her discover the world fills me with awe and makes me want to discover things all over again. It's amazing how babies and children are captivated by the little things, like a red speck on the carpet, or a mirror showing their own reflection. It makes you think about how we are called to be like children, life comes down to the little things sometimes.

Either way I have many things I have been wanting to post. We just got back from the beach and had a great time. It's good to be home again, but we are missing all the company of my family too! We also had a great visit from the Lewis Grandparents and Aunt Cherai. It's hard to believe the summer is halfway over. More to come...

::Work::

It's hard to believe I have been home with Miya for close to 3 months now. Each month has looked very different from the last. The first month was the hardest in terms of adjusting to the new job as Mommy, but also the funnest because I just couldn't get over the fact that little Miya was ours and how much I loved her! Then the second was the most challenging because Miya's fussiness really peaked at that point and I felt so discouraged as I tried to care for her with no reciprocation and no clue what was causing the fussiness! The third month has been trying in terms of figuring out how to balance the role of both Mommy and wife. Now that being a Mom isn't quite so "new" (and I am getting more sleep at night ;)) I can tend to battle with how to juggle the new with the old. But by God's grace I am learning. Then to throw one more factor into the mix I will be going back to work more than likely 2 half days a week, which will be another big adjustment. Thankfully it doesn't take much to keep my license, but I have to admit the idea of leaving miya for even just a few hours a week is a sad one for me, I LOVE getting to spend my days with her! But I know this is just a season and eventually I will be looking into a different nursing position where I can perhaps work one shift every other week in the evening so Lew can watch her and I can still be with her during the day.

Something God has been reminding me lately is that even though I am staying at home, being a mommy to Miya and wife to Lew is my job, and it's by no means an easy one (even though I enjoy it so!) I sometimes forget that it's a job, but it is, and it's the job God has ordained for me! I was reading this excerpt from Keep a Quiet Heart from Elisabeth Elliot and it really encouraged me:

Wouldn't it make and astounding difference, not only in the quality of the work we do (in office, schoolroom, factory, kitchen, or backyard), but also in our satisfaction, even our joy, if we recognized God's gracious gift in every single task, from making a bed or bathing a baby to drawing a blueprint or selling a computer? If our children saw us doing "heartily as unto the Lord" all the work we do, they would learn true happiness. Instead of feeling that they must be allowed to do what they like, they would learn to like what they do.

St. Ignatius Loyola prayed, "Teach us, Good Lord, to labor and to ask for no reward save that of knowing that we do Thy will." As I learn to pray that prayer, I find that there are many more rewards that come along as fringe benefits. As we make an offering of our work, we find the truth of a principle Jesus taught: Fulfillment is not a goal to achieve, but always the by-product of sacrifice.

That last line is the one I want to remember, in fact I may post it in Miya's nursery so I see it when she decides to wake up at 3am to eat (a habit she had cut out but has now decided to reintroduce, fun times!) I can get so caught up in the busyness and can tend to only see the ordinary mundane tasks...but I forget how spectacular it is that I get to be this sweet girls Mommy, and that I get to have this loving man as my husband. I can be so blind sometimes to how TRULY blessed I am. I really want to grow in laying down my life for these 2 God has given as my family so I can know true fulfillment! I am quickly learning that there is no fulfillment in living for yourself.

The Good Stuff

I don't know how many of you read the Simple Mom blog (it's one of my favorites), but I read this on there this morning and boy did it make me think! Mommies if you haven't read her blog before you should check it out! :)

(taken from simplemom.net)

A few years ago, I read this excerpt from one of Erma Bombeck’s columns, when she discovered she was dying from cancer — it was titled “If I Had to Live My Life Over”:

“… I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded. I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace. … I would have sat on the lawn with my kids, even if it meant grass stains.”

It hit home. As I write this, I’m looking at a bottle of perfume — one that I love — that was a Mother’s Day gift in 2005. I’ve used about a quarter of it. I’m not sure if I’m waiting for the queen to visit, an invitation to the presidential inauguration ball, or just some amazingly romantic date with my husband. But for some reason, I hesitate to use it, as though it’s a precious commodity; that once it’s gone, it’s gone.

That’s true, to some degree. But I can just get more perfume, probably as another Mother’s Day gift. If I love it so much, why don’t I just use it?

Do you have something in your life akin to this? For your wedding, did you register for special china in addition to your everyday dishes? How about certain lotions, or soaps, or articles of clothing? Do you have eleven categories of towel types, like Monica does in Friends?

