Our New Favorite Toy

 We had some soft balls from a little blow up toy our son had that had gotten a hole and wanted to find a way to use them. We went to Toys R Us the other day and bought a 36 inch kiddie pool. We only have 50 little balls which you wouldn't think would be fun enough, but it has been the best thing ever for both my 5 year old and 1 year old.

Josie has been getting in and out, in and out, in and out. She kicks and churns the balls making a loud but entertaining noise. Wyatt gets out his pillow and blanket and lays in it, even watched a movie last night in it.

Who would have thought it would be such a hit? I think we need to get some more balls!

Birthday Girl!

Josie had her 1st Birthday Friday! So hard to believe it's been a year already! I feel like it has just whizzed by. So very different from Wyatt where it seemed I took that all in a little at a time. She has changed so much:

She is now 16 lbs 11 oz, only gained 8 oz since her 9 month check up. And she is 29 inches tall, up five inches from her last check up. She had three vaccinations and did very well. Over all a healthy little girl!

On Friday we let her have a cupcake after dinner. {Her first one ever.}

We went to Aspen Park again together all four of us. We had a wonderful afternoon.

Then on Saturday my parents and brother came over and helped us celebrate! Sorry to say, her cake looks NOTHING like I pictured in my head! If you think that this bad you should see the backside! 

She did not blow out her candle...

She got another birthday cupcake...

She had a death grip on it the whole time she was eating it. Squeezed it in her hands as hard as she could.

Then she got to open her gifts. She did good the first two, then lost interest in the whole process.

She loves her cart, but sadly she is too short to operate it yet!

Happy Birthday, sweet Josie!

Love, 

Mama

Good Times!

Wyatt and I have got to spend some one on one time together, which has been nice, because we don't get to do that much. The first "date" we went to Tim Hortons for donuts and hot chocolate. We had a great morning! {I won't tell you about our afternoon and ruin the mood....I will just give you a hint: bad behavior.}

Today, we went to Aspen Park for Wyatt to ride on the bike trails. He was so excited. Poor guy doesn't really get to ride his bike at home because of the poor terrain.

We got to see the elk. Wasn't sure if we would catch them there or not, but we did!

It was SO hot and muggy, but fun all the same. It was good to set aside time for us to reconnect and recharge our relationship. We definitely need to make a better effort to do it more often.

Sleep Success!

Last week we were sleep training. After much prayer and then talking to a friend who had just experience the same sleep and feeding issues, I had renewed determination. I had a night that I didn't feel absolutely exhausted so I figured this was the night to start.

Our poor son shares a room with our little night owl. And I was really worried that he wouldn't get any sleep, but he said the next morning he didn't hear anything. Not sure how he couldn't, but happy her crying didn't affect him.

It was hard, and I tried all other options before I let her cry it out. But, it worked. I guess... I am not sure if it was that or things just clicked for her. Saturday, we went away for the weekend and stayed at a hotel, she slept ALL night. From about 10pm to 7am. She slept in a pack 'n play right next to me in the bed. I was shocked and amazed and of course elated! It was a stark contrast to the previous nights we had been having.

Sunday, we had a few hiccups, but minor. She would wake up, I would let her cry for about 30 seconds and would go in and shush her and lay her back down. I had to do that a few times, but she went back to sleep.

Monday to now, she is sleeping all night, even putting herself to sleep if she wakes up! She is even sleeping for up to 11 hours straight!

In addition to sleeping all night, she is taking her naps! I can even put her down without nursing! She is doing so great.

I am so grateful for the sleep-full nights. And I thank the Lord for giving me the perseverance and energy I needed to work with her at night.

My best advice: Don't give up! Pray! I couldn't have done it without relying on God for strength.

11 Months!

Our little Josie is now 11 months old! Hard to believe at the end of the month we will be celebrating her first year!

 Happy to say with the last week we have gained much in sleep and routine. After trying many different ways to get her to sleep and failing I finally resorted to the Cry-It-Out method of sleep training. I have to say my prayers were answered, because after waking up nightly absolutely exhausted, God has granted me new energy to persevere this last week. And it's working! I started with her naps since I was already awake. Then continued with the same methods at night. She has made SO much progress, the night before last, I actually got a six hour block of sleep! {...Happy Dance...}

She is still nursing, but about a month or so ago we introduced the sippy cup. She still doesn't like the taste of milk, but she has been taking drinks of water on her own. One step at a time.

She took her first steps April 28! And a couple nights ago she walked across her bedroom floor! She gets so excited and gets ahead of herself because she tries to run and falls. But she is doing great!

She loves music and loves to dance. At church, during worship songs she tries to sing along. I think she has a musical gene in her.

Oh, yeah, and she doesn't like grass, or trees, or even touching the ground! She is 100% girl! When we stand her on the ground she lifts one foot up as far as she can so she is touching it as minimally as possible. It is so funny to watch her.

Can't wait to see what the rest of the month brings. Our little girl is growing leaps and bounds. It is going way faster than Wyatt's first year that is for sure!

Until then...


Enjoy your day!