Ali stayed in her crib the whole night. From 7pm to about 7:30am. Now, she did not sleep through the night, she woke up crying many times (thus, neither did we sleep through the night) but each time put herself back to sleep. And this morning she seems like such a happy little camper. I think this could be the most proud of her I’ve ever been.

What this also means: NO NURSING ALL NIGHT. Yesterday and the day before I’ve drastically cut down on her nursing. Tuesday she nursed in the morning as usual (I drift in and out of sleep and she bops around her room playing/wrecking havoc and comes back to snuggle with me and nurse multiple times), then again at 11am, then at noon before her nap. Then, not until bedtime. And she slept in her crib until 5:15am, at which point me and my aching boobs crawled into bed with her. Yesterday, she nursed only in the morning, before nap, and at bed.

I’ve been struggling with the weaning issue for awhile. Some days I’m really over breastfeeding a toddler (especially with her demanding milk via baby sign hourly of more) others I’m not ready to give up my baby. This feels like a very good compromise. I can’t wait for tomorrow night!

Also, starting in a few weeks I’ll be taking a classe a Tillamook Bay Community College Monday nights from 5:30-9:20. Add on driving and I’ll be gone about 5pm-10pm. This newest development makes me feel much better.

Lastly, while not running yet, this child is very cautiously walking around the entire house. She getting big so fast!

Hmmm, that’s a good question. We’ve been home for a week and two days now. We’re leaving again, probably Friday. Really it’s all starting to blur…

• The weather has been basically extraordinary. Probably a reason for my lack of blogging. There have been a couple grey and rainy days mixed in, which is okay because it allows appreciation for the days that aren’t.
• Ah yes, I remember. Early last week we were all sick. Well, had a cold.Ali seriously JUST got rid of her runny nose. It was her first really bad one and, geez! I can’t wait until she’s old enough to just blow the thing already.
• We’ve been going to the beach a lot. Once a day whenever it’s nice. Usually wading in the ocean and once even swimming. And boogie boarding. Which was so, so, so fun! I hadn’t really swam in the ocean in like eight or so years and it used to be all I wanted to do when we stayed out here. I love it.
• But, I tweaked my knee boogie boarding. I tore my ACL when I was 14 playing basketball and had reconstructive surgery placing a chunk of my hamstring in place of the shredded knee ligament. It’s really never been the same and gave me a lot of problems when I played sports in high school. It hasn’t bothered me since, but I’ve never been extremely active. So, that was Saturday and it seems to be getting more swollen by the day (weird). I can walk and function and everything, just have a limited range of motion and limp a little. Definitely something I’m a bit worried about.
• Trista is leaving for college tomorrow! She is just going about thirty minutes south to Newberg, OR to attend George Fox University. Last Saturday she came out to have a last hurrah with us until Monday morning. I know it’s the end of an era, and we will miss being able to see her so much.
• Friday night we attended a MOPS carnival in Tillamook. I registered for the upcoming year and am looking forward to meeting other moms and for Ali to be able to socialize with other kids. Also, while the moms meet childcare is provided so I hope it will be a good place to work on non-parental caretakers. Maybe the outcome of this will be….oh, I don’t know, a night or even a meal where it’s just the two of us?!?!
• Okay, I’m drawing a blank, so onto some pictures:

On one of the colder days…she looks so BIG!

I love crying pictures.

So sweet with baby buns.

On Saturday we found this extension to her Elmo house for $3. Complete with ballpit! Shall be great to whip out on the weeks when the rain doesn’t stop.

So cute in the sand.

Fun new game with daddy.

Pure, pure, pure joy!

Ali loves Trista.

• If you are so inclined, there are more pictures here and here.
• I can’t believe the kids are already heading back to school! The end of summer is so sad. Which is why I’m glad our summer will last as long as the weather does. And the light. Boo to it getting dark at 8pm.
• Oh yeah, Ali has been sleeping WONDERFULLY lately. Like, the last four or so days. She’s been crying when we put her in her crib (usually asleep from nursing but then she wakes) but falling asleep ON HER OWN. And, surprise surprise, she sleeps nearly twice as long this way. The night before last she slept from 8pm to 12:30am. Perhaps her longest ever. I am still sleeping in the bed in her room for part of the night though. We’ll get there I guess. Also, the last few days have been one-nap days. And it’s been a LONG nap (like 1-1.5 hrs) which she has never been into. For months she’s been doing two thirtyish minute naps. This is so, so much better. Especially when I can just set her down and if she cries, she cries. Today she went down just before noon (cried on and off for 30 minutes at least) and then slept until like 1:45pm. I had time to actually DO something. Ah, it’s amazing. I so hope this lasts, this is a routine I can deal with.

Ok, here’s some catch-up pics.

Last week it was actually warm enough to get in the water a bit.

Ali reading about the new season of Sesame Street on the pot.

She has now discovered simulated phone usage. Which involves the phoneheld in the vicinity of her ear, and screamed baby-babble. Here she was specifically "talking" to Shayla.

Riding her bike…today! (Which means we’re up to date)

And more phone chats.