Maybe you’re in the depths of early childhood rearing, like me. You’re up to your elbows in poop and snot, and you lost count the amount of times you’ve picked up the same blocks off the same carpet. Your day is peppered with breakfast, lunch, dinner, nap times, quiet times, time outs, and story time. If you hear Dora’s map yell “I’m the map!” one more time, you might scream.

The liturgy of our day’s everydayness can be numbing. It’s easy to forget about that good perfume, the bone china, the silk skirt. There’s spit-up to contend with.

Make this season of your life — whatever it is — more special with those special things you’re saving. Break out the good china for tonight’s homemade pizza. Let your kids know they’re special with those special little things, and don’t worry so much about the messes they’ll make. Bring out the “fancy guest” towels for your family. You’ll blink, and this season will be gone. That pudgy hand covered in dirt will soon be holding hands in a waltz with her groom.

Enjoy the little things in life. And make them more special by using the good stuff. Don’t wait for that perfect moment — it’s right here.

What “thing” are you saving for something special?

11 weeks and so behind!

Wow this blog has not only been neglected...but I have been looking back and it's become all about Miya! What can we say, she is much cuter and much more interesting than we are.
Also posting pictures on facebook is SOO much easier and faster so I have been doing that more, just to save time. We also are using shutterfly to post pictures. You can see them here.

I can't get over the fact that she is 11 1/2 weeks. Seriously, people said it would go "fast" but this is much faster than I expected! We have been through such a journey, learning to be her Mommy and Daddy and learning to not trust in our own strength while we do it. It's amazing to watch our little girl grow, and see her changing and learning new things right before our eyes. Since she has been babbling away I find that I can just sit and watch her and listen to her forever! Just this week she has started to enjoy a little bit of independent play, which is such a nice break for me. I lay her on her little play mat which has a mirror over it, and she will just lay there and coo/babble/smile/laugh, all while she kicks her little feet wildly. It's just precious. She also has started to spend a little time in her bumbo seat which is really funny.

She starts off doing good, using those neck muscles..and will stay that way for a good while...

Then she starts to recline...and looks something like this. It cracks me up every time. Don't you just love her little "kisser?"

weeee!

looking at me like I am crazy!

haha silly mommy.

trying on her bikini that she borrowed from her cousin, although daddy has decided his little girl will not wear a bikini at the beach!

smiles..

again, I love her little kisser :)

We are enjoying our girl so much. She has started to really grow out of the "fussies" and we are so glad! We actually saw a GI doctor this past week and she confirmed that she is sensitive to not only dairy in my diet, but soy as well. So that has been a huge adjustment for me as they are both in pretty much everything. We have seen a huge difference as I have cut them out, so it's worth the sacrifice. But I must say as soon as I am able (maybe when she is around 6 months) I am going to get myself a HUGE milkshake. We are hoping she does grow out of it.

It's been such a joy to watch her discover the world, she is very attentive to noises and lots of things catch her attention. The other day we were walking outside and she heard a bird chirping and turned in that direction just memorized by the bird. It was too cute. She also LOVES music, in specific we have this childrens CD that has 150 kids songs, sung by children, and she just loves it. It has been a life saver in the care as she usually screams whenever in her carseat, but yesterday I turned it on and she stopped, and even fell asleep! The only problem is I can't get these songs out of my head! I still have the words to muffin man and billy boy running through my mind :o)

She also has started to LOVE her bath time, so we now give her a bath every night! The only issue we have been running into is getting her to not go potty in the bath...we're working on it.

Our girl also has started to teethe. Thankfully it's off and on, but my pediatrician said she wouldn't be surprised if she cuts her teeth early, especially because I did. Miya is growing up WAY too fast! But we are enjoying every minute of it.

Well, I guess that is life for now! The Lewis Grandparents and Auntie Cherai are coming for a visit soon, and we can't wait for them to see Miya as she has changed a lot since the last time they saw her!

She survived...

...her first shots! But what a traumatic experience for her and us! She had a pretty bad reaction to the vaccines that lasted almost 24 hours. But all is well again and this video proves it. I am just loving all her smiles and talking :)

7 weeks, and growing :)

Long time no blog :) I know I kind of left you all hanging after my last dramatic post at 5 weeks! Sorry about that. Life has been full to the brim with our girlie. How about an update?

