Mini-Me

I caught Sierra trying to use my breast pump today.

Here are a few other recent moments:

"I hep baby doll pay pano."

"I clippin' baby's nails."

"I hep Mommy cuk."

"I feedin' Ehmo."

"Baby drinkin' mihk."

(I didn't manage to get a pic of her "nursing" her baby.)

What else does she see?!

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep...

And as soon as I do, at least one (if not all) of the following will invariably happen:

• I will realize that I need to pee.
• My child will wake up from her nap.
• The phone will ring.  Or someone will text me.
• I will remember one of the many things I have to do NOW.
• My dog and cat will start "playing" (ie: chasing each other and knocking into furniture)

I'm so incredibly blessed to have a sleeper for a kid.  My mom tells me I was this way, too, but I'm still somewhat amazed by my daughter.  She sleeps from about 5PM till 7AM every night (~14 hours), and still takes two ~2+-hour naps during the day.  It's amazing.  There are times when I wonder if she has time to do anything else...like learn to walk or talk.  But she seems to be fine, and every mother I worry to tells me I'm really lucky.  So I'm thinking she's alright.  And it won't last forever. 

I'd give you a more recent sleeping picture, but she wakes up whenever I try...
and that's just not worth it.  Enjoy her during the first few months...

This sleep schedule has its down-sides, though, too.  We really can't do anything in the evenings.  We tend to milk our weekends, 'cause once 5:00 hits each night, somebody's gotta be home with the kid.  And with money as tight as it is at the moment, it feels stupid to pay someone to watch a sleeping baby too often.  

So every once in a while, we try to keep Sierra up a bit longer.  Say, till 6?  Maybe even 6:30?  The result: she falls apart.  She gets fussy.  She gets aimless.  She wants everything, and yet nothing satisfies.  We put her down to sleep, and she wakes up SO happy.  So, in general, we just let her sleep.  Trying to do otherwise just makes us all miserable.

I think I need to learn from my darling daughter.  I so often think of sleep as a luxury--especially naps.  I think that if I get everything else done, then I can sleep.  For Sierra it's the opposite: if she doesn't sleep, nothing gets done. She needs her sleep.  She needs a LOT of sleep.

I once read that perhaps God created us with a need to sleep so that for at least 8 long hours every day, we would have to leave things in His capable hands.  We would learn that the world keeps spinning without our constant care.  I think I need to be better about this.  I need to consciously disconnect from the world--turn off my phone, close the computer, put away the "to-do list", and relax into the loving arms that created and sustain the world.

"In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat--for he grants sleep to those he loves."

Psalm 127:2

Happy Birthday, Sierra!

Dear Sierra,


One year ago, you came into our lives.  Daddy and I could never have dreamed what wonderful joy you'd bring to our home and our family.  It's been an honor to watch you grow and learn and become more and more of the brilliant young lady I'm sure God has planned for you!
                                                                          Love,
                                                                            Mommy & Daddy

December 11, 2011

January 2011--1 Month

March 2011--3 Months

April 2011--4 Months

May 2011--5 Months

Mother's Day 2011--5 Months

May 2011--6 Months

 Father's Day 2011--6 Months

July 2011--7 Months

Dedication Day--August 14, 2011

August 2011--8 Months

September 2011--9 Months

October 2011--10 Months

November 2011--11 Months

And almost a year later...you're still growing!

Keep going, little girl!

Things that never seem to change...

No matter how tired she is, how little she's slept, how long I’ve left her alone in her bed [we’re in the middle of battles over morning naps], Sierra always greets me with the happiest smile, usually a bunch of excited bouncing, and sometimes a funny face.

My parents are enraptured by their granddaughter.  They’re local, available, and they love to spend time with her.  I’m so incredibly grateful that my daughter gets to know her grandparents…and I get the occasional break!

Mike comes home from work every day.  And no matter what he walks into, how (frequently) frazzled or (occasionally) put-together Sierra, Magnet, Rio, the house and I are, he always seems happy to be home.