Into Everything

Every day she is getting more curious, confident and stable...... She got away from me during a diaper change

I left the room with her sitting next to a box of teddy grahms, I should have known this would happen....

she likes to push boxes around

her bag of toys

posted sideways, oops! out shoveling snow yesterday

Close-Up!

Sleep Update

I pretty much gave up on the sleep training, so I guess I basically tortured her for those few nights. Either that or I figured out she will not cry it out. I have gone back to nursing her back to sleep. Some nights she only wakes up once or on a rare occasion like last night it was four times. At least now she immediately goes back to bed. Before she would wake up the second she hit the crib and we had to start all over again. As Emily suggested maybe she had a little ear infection that cleared up on it's own? Maybe it was a period of very light sleeping? I'm hoping this waking up thing is just a phase and will work itself out on it's own. Either that or she's going to have a rude awakening when we are done breastfeeding in a few months! Yesterday I noticed another tooth had come through, so maybe it has been teething all along??? Parenting!!!! Thank heavens I'm a SAHM, I couldn't imagine functioning at work after waking up all night.

Cool Chicks

Yes..... I put these pictures up quickly and failed to mention what we were up to. On Sunday we had a New Year's Reception at the Battalion Commander's house. Wade was in his dress blues but we failed to get a nice family photo :( We didn't do much over the weekend. It was cold again so we stayed inside and played a lot of Wii again. Wade loves it when I beat him in pool and bowling and the downhill ski jump!! ha ha!!! I shouldn't gloat too much, there is plenty that Wade can beat me in, he's just a sore loser so it's fun to rub it in! Wade's Company has some Soldiers going to TX so he went into work for a little bit as well.

Play Date

We had some friends over yesterday and Whitney LOVED it! She loved to watch Savannah, follow her around and play with her. Not to mention I loved having a two way conversation! We need to do this more often!

Picture of the Day

10.5 hrs!!

I'm trying not to get too excited about this, but Whitney slept from 7:30-6 last night!! The last time she slept through the night was Dec 17th. I could hardly sleep last night because I was just waiting for her to wake up. I think Wade was too, because he kept waking up asking if she had been up yet and if I needed anything. What?!? Be quiet and go to bed! When Wade was up at 5 getting ready for work we were talking and wondering if she was okay. Before he left he asked how much longer I was going to let her sleep. We worry that they don't sleep enough and then we worry when they sleep all night! I sure hope we're on to something!

4 Day Weekend

Wade had a four day weekend and we got a lot of family time in. Whitney really liked having her daddy around to play with and to help with bed time. We hung out at the house and played a lot of Wii while Whitney crawled around and played. By sunday Wade had cabin fever, so we did what else, but go stay in a cabin! We went to Montauk State Park about an hour from post and rented a cabin. It was a really nice weekend so we did some hiking around. Montauk has a natural spring and a trout hatchery. Whitney really liked the trout holding pools when the fish would splash around to eat the food you throw to them, I think she wanted to take a bath with them!

She loves to crawl underneath her bouncer.

She some how managed to get her arm out of her shirt!

sweet potatoes!

I was trying to run into the picture, I only had it on a 2 second delay!

Walking makes her sleepy!

Sleep Training

Whtitney loves her glow worm. It always makes her smile and calms her down when she is upset.

My little super sleeper is no longer a super sleeper. She used to sleep 9-11 hrs straight. I don't know if it is her age, or the traveling we did at Christmas along with the 3 week cold she had, but she doesn't sleep any more. She started waking up once to eat but she would immediately go back to sleep. These last few weeks she is waking more often, and it is harder to get her back down. She has to be completely out before we put her down and to do this takes FOREVER. I've tried crying it out, and I cave and go to her. The longest we made it was 80 minutes. I know I should have just kept going, but when I realized 80 minutes had gone by it about broke my heart and I had to go to her. We just had a four day weekend and Wade and I took turns putting her back to sleep. We decided to get her to sleep without nursing before we tried any sleep training. Let me just say, it was a mental and physical relief to have Wade help with her. For over eight months it has just been me nursing her back to sleep. Well, she proved to us that she could easily fall asleep without nursing, it was getting back to the crib that was the hard part.