Things seem to be improving with Miya in terms of the fussiness (we are so thankful) and just taking it one day at a time. With many peoples advice and tips (thanks everyone!) we were able to implement some soothing techniques that really seem to calm miya when she hits the "witching hour" as we have grown to call it. It usually hits around 5 and lasts until she finally conks out around 9ish. She pretty much fights sleep the entire time and we have tried everything to get her to settle during this time. Usually she is ok with being held but really doesn't want to be put down, actually that is true of her most of the day. This evening time fussiness is usually the hardest part of the day and once she finally goes to sleep we are ready for bed too (it wears us out) We still aren't sure if this is officially colic, because she has stopped having the long crying spells (seems like they left as quick as they came) but one HUGE discovery was simply the fact that our girl gets VERY easily overstimulated and needs to nap frequently. She tends to wake up, eat right away, have about 30-45 minutes of awake time and then it's back to bed! One thing we realized is we were keeping her awake way too long, and way past her point of exhaustion. I had no idea babies this age need so much sleep...oops :) So much of her fussiness was us not picking up on her sleepy cues and what we learned is that once she becomes overtired, she is almost impossible to calm down at that point. So I have started learning her cues and watching for her getting tired and putting her right down to sleep, and amazingly she seems to be happier and calmer now! Don't get me wrong, she is still a little "diva" of sorts when it comes to making her preferences known (and trust me the girl knows what she wants!) but she seems to be easier to calm and sleeps better now, which has been great! Speaking of sleep....

Miya is finally in her crib full time! We couldn't believe how quickly and smoothly the transition took place. We started Tuesday night this week after a really bad failed attempt last week. I was afraid that putting her in the crib after she had gotten so snug in our bed would be horrible, but it wasn't! We started with naps first, then at night. I think the transition was harder on me than it was for her. I would make several trips (and still do) to peek in her room before I fall asleep. What really has helped is trying to give her a little routine that fits in with her sleep. So basically trying to be consistent so she knows what is coming next. So when she wakes I open her blinds, feed her, then change her diaper, then spend some "awake" time with her enjoying all the smiles she is starting to give us, then I basically watch for the yawing to start. Then it's right back to her room, close the blinds, turn on the noise maker (which seems to work like magic for her, but only on the rain setting) rock her for a minute, sing a song, then lay her down. The only hiccup we have hit is the whole pacifier ordeal. Our girl is totally hooked on her paci for sleep. How can something do so much good and so much evil all at the same time? :) Basically sucking on it is the one thing that soothes her gets her to that oh so happy sleepy state, BUT then once that sleepy state hits, the paci slips out and WAAHHHHHHHH. She is not a happy girl. So here come Mommy and Daddy running to pop that bugger back in. The first day we tried her in her crib I counted 35 times that I came in to put the pacifier back in so she would nap. Finally it worked and she slept for a good 2 hours! It is gradually getting better where it doesn't seem to wake her as often, which we are grateful for. She even has gone to sleep 3 times today without fussing at all! What a change from just a week ago.

She also has set herself on a nice little time schedule. She usually is awake for an hour or so at a time during the day, then sleeps for about 1.5-2. Then she is sleeping anywhere from 3-6 hours at a time at night which has been very nice. It's amazing to see how her body is setting it's internal clock for sleep. She is becoming more predictable with when she will nap and when she will wake. At night I can pretty much expect her to wake between 12 and 1 am and then again between 430 and 530am. Not too shabby! Sometimes she will even surprise me and skip one of them, I like those nights :)

The hardest thing that we are dealing with now that she has gotten used to her crib as the place for sleep, we can't get her to fall asleep as easily other places. But, no complaints, we are just happy to see her getting some sleep and finally liking her crib!

I can definitely say I am learning a lot about dependence on the Lord right now. There is nothing more humbling than being a mommy. I love it, it challenges me and stretches me like never before.

Miya is starting to do a lot more smiling and cooing which has been so fun. She makes you work for those smiles though. She also has decided she hates her carseat. Yikes. She really is a WAY different little girl then she was the first 3 weeks. She would pretty much go with the flow and was happy and content all day. Loved the car, loved her carseat, loved just sitting in her little seat (or anywhere we set her down for that matter) but she is a different girl now! When we would take her for car rides this week she screamed so loud and so hard that she actually ended up drenched in sweat. It was so sad because it usually happened when it was just me in the car so there wasn't much I could do to help her. Eventually she cried herself to sleep...but I am hoping to find a solution to the car screaming, maybe she will outgrow it? Fast I hope :)

Unfortunately I didn't take too many pictures this week...but here are a few!


Walks and getting fresh air have been SOOOOO good for us lately. She loves getting outside and usually sleeps great after getting outside. I love this little hat on her

These little smiles make me melt.

snuggles after bathtime. Sorry it looks like I accidently cut daddy out of most of these pictures. Oops!

bathtime makes her sleepy

haha this is one for her wedding slideshow many years from now :)

Her cute "I love my Auntie" jammies from Auntie Cherai

I love you Auntie!

her and hippity.

she's growing :)

The End.