Sitting Pretty

Lucy is getting a little bit better at sitting. It's fun to see her all propped forward on her hands, but she still doesn't know how to avoid tipping over!

Deadly Game

When I was subsitute teaching at GHS, I had some good days, some upsetting days, and some days where I was on the brink of losing faith in our youth and the future "leaders" of our country. I am still not sure if I can say our previous generations were less stupid, but it sure seems like kids are coming up with more creative ways to kill brain cells...

There was even one day where I was going over a video or a quiz or something, already frustrated and annoyed by young teenagers who don't care about, or appreciate the opportunities they have at a school like Grandville. I noticed out of the corner of my eye two kids behaving suspiciously, and a moment later realized that one was "choking" the other. When I caught them, they stopped instantly, but I couldn't stop myself from going off on a mini-tirade about how stupid and dangerous that was.

Teenagers really do believe they are invincible. I believe there is evidence that cognitively, they aren't able to judge a dangerous situation the same way an adult can, and even by age 18 that part of the brain still isn't fully functioning (and this is one of the main reasons so many car accidents are caused by teenagers). I remember several teens, in different contexts, explaining how [name your tragic scenario] could never happen to them - and there really was no convincing them otherwise, because they have such an inflated self-assuredness that they think YOU are the idiot. Geez, was I ever that ignorant? (maybe). Yikes... well, one thing is for sure, I never would have let someone choke me in order to get a head rush...

... but I do remember in junior high school my friend, who shall remain nameless, hyperventilating and having someone press on her chest as she held her breath - she would then collapse to the floor, unconscious for a couple seconds. She would come to, and tell us she had a dream! I never had the "guts" to partipate in this ritual, but other friends of mine did... right in my parents' basement! Big fun! Ughh.. kids are so stupid!

The cop on the Today Show who was talking statistics said this is a lesser form of the same 'high' caused by the choking thing. Meredith confessed that she did it (the hyperventilating / passing out thing) when she was younger (and she is my mother's age). Maybe times haven't changed so much afterall.

Wallace 3-point Buzzer Beater

Rasheed sinks a 63 foot (2/3 court) 3-pointer to send the game against the Denver Nuggets into OT. Pistons ended up winning 113-109. The clip on espn.com shows it better, but I found one on Google video.

Bathing Beauty

Lately Lucy has been taking her bath every night in this sitting contraption that actually makes it easier for me and her. In the infant tub she was trying to sit up, so it looked like she was always doing crunches, and she was practically hanging out of it. This is much better! And now she can start to play in the water, throw toys around, and splash with her hands.... which means I'll probably end up getting a little wet too! She loves taking a bath, and even when she is fussing and crabby, if I put her in the tub she calms down and smiles. It's a key part of the nighttime routine.

Congrats!

I just checked my friend Tiece's blog and her new ticker says "Landon Adrian is 2 days old" - so it's a boy! Congratulations! I've been checking and I'm glad to see the good news. Looking forward to when pictures are posted...

Anyway, today we actually spent half of our waking hours outdoors! It was so nice, it was actually HOT out! I skimmed a bunch of dead leaves off the pool cover. I thought it we did some each day, or every few days, it wouldn't be such a big job when it came time to open the pool. I can say, however, that no leaves are IN the pool this year. We shouldn't have the pea-soup issues we did last time, and Kelly and I won't be swimming in an aglae-filled swamp. ;)

We also pulled our patio set out to the deck and sat out there with Lucy, and Ron's parents for a couple hours. It was nice to get some fresh air, and I think Lucy enjoyed the change of scenery. Looking forward to more days outside...

Hope Fan

Lucy was laying by the orange "H" and I decided to put her in her Hope College T-shirt from Pam & Teri and take a few pics. Maybe she'll be a future Flying Dutchwoman!

Learning her ABC's

Well, maybe she is a little young for that, but she is actually sitting up for extended periods propped on her hands. She seems really happy to do it. This is her on her tummy, but I love this photo. The old blanket is so big that folded up, it makes a decent landing pad when she tips over...

High Chair

I am now feeding Lucy her solids in the high chair instead of her bouncer. We finally got it over here and she is getting close to being able to sit up. She needs to sit on a folded towel to boost her up a little bit, but I think she likes it. She doesn't slump too badly! I took some pictures of her after she ate dinner last night and she was happy...

Wake Up and Razz - Night #3

More Photos
Well, luckily it seems that Lucy has abandoned the entire wake up and cry idea... but the past two mornings she did wake up a little early to babble and razz for a while. Today it was 4:30 but I ignored it and she went back to sleep after a few minutes until almost 7:00 AM. Good enough for me. At least we're not getting up multiple times in the middle of the night anymore, and she isn't waking up and crying because she "can't" put herself back to sleep. I think if she wants to, she is able to. I guess sometimes she just wants to hang out in her crib and have a chat with her little pink bear.

Cry It Out? - Night #2

The title "Cry It Out" doesn't really apply this morning, since last night Lucy did not wake up and cry even once! Could she have learned that quickly? Maybe. She woke up at 6:10 AM (a little earlier than I'd like) and started babbling and "razzing" like crazy... It's somewhat normal for babies to wake up and talk for a while and then fall asleep for another hour or so... so I tried to let it go for a while... but when she didn't stop I went down there and found her completely perpendicular in her crib, with her head under the aquarium. I straightened her out and gave her the pacifier and her pink bear, and she fell back asleep right away. So weird. I think she was unhappy in the position she had gotten into.

