March Happenings

I keep feeling like this winter will never end (just like everyone else in this area of the country), and so March passed by kind of quickly in a relative blur of sameness.  We did manage to get outside a few times.

Chicago River dyed Green

We finally went to the Vault (we've now had Do-Rite, Firecakes, Glazed and Infused, and the Vault).  The doughnuts were really, REALLY good, but I don't know that I think they're the best in Chicago.  I guess, for me, there's sort of a bliss point for your basic buttermilk cake doughnut.  This place definitely hits that, but so do the other places.

Basically, if pizza isn't your thing, and a Chicago Dog doesn't carry any kind of interest for you, just go on a doughnut tour while you're here.  We've got a LOT of amazing options.

The yeast doughnuts were SO huge!

After we went to the Vault, we headed off to a Chicago Park to check out a Maple Syrup festival.  I had no idea that they could tap trees and make Maple Syrup right in the middle of Chicago, but they can.  It was pretty cold outside, but it was still nice to get outside and into a little bit of nature.

Upper Left:  syrup tasting and boiling sap over an open flame, Upper Right:  Me and Grayson, checking out the tree taps, Lower Left:  Katie inspecting the sap (apparently, it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup!), Lower Right:  Grayson walking in the woods, and Katie and Grayson chillin' (literally) in the stroller.

We got a few days where it was warm enough to head to the local park, go on a couple of bike rides, and be outside for longer than 30 seconds without hating the experience.  Today was kind of cold again though, so we played inside.

I took food coloring and white vinegar and put a few different colors in a muffin tin.  Then, in the pie plate, I spread out a layer of baking soda.  Katie and Grayson both got a medicine dispenser, and then squirted the colored vinegar on the baking soda.  Grayson couldn't fill the dispenser on his own, but I bet he could have done it if it were one of the dropper-types.  Katie had no problems at all, and really loved her "Foaming Rainbow Lakes."

Grayson also tasted all the parts involved...but that problem quickly solved itself.  Neither Vinegar nor Baking soda is terribly tasty alone.

Katie loved the foaming, and then playing in the baking soda afterwards.  She wanted to save her "colored sand."  We didn't.

 Overall, this was a great activity.  Both kids could do it, and they enjoyed it, and it was really easy to clean up.  These days, that's the biggest win of an activity for me.

 Lastly, someone started walking around our house almost full-time!  Watching his little teetering wobbles down the hall and his nervous giggles as he tries to go faster is SO much fun.  It definitely helps to brighten up some of these still-dreary days.

Here's hoping for April Showers...and maybe a few leaves or flowers?

Katie Packs

First, here's a picture of the blouse in the tutorial below that I didn't take myself:

Less awkward, right?

Anyway, I've pulled out the suitcases lately for a trip we're taking soon. Katie decided to pack today:

In case you can't tell what's in her suitcase, let me run it down for you:

1. Piggy bank

2. Shoes

3. Sunscreen

4. Roller Coaster Bead toy thing

5. Baby doll

Yup, looks like she's got all the basics.

Sleep

Before: Sleeping while being held.

Katie is 4 months old, and a couple of weeks. About two months ago, right after she got her first vaccinations, she was sleeping through the night like a dream--8-10 hours, it was fantastic. She did this for about a month.

Then, we moved, she got her own room, and suddenly, she's getting up 2-4 times a night.

WHAT?

I know, I should just be grateful for the month of sleep that we got. It's just really hard to go from getting a good amount of sleep to suddenly waking up again. I started thinking that my new life theme song would have to be "Who Needs Sleep?" For the past month, I've been trying to do all kinds of things to get Katie to sleep.

First, I tried to stop swaddling her. It gets pretty hot in our apartment by the end of the day, and I was worried she'd be too hot while sleeping, and maybe that was waking her up. Clearly, this wasn't the answer, because she would not go to sleep without being swaddled unless she was exhausted, and she wouldn't stay asleep once we put her down.

Next, I tried to focus on naps during the day. According to one book that we got, better naps during the day=better sleep at night. Following the suggestions in this book, we got a few great naps, which was nice, because I was finally doing some household chores and unpacking, I even baked bread! However, night sleep wasn't getting any better.

