One for the books!

Our days lately have been something to be proud about and document in the books.... so I thought I'd do just that! Julia has been doing an awesome job with sleeping lately! Again, I hate to jinx us, but I'm starting to feel pretty confident that her good sleeping habits may actually last (at least for a little while, until the next 'thing' comes our way.... whether it be another growth spurt, developmental change, or travel interference).

For a week now, Julia has consistently been having fabulous nights! She (more or less) is going down around 6:30pm for bed, waking once around 3:00am to eat, and then sleeps again until 6:30am..... and she has chosen this route on her own, in the respect of dropping the night feedings! It makes me feel good about sticking with the multiple feedings at night for as long as I did, because maybe she really did need them! Naps have also FINALLY been improving. She used to be the queen of chronic SHORT naps. Generally, we'd get 3 30-40 minute naps in a day. But, the new norm lately is to produce at least one awesome nap lasting anywhere from an hour and a half to two+ hours once a day! I am loving this! Not only does it allow me to get more things done during the day while Julia naps, but it also allows her to stay up a little bit later in the day and entertain us longer! She also has, seemingly, managed to have successfully conquered the task of putting herself to sleep! And, I'm very proud with the way we handled this "sleep teaching" - that in which on most nights I would stay in the room with Julia, cribside, until she was asleep. Now, I have faith (on most days) that I can just lay her down in her crib and walk away and know that she will peacefully be asleep soon............ however, now that we have conquered this feat, I find myself staying in there again (on some occasions) to rub her back to sleep, etc. just because 'I can' and I'm realizing that she's not going to need (or want) me to do it forever. I might as well take advantage of it while I can.

That's all. Just wanted to share our success! We're very proud - and also very hopeful that it will continue!

(Before I go.......... I simply cannot just submit a post sans photos or videos(!), so here are a few of some of my newest favorites).

And, a little bit of 'happy' for you all......

This is a video I took yesterday morning. PUH-LEASE ignore my awful (and probably too revealing) pj's, bedhead, and groggy morning voice. Her little giggles are far worth me submitting myself to such embarrassment here on my blog!

5 months (...a little late!)

Julia is 5 months old!

I'm about a week late in posting these pics, but nevertheless, here they are! (Can you tell, that it's getting more and more difficult for me to keep up with the blog?)

I cannot believe how much growing physically and developmentally Julia has done this month! I've read up a lot on the "4 month sleep regression" or "4 month wakeful period" that some babies experience due to working on new skills and developments - and Julia definitely experienced it, and it shows in her growth. This month she has learned how to roll over front to back, and then back to front, sit up with assistance (.... but in the last week she now can sit unassisted .... for a short time anyway...), grab her toes, blow bubbles/make "raspberry" noises, shriek like a pterodactyl, stand in her exersaucer, and.... what else? There must be something I'm forgetting, but that's a lot of change in 4 weeks time!

I mentioned Julia's "shrieking" above.... this is something that we are finding ridiculously entertaining. And, it appears that Julia is just as entertained to watch our happy expressions back at her when she does this.

Here she is waking up from a nap and showing me her "pterodactyl" skills:

And, here she is, Pterodactyl Julia, getting a diaper change:

(I know this is one of those videos she will later hate me for posting, but I just couldn't help myself!)

She is SO interactive right now, more than ever before, and I absolutely love it. Sometimes she'll laugh really hard just by seeing you (fake) laugh at her, and I must get this on film soon! She's just so fun to be around, and if I'm enjoying her this much now, I can't imagine how much MORE fun and special it will get as she continues to grow and become more and more interactive and "adult" like.

Julia's "crawl" at 5 months old.... she still has a ways to go, but is definitely working hard!

For Julia's 5 month birthday, we celebrated by heading out to South Padre Island for a birthday lunch. We had a great time having lunch at this casual little restaurant that sits on it's own pier! I only wish the island were closer, and then we'd surely take advantage of it more. Julia got to sport her cool new shades, and she loved being out at the restaurant with us (and everyone else there). The people at the restaurant sitting next to us told Julia not to grow up.... I wonder if they knew it was her birthday. :)

It technically isn't recommended for babies to wear sunblock before 6 months of age, but considering where we live, and that Julia is "close enough" in age, and that I've heard the American Cancer Association recommends infants using sunblock much earlier than 6 months, we decided to lather her up for the first time.

Our little family.

Within a matter of seconds of being back in the car to head home, she was passed out cold.

5 Month "I Love It's"

Dear Julia,

I love it when...

10) ... you smother my face with your kisses (wet, sloppy, and all) just like I always do to you.

