Holly Jolly

I like Christmas music...a lot.  I love when I can listen to it on the radio 24/7, and do so as soon as they start playing it that often.  Since I take the children to school every day, that means they have been listening to a lot of Christmas music as well.  Audrey is now familiar with a handful of holiday songs, including Jingle Bells, Away in a Manger and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Last year's favorite, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, hasn't been as popular this year.  Instead, she is very into Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.  As usual, Audrey has  her own way of singing it too.  Her version is as follows:

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas; 

 it's the best time EVER!!!

I guess you could say this Christmas was the best ever; it definitely was for Barrett,, because it was Barrett's first Christmas.  He loved eating the wrapping paper and crinkling the tissue paper.  I think he also liked the toys he got too.  Audrey is also at such a ripe age to be amazed by the splendor and to enjoy the xcitement.  We had a busy couple of days, but they were so full of fun times and our loving family.  It really was a joy to be with them all.  With all of the house chaos that has consumed our lives lately, it was nice to take a break and focus on the people we love and the Savior who loves us. 

We started by opening gifts at Nana and Papa's on Christmas Eve.  Barrett got a Pottery Barn chair with his name on it, which mommy loves.  We also discovered that when he is starting to throw a fit, if we get out the camera, he will smile and laugh for pictures and forget why he was starting to cry.

 

Then, Christmas Eve night, we came home to go to church at Central.  Then, we went home to put on jammies and start a new tradition.  Audrey got to have a glass of milk and a small cookie before bed. Barrett didn't have any cookies this year, but he did get to wear his special Christmas jammies.

Christmas morning, we opened gifts at home.  Audrey was so excited about her Bitty Baby car seat and the clothes she got for her.  Barrett was excited with anything he could put in his mouth that I didn't take away.

After we got dressed and ready to go, we visited Granny and Grandpa Gerdes in Litchfield for some more gifts and a delicious Christmas dinner.  Both kids got to wear their special Christmas outfits for the occasion.  Bitty baby even had a dress that matched Audrey's.

 

Then it was off to Grandma Rosie and Grandpa Pat's to close out the day with more gifts and more yummy food.  We really are so blessed; thanks to all of you who are a part of our lives and fill them with joy.  Merry Christmas!

The McNansion

We are homeowners again!  As of Monday, officially own what one of Billy's friends called the McMansion.  From there, Billy took it and ran with it (as he usually does) and is now calling our house the McNansion (I think that is how you would spell it). Anyway, it seems like it has been such a long process to get to this point, and we won't even move in for a few more weeks.  The house is only 3 years old and has never been inhabited.  The walls are all white...well, they were when we closed.  They are now in the process of being painted.    We will move sometime in January.  For now, we are trying to fix a few small things and enjoy the holidays.  Here are a few photos that I took the day we closed, before any color was introduced to the walls. 

 

Foyer and office

 

Looking into the living room from the foyer

Upstairs hallway

 

Master Bathroom



Guest Bedroom 

Living Room

 

A Mother Looks at 30

If you had asked me 15 years ago what my life would be like when I turned 30, I don't think I could have even imagined my life would be as full as it is.  Husband, children, career, friends, and the list goes on.  I know I would have laughed in your face if you had told me I would be married to Billy Nance and that we would have two beautiful children together.  I guess I always imagined myself as a career woman, but the success I've had already in my career amazes me every day.  We are about to close on the purchase of a home we love that is more of my dream home than I ever thought I would have at this age.  I really am so blessed in so many ways.  Admittedly, finding balance with so much going on is difficult, but God is always with me, guiding and protecting.

Sometimes I wonder why God is so good to me when I am just another sinful human that falls short of his grace daily.  I hope that as I go through my 30s, I can serve God better and make better use of the gifts he's given me.  I am a wife/mother/employee/boss/daughte/sister/friend with room to improve across the board, and I hope that God will continue to give me plenty of opportunities to do so. 

