FOOTSTEPS

AA is following in her big brother's footsteps. Literally.
Emerging as an early and energetic crawler ...

but remaining reluctant to take those first steps until age one!

NIGHT OWL

By three weeks old, AA could sleep for five hour stretches; by six weeks old she slept for nearly eight; and, by three months she reliably slept for 11-12 hours each night. Oh, those glory months ... I thought I was totally home free with this gal.

And then came her 9 month birthday. Since this mark, AA has not slept through the night for three consecutive nights (not that I'm keeping track or anything!). At first she awoke because she had a bad head cold ... I'd nurse her back to sleep in a few minutes. When her cold disappeared, her night owl habit persisted. I just can't figure her out! She is really easy to put down for naps and at night ... she loves to lay awake in her crib and drift to sleep on her own. When she awakes in the morning she doesn't cry out for me ... I often hear her babbling away for quite some time before I go and get her.

Yet, somehow, she insists that I pay her a visit in the middle of the night. When I least expect it, AA will sleep through the night beautifully for two nights at a time, and then ... waaahhh!!! she's awake for night #3! I've tried everything from giving her Tylenol before bed for her potential teething to dressing her warm to dressing her cool ... I've tried to give her lots of food before bed and tried to keep her tummy light before sleep. I've tried a fan in her room; a night light; and toys in her crib. I've read that this could be a form of stranger anxiety or even night terrors.

I keep telling myself that this is just a phase (yep, one that JP never went through!) ... and I hope I'm right!

WILD ANIMAL

We went to the zoo this weekend. I must have been careless in packing up the car when we left the zoo. Because, apparently, a lion came home with us ...

and he's living in our basement

(well, at least according to JP!)

Q & A

The drive from Miss Emmy's house to ours takes about 12 minutes without traffic*. In those 12 minutes, I probably answer 112 questions from JP. (*Traffic, of course, being a relative word for the city we live in).
Our drive home today went something like this (okay, I'll spare my answers):
"Mamma, what's over there?"
"What's that guy's name?"
"What's that noise?"
"What's that birdie's name?"
"Where you goin', mamma?"
"What's that tractor doing?"
"Why Addie makin' that noise?"
"Where that car driving?"
"What those boys doin'?"
"What that girls name?"
"Who in that truck?"
"Why's that light flashin'?"
"Mamma, mamma, where's my teddy?"
"What's this car's name?"
"What's in that waterfall?"
"Where you goin' mamma?"
"Why Addie do that with her shoes?"
"What's that house's name?"
"Why that truck making' that noise?"
"What that flag doing?"
"Why does that guy make noise?"
"What's that motocycle's name?"
"What Addie saying?"

I really wanted to answer that last one truthfully ... Addie's probably telling you to shut your little mouth for one sweet second, Jackson so Mamma's head doesn't spin off ... but instead, I smiled and replied, "Oh, she's telling you that she loves your questions!"

BIG TRANSITION

Last year at this time, A and I were quite busy preparing for AA's arrival. One of the big decisions we faced was to move JP into a toddler bed or purchase a second crib. After polling some friends with older kids and reading a few articles, we decided to buy a second crib. After all, JP showed no signs of trying to crawl out of his crib at that age (16 months), and we didn't want to disrupt his normal routine right before he had to share his world with a new sibling. At first I was worried that we spent our money foolishly ... I had imagined that JP would start crawling out of the new crib shortly after we purchased it. As the months passed by, we became more and more confident in our purchase. JP easily passed by the 20 month mark (the average age when a child is moved out of a crib). At the ripe age of 28 months, we decided to make the Big Transition this weekend. It's not that JP has exhibited any signs of trying to crawl out ... but we've come to realize that he probably never will. With potty training around the corner, A and I decided that we should allow him some independence.

His crib converts to a toddler daybed without any side rails. After talking about the transition all morning, JP helped A make the conversion.

And voila ... in a matter of minutes JP's crib became a toddler bed ... JP gained a whole new level of independence ... and I suddenly lost a whole level of independence! (So far JP hasn't realized that he can come and go from his bed freely ... he still calls for us to help him in and out. I'm sure that will change soon.)

And JP's initial response to seeing his new bed? "Daddy, you break-a my bed!!!"

WEEKEND PLANS

For the first time in as long as I can remember, we had zero plans headed into this weekend.
So far, we've had such a relaxing weekend ...

trying to savor every morsel of fall weather

before it's time to hunker down

for the long winter.

BIG RED ENGINES

It's Fire Safety Week. The local Fire Station
hosted an open house tonight.

Firefighters, big red engines, tall ladders and free cookies.

JP was ecstatic

and AA just went along for the ride.