April Seventh, Two-Thousand and Nine

One year ago ...





Today...

In commemoration, I will share with you a poem that I stole from a Johnson's ad.

When the sun is born,
So is the day.
When a tree is born,
So is a shadow.
When the night is born,
So are a thousand stars.
When you were born,
so was I.

Okay, I am crying now. Bye.

1 week to 1st birthday

And have a look at this! So exciting.





Now... off to plan a low-key birthday celebration. I've been wanting to try my hand at making cake pops, but is this the right time? Yumm, cake pops, I think I just decided. And these Easter themed ones are so very cute.

Want to get something for the birthday girl? See our wishlist.

Life is for Sharing

Watch This First (It really was a surprise)...



If you loved it as much as I did, you may be interested in The Making Of...

Girl Wanderer

Last weekend we had an unexpected and unfortunately un-continue-ing bout of beautiful weather. It was Cloey's first chance to play outside since she has become mobile. On Friday afternoon we got some sandwiches and walked to the park. Upon our arrival, we sat down on the grass. Cloey enjoyed watching the kids on the nearby playground but was very hesitant to put her hands down on the grass. She'd put her hands down to crawl over to me then realize and lift up and just reach for me, it seemed she even tried spreading her arms and flying to me. Then Daniel and I began to throw the frisbee and that was enough to encourage her to crawl in the grass. ...
We went back to the park the next day and she did not have the same problem at all. We brought a blanket to sit on this time but she didn't sit on it for a minute. She crawled off, nary looking back, over to the walkway. People walking by looked at her and then around (as if to think, "who is watching this baby") but then they'd spot us with eyes glued to her. By the time she was 15 yards away we realized she was making people uncomfortable, as well as risking getting stepped on on the walkway so we took her to the middle of the field, where she could crawl farther. We were curious to see how far she would go. So we sat down and watched her. There was a kite on the far side of the park she was interested in, and turns out she crawled quite far and would have kept going if I had not felt it was far enough and gone to get her. Probably it was about 50 yards, and she didn't seem to mind that she was completely alone and didn't even look back at us when we called her name. What a silly girl, no? Wish I had a pic of her tiny little silouhette surrounded by grass.

In other news, many more words and (what some might even call) first steps.

Cheezer

When you tell Cloey to smile or "say cheese" this is the face you will get. How cute!!!

Cloey Jones, cute stories 10 months

I have posted this video already on flickr and facebook but if you haven't seen it already you have to know it is one of my faves. I wish Daniel had gotten it on camera but I was on the floor laughing and then crying during her first trip across the floor.

It is so fun to see my baby grow and develop and learn more about the person she is.

She sleeps with the stuffed dog that Daniel gave me when he proposed. We call him "Danny."

She has become very attached to Danny in the last few weeks. So much so that when she wakes up and we come in to get her, she will not let us pick her up without "rescuing" Danny first. If she is standing in the crib when we come in to get her, she drops down and grabs Danny, hoisting him up into our arms. Only then will she allow us to pick her up.

Daniel has been teaching Cloey how to touch softly. Whenever she hits his face he picks up her hand and rubs his face gently with it saying "soft." Last week at church, Cloey was crawling around after another baby girl just a couple of months older than her. When she got close enough to touch her face she petted it gently and verbalized "soft". It sounded more like "tzaaaa" but we knew from her action exactly what she was trying to say. We think, but are not sure, that she has also been trying to verbalize "all done" and, of course, "Danny".

Baby's First Cell Phone

We went to a flea market on Saturday, when we left we gave our raffle tickets to some random vendor and he said we could pick a prize, and this is the story of how Cloey got her first cell phone. It is a flip phone and she loves prying it open, but gets mad because she hasn't yet figured out how to close it.

Life Lately

I've become one of those people that start a blog and never writes. I know how bugged I get when I check a blog and someone doesn't write for weeks so I apologize.

It's just that things have been pretty normal around here. And that is a good thing.

We have started the search for our replacements as Shelbourne managers. And based on the number of very qualified applicants we are shocked all over again that we got this job two years ago. We are getting excited about moving on. Daniel will be attending a conference at the U next weekend and we are also excited to go down to Utah for a visit. Especially because we get to meet our brand new nephew, Baby Roman, who was born on Tuesday. (Insert picture here).

Cloey is continuing to develop rapidly.

She says hi to everyone she sees. You all know her wave is cute, but she recently started saying "Hi" ( I think it is technically her first word.) and it is the most adorable thing.