To celebrate the close of my third decade of life, my amazing husband made a dream of mine a reality.  After we got married 7 years ago, I was sad to see my beautiful dress sealed in a box.  I loved wearing it, and I wanted to wear it again.  Fortunately, after 7 years and 2 children, I am still able to fit into it.  So, Billy threw me a Bridal Gown Gala on Saturday night.  Many of our friends joined us for dinner, and all of the ladies dressed up in bridesmaids dresses and other gowns.  I, of course, wore my wedding dress. 

I unsealed the box the night before the party, and I think Audrey was more excited than I was.  She wanted to touch it, told me I looked like a princess in it, and kept saying it was "soooo beautiful."  Barrett just wanted to eat the box.  We did manage to get Audrey to sit in the box too, but just long enough to take a picture.

Since Audrey didn't get to go to the party, I let her put on a dress from her closet that she thought looked like a princess dress.  Then, we took some photos together. I was sad that the children weren't celebrating with us at the party, so I was glad that Audrey and I could share that moment where we were both dressed up like princesses.  I know that many mothers save their wedding dress, hoping that someday, their daughter will want to wear it for her wedding.  I don't know that I will hold on to that hope too closely, but I am going to re-preserve the dress.  Maybe I'll break it out again in 10 or 20 years. 

6 Months

Baby boy...you're not going to be a baby for long!  You are growing so fast.  At a whopping 17 pounds 11 ounces, you tipped the scales at your six month checkup.  You are also 27 inches long now, keeping you in the 95th percentile for height. 

You've spent a lot of the past month fighting colds and even a bronchial infection, but you have still managed to be as happy as ever.  Your smile is contagious; all of your teachers love to hold you because of it, which means you are very used to being held whenever you want.  I can't deny complete responsiblity though, because I love holding you too. 

Your daddy is already starting to groom you for a future athlethic career.  He has his sights set on hockey, but part of me hopes that you will choose a sport with a lower injury rate.  You still haven't gotten to go to a professional hockey game though, because of the NHL strike.  You still wear your Blues onesies proudly, even though it makes your daddy a little sad to see them. 

Your diet is getting ready to change drastically.  You started eating baby food this week, and LOVE IT!  You gobbled up your sweet potatoes the first night, and probably would have eaten the whole container if I had let you.  You will also get to start drinking some water from a sippy cup and eating more rice cereal too.  We tried to capture some photos of your first baby food experience, but had trouble getting a good action shot, because we are also finding out that you like to ham it up for the camera.  Any time you see a camera, you smile.  I was trying to take a video of you playing with Jack, and you stopped playing to look at me a smile.  It does make for a lot of good pictures.  Maybe I should enter you in one of those baby photo contests. 

The holidays will be so much fun with you this year.  I cannot wait to take pictures of you and your sister together in your Christmas outfits, but I hope you also come to appreciate the real reason for the holiday.  I pray every day that you will come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior; that you will love and serve God through this life that he has given you.  I also pray that we will be good parents for you, showing you love and kindess while teaching you to be the adult that God created you to be.  I have loved you since before you were born, but you have such a personality now, and I feel like I am really starting to know you.  That makes me love you more than you will ever know.  You will always be my baby boy, and your mommy will always love you. 

Bath Time

I think it is time to start putting Barrett's baby tub in the big bathtub during bath time instead of the kitchen sink. 

Christmas Comes But Once a Year

"Christmas comes but once a year, and now it's here!"  When we returned from our Thanksgiving festivities today, we decorated our apartment.  We did not put out all of our decorations because of our impending move, but we did get out the essentials:  the Nativity, tree, and stockings.  I am very excited for Barrett's first Christmas, and Audrey is at an age to really enjoy things this year.   She remembered some of the decorations and the books that we got out today.  Her favorite toys are still the light up snow globes. 