Nighttime is just as painful. She continues to wake uo every hour to hour-and-a-half with usually one three hour stretch. Isn’t that worse thanmost newborns?!?! I might call the doctor soon just to….I don’t know. Just to do something??? But that’s a whole other issue considering we’ve seen a different doctor every time (three of them) we’ve gone since moving here and we hear [hope!] there’s a permenant one coming soon but it’s hard having no established relationship.

I am working on drastically cutting down my caffeine intake because that could definitely be having an effect. Went from having two cups in the morning to mid-morning and one about 3pm to having one and half before noon and today having one about 10am. So we’ll see. No real improvements yet, but UGH. What a hard time to cut down on the stimulants. I kind of feel like a walking zombie.

Tomorrow we’re going to the Tillamook County Fair which is exciting. Next weekend we’ll be in the Portland area for the Lewis family picnic and for a wedding. Next week we are spending a few days in Off Our Rocker again. And by we I now mean Tony, as we discovered it works best if he just goes over there with his laptop and does his own work. I am working on enrolling for some classes in the fall through PCC. it has been especially difficult since I’m going to begetting financial aid (which involves tons of hoop jumping) and I’m finally transferring credits from three different colleges. I have to go next week to take a math placement test at TBCC (Tillamook Bay Community College), which I’m trying to study a bit for but it’s kind of depressing to look at stuff you know you know (or knew) how to do and realize you no longer have more than a faint inkling.

So we’re busy. And tired. And we’re had nary a sunbreak here since last Sunday! Which is so frustrating for me.

Last night. Bed just before nine (had napped from 4-5pm). Tried warm milk again, this time sans rice cereal. She spit it out but kept coming back for more (to spit out). Messy but maybe improvement? Laid her down sleepy but not at all asleep and then stayed in the room as she dozed off. No talking and minimal touching. Was ten or so minutes.

She woke at 9:45, just as both Tony and I were rolling over to go to sleep (we’re so tired!). I put her back down quickly. Woke again at 11:30 and Tony put her back down. Woke again at 12:45am. I think I must have been asleep by then so it was one of those zombie situations. She slept from 1-4(again!). Woke at four and was harder to put down that time, had to stand by the crib for awhile. I want to just walk away and let her cry but this always seems easier.

Then she woke soemtime in the hour of 5am and Tony went up. He was up for a long time and maybe they fell asleep together or maybe she went down and he worked. All I know is later, probably quarter to seven he brought her down, gave her to me, and got into bed. We all slept an hour and now her and I are up.

I don’t think we can do this that much longer.

Ali woke up at 11:30 for the SIXTH time since going to sleep at 7:30pm. I decided to try giving her some warm [cow's] milk tonight with a bit of rice cereal in it. Nothing. She got one taste and then spit it out and wouldn’t open her mouth again. Her typical reaction to the milk I’ve been trying to get her to drink since she turned one.

She is now screaming and has been awake for 30 minutes now. A lot of time she falls asleep and lays down with no problem, sometimes she needs her back rubbed or something for awhile, but other times you CAN NOT LEAVE. She will "sleep" until touch ceases and then stir, open her eyes, stare quizzically, and scream. It’s easier to just stay. For five, ten, thirty minutes. But it defeats the purpose. I’m so sick of spending what it supposed to be my OFF THE CLOCK time standing over a crib.

Ugh, so frustrating. I don’t know what we’re going to do. Right now we just keep trying different things. I’m trying to nurse less when she wakes up and other than that? What? Why would a baby (kid?) need to wake up six times in four hours? Of course that it not normal, even for her, but she NEVER sleeps more than three or so hours. And there’s only so much energy. Like, between Tony and I. We’ve been going to bed 1-2 hours later than normal lately, just dealing with all the wake-ups. Making it only that much harder to summon the strength to get her back to bed in the middle of the night. Last night was much like this where after some time she wouldn’t fall back asleep and I just took her to our bed. It was miserable that way too.

This was much easier just to kind of ignore and get in bed with her. Much easier.

I get to the point where I don’t mindmuch if she wants to scream ’til she’s hoarse in there. She has to wear herself out eventually right? But somehow that seems cruel. And also someone else usually steps in at that point…

Also, it’s 12:15am and she’s still not sleeping.

• Bedtime is going great. It’s the middle of the night that’s a struggle. I can only do about one wake up where I put her back down because it takes me forever to fall asleep again. The second time I’m right back in bed with her. Only thing is, we put the trundle Ali and I usually sleep on away and bought the rocking chair up (now it feels like an actual nursery!) so it basically seems like I’m bedless.
• Last night Ali went down at 8:30, woke up at 9:30, 11:00, 1:00 (and cried with Tony for about 25 minutes before I went up. At this point he had yet to go to sleep and I had just fallen asleep about 12:45), and then whenever I went up there and stayed. Probably two-something. She woke up this morning before 8am. UGH. Luckily her and I napped this afternoon. Well, evening. Until nearly six!
• I feel like a new parent again except one-year-olds (thirteen months tomorrow!) need much less day-sleep than newborns. Should have tackled this endeavor then…
• Ali has now discovered the toilet. And the joy found in dropping this in it.
• Yesterday we met Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley in Tillamook. He was a very nice guy.