9) ...you watch us eat with SUCH curiosity, and even go as far as trying to grab the cup or spoon right out of our hands.

8) ...you smile and "dance" with excitement when you see us appear in your room after you wake up from a nap or nighttime.

7) ...you laugh. It really is amazing how powerful your teeny tiny giggle is to fill my heart up so full when I hear you.

6) ...I find you asleep in your crib, lying on your side and still in "mid-suck" on your glowing seahorse soother.

5) ...I witness you fall asleep while your hands are up in mid air, and then watch them slowly fall down to your sides.

4) ...we have bubble blowing contests back and forth to each other.

3) ...your "bodily function" noises startle and scare Delaney, causing her to flee to another room!

2) ...you get so proud of yourself when I help you sit up from lying down.

1) ...you touch my face with your hands and they feel more and more grown up every day. This I also hate.

Mommy loves you, Julia!

Sleep Rolling

I almost hate to "speak" this here on our blog in fear of jinxing ourselves, yet again, but Julia has been sleeping beautifully for the last 3 nights! For all three nights she has been going down around 6pm, sleeping through the 10pm'ish time that she used to wake up to eat, and going straight through 'til about 3am! She has been waking then, eating, and then going right back down to sleep until about 6:30am. Aside from the "sleep teaching" we've been doing, I accredit this loveable sleep pattern to tummy sleeping!

On Thursday, I heard her wake up from a nap, and before rushing in there, I usually creep in (on my hand and knees so she can't see me) and spy on her from the end of her crib to make sure she's really waking up and not just crying in her sleep. Well, on this day, to my surprise, I witnessed my baby (who has always been put to sleep on her back, and has always stayed there) roll over in her crib! She was so proud of herself when she accomplished this feat - it was absolutely adorable to watch. She still didn't know I was there though, so I quickly crept back out of the room and then returned, walking in, and acting all surprised to see her like that, she was so giddy with excitement and pride. Here is her just after I walked in:

Though seeing her roll over in her crib was super cute, I was dreading what was to come - believing that "tummy time" (in Julia's eyes) = "play time." I saw myself having to travel back and forth from our bedroom to the nursery over and over again all night to flip her back over so she could sleep. BUT, when I put her down for her next nap that day, I spied on her again when she was falling asleep, and again she rolled herself over. I decided to leave her that way for a little while and I left the room. When I returned to check on her, only minutes later, she was sound asleep, so sweetly, on her tummy. I was a little nervous about her being a tummy sleeper at first, but she seems to sleep so much better this way, so everyone is happy!

Any prayers are welcome to help this good sleeping streak continue for us! :)

Gran & YoYo Visit - Weeks 21 & 22

Here is what we've been up to in the past few weeks!

Julia at 21 weeks (and getting over her bad cold)

Julia, showcasing her "status" and the date

..Juuuuuuust hanging out in her crib.

Julia's "Gran" & "Grandpa Yo Yo" came for a visit this past week! As always, the time flew by. We spent most of the time protecting Julia's sleep schedule (attempts) that we have been so diligently working with, but we also managed to get out to the island one afternoon for lunch, made some trips out to a few stores for some errands, and Andy & I even got to get away for a dinner out one night, too!

Julia playing with Gran

Playing Peekaboo with me -

...there is a video of this below...

peekaboo

Julia with white hair

Playtime!

"Did you know books taste good?"

Julia has started sitting up unassisted! Though, still not well enough to get up there on her own, nor earn my trust to leave her like that for any length of time and any walk away. She's a little wobbly, but can still hold it for probably close to a minute (with a good balance) before making a nose dive for the floor.

She was wearing this special outfit (coming all the way from Yankee Stadium from Gran & Yo Yo) in honor of her special "Yankee Loving" visitors

Julia and Yo Yo

Gran, Yo Yo, and Julia

Gran and Julia

Getting some Yankee lovin' from Daddy

Julia on her 22 week "birthday" - you can't see the sign real well in the back, but she was sharing this "birthday" with her Aunt Jane ... so there's a special birthday message there.

Admiring her pretty dress

This is her "I'm done with it" pose - when she wiggles herself so much and slouches down so low in the chair that her whole body sinks down to the seat part and she squirms away...... a tantrum in the making?

This video is a couple of weeks old, but it's Julia waking up one morning. She was just chatting away with her lambs on her crib bumper, and happy and can be before I entered the room.

wakeup

This is Julia trying out her high chair for the first time. After I got her strapped in, I needed to go get something, and rather than take her out, I decide to wheel her around with me - the look on her face (that of confusion and awe) was priceless as she tried out this new "ride." She wasn't really having the high chair so much, but maybe once FOOD is involved, she'll warm up to it more!