Last night after I had been with her for an hour trying to get her back down, I decided sleep training had to start right then and there. I checked on her every 20 minutes to find her standing in her crib sobbing away. I did not pick her up, I would lay her down and pat her back. After almost two hours of this she finally stayed down when I laid her down and she quickly fell asleep in her crib with me patting her back. I know the goal here is to get them to sleep without you in the room, but I feel like we made some big progress last night with her falling asleep without us holding her. I suppose she just got so wiped out after standing there crying for two hours she had no choice but to sleep! Nap time today didn't go so well, I put her in her crib because I suspected she was sleepy but she cried and cried. Eventually I got her out figuring maybe she just wasn't sleepy yet, but when I nursed her she fell asleep so I put her down for her nap. If she falls asleep while nursing I'm not going to wake her up to put her back down, that would be counter productive. It's going to be a rough go, and I'm not really sure what I am doing. Any past experience or opinions are welcome. PLEASE share with me! I've read this is a difficult age to sleep train since they are learning separation anxiety, which she has figured out, and mentally and physically she is dramatically changing right now. When she stands in her crib I'm not sure she knows how to get back down. Are these sleep habits I need to nip in the bud or will she grow out of this?

Picture Post

Whiney's new favorite toy.

See you later mom!

We had to get out and get some fresh air!

My view out the window one morning as I was feeding Whitney breakfast.

2009

Wow, another year behind us. How is it that time goes much faster as an adult? I thought I would do a summary of what we did in 2009. Let's start with January..... We closed on our house and became homeowners for the first time in Waynesville, Mo. We didn't actually move in until February, Valentine's Day to be exact. Wade took Company Command on Feb 27 for the 94th EN BN. It's a challenging position and I think we will both be glad when that is over, any time after 12-18 months. We had our first child on May 1, Whitney Lynn. We are so blessed to have her. In June we did a not so successful family vacation with my side of the family. We stayed at LORA (Lake of the Ozarks Recreation Area). The weather was unbearably hot, we had awful storms that flooded the area and cluttered what you would call the beach with debris. To top it off, all the men and boys got a bad case of posion ivy the first day there. We must not be doing it again this year?!?! In July Wade put in a lot of hard work on our land chopping down trees, and I went to his sister's where we finally got all three cousins together. It was on this trip that we realized Whitney DOES NOT like her car seat. For a long time we didn't go any where farther than 20 miles becasue it was just awful riding in a car with her. In Oct Wade went Coyote hunting with his dad and brother in Wyoming. Then in Nov we took 12 days and Wade deer hunted and I stayed with my sister. For Thanksgiving we had a full house with my family and for Christmas we traveled up to Iowa staying at Wade's sister's and then my sister's. New Years we spent in Camdenton, MO with Wade's family. Taking care of Whitney has certainly been a full time job. I'm excited for this year when she can walk and talk and we can get out of the house more to do fun things.

These last few days we have been trapped in the house because of the cold. We are both getting really bored and we are ready for Wade to come home. He is in Texas for the All American Game and will be home tomorrow. I neglected to do my 8 month post, so here's a summary of Whitney. She is getting adventerous in her crawling and does not hesitate to leave me behind to see what's in the next room. She has started standing up in her crib when she is done sleeping, which is so cute to see her waiting for me! She is currently on a baby food strike again, but will eat any finger food I put in her mouth. She gets really excited for cheese. She is still growing just fine, she's just over 18lbs. I've tried giving her formula, but it induces her gag reflex, and mine too. Yes, I taste whatever I give her. With all that DHA they put in formula it tastes and smells like rotten fish water. I don't blame her if she won't drink it. Does anyone know of non nasty formula? She has four teeth, two top and two bottom, and two more on the top are on the way. Her sleep has been all messed up since Christmas. Not sure if it is due to all the traveling or the bad cold she had for two weeks, or teething pains? What ever it is, I hope we get past it soon and back to 9-11 hours of sleep. She likes to wave at herself in the mirror and bath time is still her favorite time of the day.