So, at the start of this week, Nate and I decided to finally try just letting Katie "Cry it out." I had wanted to avoid doing it because I'm not really a fan of crying. We tried the following method:

Put her down around 8:30 (she starts crying about 2 seconds after the door is shut)

3 minutes later, Nate goes in and offers comforting words and patting, but no picking up (she's now mad that we know she's crying, and we're not helping her)

5 minutes later, I go in and comfort and pat. She grabs my hand, I just about break down, but leave the room instead.

7 minutes later, Nate goes in again

10 minutes later, I go in

10 minutes later, we're ready to go in, but the crying has stopped, so we decide not to mess with it

10 minutes later, she's still sleeping.

She woke up around 10:30, but she was really hungry, so I fed her, she went right back to sleep, and slept until about 6:30 the next morning. This is great progress for us!

During: not a happy camper (this picture is actually from a couple of months ago).

The next night, I fed her, put her into her crib in that pseudo-awake, milk-drunk state at 8:00. She started crying. I was prepared to go and comfort her in about 5 minutes, following this suggested schedule, but about 2 minutes later, the crying stopped, and she was completely asleep. She stayed that way until 7:30 in the morning. that's 11.5 hours! When I went in to get her, she was smiling, happy, and the first thing she did when she saw me was laugh. This was great, but I was a little bit skeptical, since it had only been one night. The rest of the week went as follows:

Wednesday: Katie cries for 45 minutes before finally going to sleep. After checking and trying to soothe her with shushing and such, we decide that all it does is make her mad, and we stop going in to see her.

Thursday: Katie goes to sleep after about 2 minutes of crying.

Friday: Another 45 minute bought. Though the crying is more intermittent than constant.

Saturday: About 5 minutes of crying

Sunday: Really, just a little bit of fussing, that's all.

Tonight: No crying--a couple of little whimpers as she struggled to get her arms free, but she's currently sleeping, and she's not crying.

I guess we'll have to see how it works, but so far, this is good. I am now a believer in the fact that some babies just have to learn to go to sleep on their own. Katie falls asleep while nursing all the time, but before this last week, she hasn't really ever just fallen asleep without a car ride, feeding, or 15-30 minutes in a swing or with a bouncy chair being bounced for pretty much the whole time. Naps have even been going better! When she's really tired, I can just put her in her crib, and she'll go to sleep in a bit. Nate even put her down for a nap today with no crying involved.

Anyway, I thought I'd share our experience with the crying it out thing. It's kind of hard to go through, but I think that Katie, and Nate and I, are happier overall getting better rest.

After: Everyone is a bit happier around here.

3 Months?!?

Oh goodness, I can't believe Katie is already 3 months!

I'm really, really loving life with Katie. I had some struggles with adjusting to being a mom at first, but I'm starting to feel more comfortable with my new role, and really starting to enjoy more of each day. There have been so many moments of wonderfulness these last three months, but now it feels like there are hours of goodness at a time. Katie sleeps for a consistent 8-10 hours each night, and that might be part of what's making a difference. Nap time is getting better...though we're still working on getting it down--any suggestions on that would be appreciated.

Now there are so many smiles, and laughing too! How satisfying those little things are to my new mom heart. I really love seeing Nate play with Katie, and seeing her laugh. She seems to think her dad is the funniest thing ever, but I can get a laugh out of her every now and again. She's no shortage of smiles either. There are still meltdowns, blowouts, spit-ups, and more drooling as of late, but each day is also full of investigating, and learning, and figuring different things out--for both of us.

In the short three months that Katie's been alive she's:

Celebrated New Years Eve, Been to the ER for an X-Ray (bloody spit up the night she came home...all is well, our pediatrician just told us to get her checked out to make sure)

Taken a Road Trip, Visited Baltimore, Stayed in a Hotel, Flown on an Airplane

Got Blessed (I made that dress! I'm really pleased with how it looked on the model :)

Had a Party

Had a "Play Date," Visited an Art Museum, Went to several restaurants, Saw Disney on Ice, and a play (If you Give a Mouse a Cookie), as well as two movies (The Princess and the Frog at home, and Alice in Wonderland in Utah)

Been showered with love, gifts, and more love

Moved to a new apartment! (I'm probably most excited about this--it's a great place.)

Basically, we've all got good, full lives, and I have a feeling They're only going to keep getting better. Some days are more exciting than others, and Spring Break was a whole week of excitement. Thanks to everyone who we got to see. We miss you already. If you're in the neighborhood, you should stop by. :D Happy Easter!