I went back to bed while Ron got ready for work, and thought Lucy would not sleep much longer, and she would wake back up and want to eat. Since I don't use an alarm, I slept until 8:00 AM before realizing that Lucy was still sleeping too! I went down there and she was just waking up again... and she seemed really happy and rested. I know how she feels....

"Art"

Coffee and Baby Bottle

Cry It Out - Night #1

Well, a little while ago I posted something about letting Lucy cry in her crib in the middle of the night, and not rushing down to calm her. Well, that plan didn't really work, because when it happened we reverted to the old way of thinking - that if we catch it early, she will be easier to settle down than if we wait until she is totally worked up. This resulted in her waking up 3 or more times a night - about every 2 hours. She'd fall back asleep right away when one of us would give her her pacifier and her bear... so it wasn't a huge ordeal. Getting up repeatedly in the night got just old enough for both of us that we decided it was time to let her "cry it out" (whatever "it" is) and stick to our guns. Also known as the Ferber Method, it is supposed to teach a baby to soothe herself back to sleep. Some people feel strongly that it is cruel, and I respect their feelings. It is heartbreaking to listen to your little one cry and picture that frowny face and the tears. But some parents get to a point where the long-term benefits of healthy sleep (both for baby and parents) are far greater than the supposed damage done by not comforting the crying baby. Lucy will not feel a loss of the trust or security that has been built over the last 5 months, and she will never remember last night.

So, she went to bed at her usual time. We have a fairly consistent routine, and she is in bed around 8 PM. She may get another small bottle around 9:00 or 9:30 and then goes right back to her crib (awake) and falls asleep. Last night she woke up around 12:35 AM (not unusual) and started crying. I was going to go at 1:00 and check on her.. but her crying was slowing down a bit, and it was more "yelling" than screaming... so I felt fairly confident that she was safe. I thought a few times that maybe she was crammed in the corner of her crib, or uncovered, but I told myself that if that's the case, she will still be okay. By 1:25 there was silence on the monitor. After a few minutes, I tiptoed down to see what kind of mess she had gotten herself into. The blanket was thrown to one end and she was crammed against the side bumper pad under her Ocean Wonders Aquarium. When I picked up the blanket to put on her, she woke up with a jolt and said "Hey Ya" just like Outkast! Seriously! I quickly put her pacifier in her mouth so she would not keep talking and further wake herself. Then she was instantly back to sleep for the rest of the night - till 7:00 AM (when her morning usually starts).

All in all I have to say it went really well. 50 minutes isn't bad, when some people who attempt this have to put up with 1, 2, or more hours of screaming. Reading about their experiences made me feel a lot better about trying this out. So, it looks like we're on the path to success if we stay consistent. Maybe tonight will go even better and by the weekend we will all be sleeping through the night!

**Added Note** Ron slept through this entire process!

Milestone!

Today Lucy rolled from back to front truly all by herself for the first time! I could tell she was really close to doing it, so I grabbed my camera to take video before she actually did. I'm really glad because now Ron, and other family members can see it too.

This first video is pretty short - it does show her doing it, but not at a good angle. It's still technically the "first" time so I thought I'd post it anyway.



The next video is longer, but it shows it better. I was not too surprised that she was able to do it... I knew she had the ability, but she just hadn't put the pieces together until today (bringing both arms to the side at the same time, etc.). Well, it's pretty cool, and I'm proud of her development. I hope you enjoy watching her!

Courtney Elizabeth

Yesterday I visited Laura, who had a baby girl on February 25 - Courtney Elizabeth. She seemed so tiny next to Lucy! It's hard to believe Lucy was ever that small. She felt light as a feather... maybe I'm getting really strong. It was nice to see her and Courtney while she was still a "newborn", and I got to see Laura's beautiful home! Maybe since they're only 5 months apart, our girls will be able to play together someday!

Here is a close up photo of Courtney - most of the time she was asleep, but I tried to get a few good shots of her with her eyes open - very difficult to do! She has the cutest little whisp of hair on the top of her head...

Mood Swings

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... the bottom picture she has kind of a stern look - click to see closer up.

More Photos

Little Tri-pod

All of a sudden Lucy is able to sit up for little bits at a time, just before losing her balance and tipping over... we were trying to get a good picture but just as Ron would click the shutter button she would move! I think in the next few weeks she'll be just about stable enough to sit happily.


Ron took some photos of me with Lucy - since I have practically none. This is one of the decent ones. She was getting pretty tired of all the activity we were putting her through, but it's fun to see her meet new challenges. It's almost as if she knows she is doing a new "trick" and is pretty proud of herself! We are proud of our little girl!

Babbling in Bed

Here is a video of Lucy making some funny noises. Bear with me - the first minute or so is just sound because the lights were out, then I finally walked in and turned the lights up. It's dim but still visible. Funny how when I tell her to say "goodnight" she gets all quiet...



Here's Lucy earlier today - 5 months old. She is getting really good at "standing" while I hold her hands, and is enjoying her exersaucer a lot more now that she is capable of turning around (on purpose) - always clockwise though... clever girl.