Thanks Everybody!

I really, really appreciate the advice that many of you have offered over the past few days about how to train our little Mary Ellen to sleep. I think you're right, Pat, that somewhere in there lies the answer and I really appreciate hearing from the "experienced" set.

But here's my confession: Mary Ellen had been cutting molars this whole time. I just didn't realize that it was happening. I knew that she was working on one molar on the bottom from the telltale bump, but I thought it had a ways to go and didn't think it had too much to do with the weeks of bedtime trouble.

Then I took Mary Ellen for her first dentist appointment yesterday, and as the hygienist was checking her out we noticed one that was already halfway through on the top. Whaaa!?!

I'm not saying that we won't struggle with bedtimes again, but I think we're over a hump here. For now.

Now on to the next puzzle...

Flashback

I came across this picture the other day of me at about 7 months. Look familiar?

Cry, Cry Baby

How much crying is too much? As I write this, Mary Ellen is standing in her crib, fussing to herself and to anyone else who'll listen about how lonely and tired she is. I know this is totally normal, and I'm okay with letting her fuss before naptime because I'm confident that she's tired and she rarely takes it to that "I'm crying so hard that I might just bring up my breakfast" level.

Bedtime is another story. For the past week or so, Mary Ellen has been pitching a royal fit about bedtime. She immediately gets to the level of Terror Cry. You know, it's the kind of cry where she is still shaking even after I've picked her back up and it takes her a bit of time to catch her breath.

I know, "Let her cry it out."

I've heard this from a lot of moms with tons of experience. The behaviorist in me knows that I'm only reinforcing her crying by picking her back up. But why does she have to be so miserable before bedtime? Does anyone have a solution that doesn't involve her crying so hard that she finds it almost impossible to calm herself down? Does it just have to hurt before it gets better?

I've been reading the Dr. Sears Baby Sleep Book, and for the most part I really agree with the way that Dr. Sears looks at most things about baby raising. He's very child-centric, and I know from my teaching experience that I tend to be that way as well. Kids have a lot of knowledge and personality, and my hope is to let Mary Ellen show her insticts without letting her rule the roost. Dr. Sears suggests helping baby find ways to get comfortable before the tears start. We've had a lot of luck with this before nap time, but it's a totally different story before bed. I wonder if this is just because she's so tired that she's overcome by it.

I'd love to hear any words of wisdom from you all.

P.S. She's fallen sound asleep in her bed, without any intervention from me. One more little success...

Where has all the cat food gone?

I can't swear that she's been eating it. But I can't promise that she hasn't been eating it, either. I think I'm pretty quick, but I fear she's even quicker.

Crawling totally changes the game, doesn't it? No longer is our little Mary Ellen content to play on the carpet with her toys. Oh, no. Not when there is exploring to do. We're really lucky in that our little house is fairly easy as far as keeping certain things off limits. With really just one main room and one hallway, she's free to roam around the area without too much danger or risk of finding something that she shouldn't. She's even managed to navigate the threshold to the porch on her own, so she's free to roam about both outdoors and in.

The cat food, however, is the one thing that remains "off limits." So why is it, dear Mary Ellen, that this is the ONLY thing you seem to be interested in? What is so appealing about these little brown rocks? The cats merely tolerate them. They can't be that good. Can you confirm the taste? Please, I really hope not.

So the cats may have to start hunting for their food. We move their bowls to our bathroom (the one currently under renovation) but I fear I will never remember to feed our poor pets. The garage is a no, since we'd just be inviting the ant population of central Florida to live in the food bowls. Same goes for the porch. I'd put it up on a higher shelf, but we've let our poor Daisy get so heavy that she struggles to jump up on anything. Wait, maybe this would do her good...

Any suggestions? I'd love to spend more time playing with Mary Ellen and less time playing cat food goalie. Please help a girl out.

Mary Ellen is 10 Months Old!

My, oh my!

This last month was a doozy. Milestones keep getting met, the girl keeps growing, and I am left wondering how it can possibly go by this quickly.

Her stats:

Not sure on the height/weight, etc, but she's mostly wearing 12 months clothes. This is awesome because she has some of the cutest 12-month things that people gave her when she was born. And I've been waiting all this time to get her into them!

She's crawling and pulling up like a champ. I can set her down and say, "Go ahead!" and she'll take off on her next great adventure. She's cruising around the coffee table and the couch. She loves to find the worst possible things to pull up on (laundry basket, walker, Mimi) and try them. Most of the time I get there before the damage is too great.

Likes:
• crawling
• pulling up
• pointing. This is a relatively new phenomenon, but it is nearly constant now. The first thing she does when she wakes up is smile at whomever is getting her from the crib and then she starts pointing at things. Among her favorite pointing subjects are her sock monkey, her Raggedy Ann doll, and the family photos on the wall.
• shoes. God help me, if you leave them anywhere near her, she'll find them and eat them. Gross.
• blueberries, melon, and yogurt

Dislikes:
• napping
• going to sleep on her own
• bedtime (notice a theme here?)

She's crawling like a champ...

And pulling up...

And standing.

Loving her little pool and the warm weather. She'll be a water baby yet.


The monkey photos aren't so easy to take anymore. Looks like she got the best of you this time, Monkey.

Moms and Daughters

I love being a mom.

I don't mind the late nights or early mornings. I don't mind the stains or the tears. I love spending time with this incredible little person that Brian and I created. She challenges me. She makes me laugh. She's one of a kind, and I'm so blessed to be her mom. It still makes me tear up when I refer to her as "my daughter." I have a buddy, and though I know our relationship will grow and evolve (and be strained) over the years, the idea of having a girl to share things with fills my heart.

And I love being a daughter. I've been blessed to have such a good role model in my mom. She's the most patient and positive person I know. When we were growing up, she taught by example. She showed us how to do so many things: how to cook, to garden, to sew, to create, to travel, to laugh, to play, and to teach. I get to use so many of these skills everyday, and I think of her constantly as I spend my days with Mary Ellen and dream of all the things that I'll one day show her.

I only hope that I can be half as good a mom as she has been.

Love you, Mom. Love you, Mary Ellen.

Happy 1st Easter

So, it's really embarrassing to be posting so many events way after the fact, but such is life right now. It's good that we're so busy, right?

Mary Ellen's first Easter was made so much more special with a visit from Grandma Mary Anne and Grandpa Tom. She is in love with them both, and I'm so thankful that they made the trip all the way down here to visit. It was a great trip.

After a trip to the Brevard Zoo, we made our way up the coast to Cocoa Beach. We didn't get near the water, but did have a nice lunch at Coconuts and enjoyed the ocean air.

Grandma and Grandpa (and the rest of the crew) watched in awe as 25,000 marshmallows rained down on the eager little ones at Oviedo's Marshmallow Drop. It was mass chaos, and we loved watching every minute of it.

Time to dye the eggs!

Mary Ellen's first Easter basket. Note: The candy was enjoyed by the grown-ups, but Mary Ellen loved crinkling the bag. Do you think it could always work this way?

The Easter Bunny brought these awesome egg shakers. Shake it, girl!