She loves reading her books and just yesterday learned to bring a book when asked. She crawls over, grabs it, slides it back under her hand, hands it to you and crawls up on your lap for a read. She has also since demonstrated her ability to fetch with a ball and it is hilarious to see her try and crawl with a hard plastic ball in her hand.


Last week we visited the local hot springs twice. We rented this float for Cloey and she floated around the pool for over an hour each time. I know she had fun based on how soundly she slept both nights after we went.

Thanks for visiting. I will try to write again soon!

Bring On Obama!

(At least Walmart is cheap and provides free riding carts to the disabled)

I truly believe the cost of healthcare in this country is a scam and I am completely fed up with the workings of health insurance. I broke my leg. I went to the Emergency Room. They had me sit around a long time, had a doctor ask a couple of questions, took an x-ray, splinted it, and "gave" me a couple of pain pills. The x-ray, some ace bandage and 5 lortab ended up costing over $600. They charged $20 for 5 lortab, and I went the next day to the pharmacy and got 20 pills for $5. Had I known they were going to charge me that exuberant amount, I would have said" no thanks, I'll stop by Walgreens on the way home." It's ridiculous! I feel hospitals should at least let you know what kind of spending they're blindly having you do. Giving birth was my first hospital experience, and although it was overall a good experience and the people were very nice I was shocked when months later we recieved the statment showing the charges. $10 for some Q-tips they sent home for babycare. I don't remember what else was on there, but I'm sure they charged every extra penny they could for each pair of paper panties and cup of juice.

We were fortunate enough to have the gift of medicaid to cover these expenses. The cost of the leg however contributed to the deductible on our private insurance. The deducitble was met(just barely), but now that a new calendar year has begun is meaningless! I guess I should have broken my leg in May. It just makes me sick knowing Daniel and I pay almost $200 a month for insurance and when something comes up (once a year) and we need it they pay a whopping $87.62. To me it seems dishonest, unjust. I have been complaining about paying the bill and Daniel reminds me that if a more serious accident were to happen it would be lifesaving to have it, which I know is true. So begrudingly, I continue to pay the bill we can barely afford and curse the name of Regence Blueshield.

Dear President Elect Obama,
Please Bring on Healthcare Reform.
The End.

Update: Cloey's sleep has been an overnight miracle. She is sleeping 9-11 hrs. every night and napping beautifully. She falls asleep in about 5 min. I really don't know what to do with my free time and I'm loving it. Perhaps another child will someday be possible afterall.

Thank you Richard Ferber

This afternoon: ten minutes. This evening: five minutes. Tonight: ten minutes.

Beautiful!

Parenting is good again.

Lastnight Cloey slept for 11 hours straight. We really think we are on to something here and could not be more excited about the implications this will have for our personal lives, our marriage, and for our daughter.

One more success.

Cloey went to sleep herself tonight in about 30 min. Daniel and I had the pleasure of spending some quality awake time together. Unfortunately there's a majorly loud party going on downstairs and we are unable to go to sleep ourselves. I'm on the net now to research what I should do if she wakes up in the night. Go in and say hi, or just let her be? If you are experienced with this, please pass your knowledge. Also, the eventual goal is for the child to go to sleep on his/her own without crying, right? I would appreciate your stories on this too. Thanks in advance. We are so happy and hopeful right now!

Another too long post about baby's sleep.

(Old photo but one of the few I have of her sleeping)

She cried it out! Twice! I did not believe it was possible. The last few nights baby has been sleeping on the floor in our room. If I lay down and nurse her she lets me sneak away and we buckled to this as the alternative of nursing her to sleep and trying to lay her in her crib, her waking up and repeat. some nights over and over again. It was working good, meaning she was waking up a couple of times but I could lay down on the floor with her and nurse her and she would go back to sleep in a matter of minutes. Then! The last two nights she woke up in the early hours and wouldn't go back to sleep. She starts going through her range of noises (mostly "da da da da") and clapping her hands and rolling around. I get frustrated and get back in my bed. Then she pulls up on the bed and whines and cries. Lastnight Daniel volunteered to take care of her and I went out on the couch and slept. She cried for a few minutes and laid down on her tum and went to sleep. Hallelujah. Today we tried to put her down for a nap 3 times and no attempt proved successful. She was driving me crazy and I was not going to let her stay up whining like she was. So I put her in her crib and left. At first she just talked and whined on and off. Then she did cry hard for a little bit. I went in and said hi which didn't help at all. She cried some more. And then she quieted down. It took maybe 40 min. but is not at all what I thought it would be. I would never have been able to stand listening to her cry before. But today was the day I became desperate enough to let it happen.