• Monday and Tuesday next week I am subbing at Off Our Rocker across the street.
• Tomorrow we are hoping to have a picnic somewhere for lunch. Hopefully sans wind.
• I know I have more stuff to update from our trip up north last week. But here are pictures.
• We are getting very, very close to having a toddler. There have been a number of shuffle lunges and even a few step, step, lunge. Any day now.
• Tony and I are about to do an exercise video. Good, because I love exercise and am looking forward to getting back to it. Bad, because I don’t think either of us has done much (besides some walking here and there) since we broguht Jordan back his week. Over two weeks ago.

So, last Tuesday night, about 30 hours after arriving home from or near-week at my parents’ we left to surprise Billie at Friday Harbor Labs on San Juan Island. It was semi-impromptu, as we’d planned to leave Thursday but decided Tuesday afternoon to go that night instead. More about all this later, as we are swamped, exhausted, and in the midst of re-training Ali to fall asleep ny herself and in her crib. I’m going to be hardcore about it this time.

And she’s been crying for at least 30 minutes thus far.

First, I would like to say that I truly didnot anticipate the recovery time we, and especially Ali would need from this trip. Geez, we’re still worn out. To the point of feeling almost hungover! And Ali…she took a good nap flying into Portland, slept most of the nearly two hour ride home and went to bed at 5pm! I thought it was just a nap so she was still in her clothes and everything. She woke up once earlyin the morning and laid with/played around me for about an hour before going back to sleep until, like, nine thirty.

Today we have to work on re-training her to sleep in the crib, which she is throwing a big fit about. One of my least favorite things. We also really need to go to thestore as there is no substantial food in the house to speak of, definitely nothing remotely fresh or parishable, but finding the energy or desire to get up and out is proving to be a struggle. Also wondering why I bothered to clean before leaving. Coming home somehow seemed to tear the whole house apart. 

Anyway, backing up:

We left here around 8pm last Sunday. Ali slept in the car. Got to the airport and did long-term parking. Ali woke up and was excited and confused. We took the shuttle and checked our bags and the whole time Ali was so cute talking and smiling and having a great time. We checked two bags and had two backpacks, Ali’s little suitcase, a stuffed diaper bag, and a stroller to carry on. Which, plus Ali, was a LOT to lug through the airport. SO GLAD we ended up vetoing the carseat.

Entertaining herself at the gate.

Mom and Dad.

Ali stayed up and played until we got on the plane and fell asleep just before take-off (about 12:30pm). We flew first to the Minneapolis airport, a little over three hour flight. So we got there just after 5am after the two hour time change. Ali didn’thave a seat and I have to say it is a pain to have a one year old on your lap. And it was exclusively my lap b/c I’m the one she sleeps with and we were desperate to do whatever possible to keep her asleep. I slept a little but with my arm squished between the girl and the armrest my hand kept falling asleep and waking me up. Eventually the sun started to rise (so amazing to see from the sky!) and I just stayed up. I don’t think Tony slept much, if at all.

Over Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes.

Tired eyes.

Landed in Minneapolis and she’s still sleeping.

Ali didn’t wake until we were in the airport. And then she woke very happy and excited. She was seriously so funnywith all her airport wakes. Not at all how she normally wakes up. In Minneapolis we had about an hour to make ourway across their HUGE airport (from gate F to A something). I started to feel a little sick on the first flight (I get motion sick pretty easily) so I took a non-drowsy Bonine at the gate (thanks Alyssa!). Almost immediately, probably because my stomach was empty and I had slept very little, drowsiness set in. 

The flight to Des Moines was on a tiny, tiny plane. It was scary tiny- at least to me. Again, Ali fell asleep before take-off and didn’t wake up until we were in the airport. What a good girl! I also slept through most ofthe short flight. I don’t think Tony did though. He is crazy like that.

We got into Des Moines at about 8:30. Karen and Martha (Tony’s stepmom and sister) picked us up. We didn’t even have to wait at baggage, apparently a benefit of having taken a tiny plane. And then the fun began…

Where is this heat wave?!?! Grrr, it’s cloudy and cooooold right now.

After three one-a-nap-days Ali is now taking a very definite morning nap. Which means probably an afternoon one as well. I’m okay with that, trying to cut down to one has been difficult. Especially when it takes twenty minutes to get anywhere so she always falls asleep. Usually twice (there and back). And there goes nap time. I need a better break than that! And she needs more that 25 or so minutes of sleep a day. Yesterday that’s allshe had between 8am and 7pm. Though I must say it’s nice when she goes down so easy, so early.

Anyway.

Here’s the girl yesterday.

The sunset.

And my arm after having given blood.

It’s short. Sorry for the video overload as of late. Busy with Wii Fit and trying to get outside and keep the house picked up and doing usability tests (Tony). Thinking about prepping for Iowa. Also tonight Ali has woken up five or six times since 7pm when she went to bed.  So frustrating I could cry or throw something. Beyond that, I am so stoked about this heat wave that it supposedly coming our way!!!