Collage

I made this with Picasa 3 in about 5 minutes and it was so fun.
I will be doing this again. And again for my less savy computer family
members click for larger view. Love you all!

Gonna Bleed Red

Our family received very good news the day following Christmas. Daniel has been accepted to the Advanced Standing Masters Social Work program at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. We are fairly certain he will accept this offer and we will be living in the Salt Lake Area within the next 6-9 months. We are relieved to know what life's next step is and to be able to start planning for it. Congrats Daniel!

The Culprits?!

I know this is a very unflattering photo, even for an eight month old. But can you see whats in there? Look closely. Closer! (Click on it if you dare.) I discovered two little madonna-gapped tooth buds poking out today. Please let this be the reason my sweet baby has been a bit of a bugger lately. Thanks to friends and Casey from moosh in indy for comments. Casey is like a blog celebrity and she read my blog?! I was excited.

A cuter pic for your enjoyment

HALP!

We were amazed when Cloey started to sleep through the night (i'm talking nine hours straight) at about two months. She continued this miraculous feat until about a month ago. She will no longer sleep more than three hours at a time and typically wakes up four to five times each night. This has been so hard for me and for Daniel. I have read everything I have the energy to read about getting babies to sleep. I am very tired, very frustrated and just plain desperate. I feel that I cannot go on doing this and keep my hobbies, my job and my sanity. If you are a mother or have any experience with children please tell me what worked for you. Please send the baby whisperer my way so I can give her a faceful of reality.

The facts:

1. Cloey slept in a baby swing (swinging at first and later not) and has only recently transitioned to sleeping on a mattress and in her crib. This may contribute to more wakings although she does fine on it for some of her naps (sleeping 1.5 to 2 hrs.). Also she started the night wakings before transitioning her to the mattress although we were on vacation at the time. Too many variables! I am very tempted to regress to the swing seat and just give it a try. But it is only recommended for babies up to 25 lbs. and she is a good 20+ .

2. Cloey has to be nursed and rocked until she is 100% asleep before we can lay her down. Even still any wrong move or noise or bad luck while laying her down will cause her to wake up forgetting that she was ever tired in the first place.

3. We have tried "cry-it-out" techniques but some or all of the following contraindictations apply a.) we are too soft to go through with it b.) she cries (screams/wails) too intensely c.) she is capable of getting up and moving around her crib, kneeling and hanging to the bars

4. We have also tried co-cleeping, and nursing her when she wakes but I hate feeling trapped and not being able to roll over because she is right there and do not sleep well and do not wake feeling rested

5. There is no window in her room and I wonder if the lack of daylight and darkness cues affect her knowing when its time to sleep and time to be up

6. We have never been able to do a schedule. She dictates when she is capable of going to sleep. And often this is very late. There is no way for me to convince her to fall asleep if she is not ready. There is no way to keep her up when she is tired- not to say she falls asleep but that she becomes a very wearing whining banchee. (We did find for awhile that a short 30 min. nap in the evening did the trick but no longer prevails to keep her asleep at night).

On a positive note,

7. We do stick to a pretty consistent bedtime routine however that consists of cereal a bath and then nursing and rocking. (Also used to include a walk before the weather got too cold.)

8. A few rare times I have heard her cry in the night and waited a few minutes before going in and she went back to sleep on her own.

I know this blog is supposed to be a happy place, but just be glad I am leaving the nipple pinching, biting and tantrum throwing out (for now).

Sparklecove Earrings

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift or something special to wear to your holiday party?

My sister-in-law hand-makes these beautiful, quality earrings. Most of you who know me know I'm not really a jewelery person, but she recently gave me a couple pairs and I love wearing them. (You can see I'm wearing them in the post below.) They're an instant pick me up for your look and make me feel a little more glamorous. Just thought you might like to know she has all of her stock on sale for Christmas and is offering my blog readers free shipping. Just enter coupon code freeshipping at checkout.

www.sparklecove.com

New Haircut

Before the accident I had most of my hair cut off (and colored to a more natural maintenance-free shade) and boy now I am so glad I did. It is so much easier and so much cuter. Now that there is not so much hair to do, I am actually doing it. I can blow dry and flat iron in half the time. I want to buy a curling iron, I think I could make some cute styles with that. No more does my head get pinned to the bed because myself or someone else is lying on my hair. No more do I have long itchy loose strands running down my back. And for some reason it seems not to hurt when Cloey pulls on it now. Her hand just slips off the end. I am just loving it. Note to self: I never want to have long hair again