Unfortunately, the Thanksgiving holiday has totally thrown Audrey off and she is choosing not to listen and to talk back constantly.  I know it is just a phase, and we will come through it.  That doesn't make it any less frustrating.  I want to sing Christmas carols and talk about the birth of our Savior with my daughter.  I don't want her to be sitting on the pillow in her room screaming and crying (or screaming and crying at church...sorry to everyone at the service at First Presby in Greenville this morning) while the rest of us decorate and wrap gifts.  I think the most heart-wrenching part of the issue though is when I take a step back to think about where she learned to act that way.  She's had to observe it, and the people she is around the most are her parents.  So, this holiday season, I feel the need for God's grace so deeply as a parent of a child that is watching my every move.  I also feel true  joy in knowing Jesus died for our sins so that we can freely receive that grace.  I will never be perfect; my children will never be perfect; but Jesus lived the perfect life so we don't have to.  Praise God! 

Stella's New Look

It has been an exciting couple weeks in the Nance household.  Barrett has started sitting up, Billy got a promotion at work, and we bought a house.  Well, techinically we won't own it until December 20, but more to come on that in a later post.  With everything that has been going on, our dogs have definitely been a little neglected.  Before Audrey was born, the dogs were our babies.  Since Barrett was born, Jackson and Stella have definitely not gotten as much attention as they were getting even after Audrey was born.  The proof is in the pictures; I realized this weekend that I did not have pictures of Barrett with the dogs. I changed that, but still, when we first got the dogs, I took pictures of them constantly.   Soon though, the dogs will have their own fenced in yard where they can run and play to their hearts content. 

Our offer on the house was accepted last week, so today was our home inspection.  The inspection went well, but took a while, so we finished around lunch time.  As we were leaving lunch to run to the tile store, I noticed I had missed a call from the dog groomer where I had dropped off Jackson and Stella this morning.  She had accidentally cut Stella's ear while grooming her, and Stella was on her way to the vet.  In the end, she couldn't get stitches because she had eaten this morning, so they put some liquid stitches on the cut and bandaged her up really well.  They also put a cone on her to prevent her from scratching her ear. 

When I picked up Audrey, I informed her of Stella's injury and the cone. Naturally, I got a thousand questions about how Stella got hurt and her current state.  My hope was that this would prevent too many questions once we got home.  That, however, was not the case.  Audrey asked a thousand more questions, many of which she had already asked.  In the end, Audrey decided to draw a picture of Stella with her cone.  Other than the fact that Stella is purple and has 5 legs, Audrey did a great job of capturing Stella's new look (the red circle in the picture below). 

Trick or Treat

This Halloween was the first time that Audrey actually went trick or treating.  She wore the Snow White costume that my mom made for me when I was 4.  It was a little big, but she really liked wearing it.  She wore it to school that morning, so while she was getting ready, she insisted that we call her Snow White.  To go with the theme of her costume, Barrett was an apple.  He was a pretty adorable and actually seemed to enjoy wearing the costume.  We went trick or treating at the Siburt's house in Des Peres.  Audrey really liked handing out the candy.  We went to about 6 houses so she could get some candy, and then she got cold and was ready to go back to the Siburt's.  That was fine with me.  In the end, she got enough candy to fill a cereal bowl. She especially likes the Reese's and M&Ms.  Billy is having to practice a lot of self control to not eat those for her.  In the end, it was a fun first Halloween for Barrett and first trick-or-treating experience for Audrey.

5 Months

Has it really been 5 months already?  Time has flown by, and you have reached the stage where you are learning new things every day.  You are still the happy smiling boy though.  There was a photographer at school this month, and he reportedly love photographing you because you were always so happy.  I can't wait to see the pictures myself! 

You are rolling over in both directions. The first time you did it was in your bed one night while you were swaddled. I think that helped you, because your arm didn't get in the way. But, something must have clicked in your brain that night, because it wasn't two days later that you rolled over unassisted, arms free. Just days after your started rolling over, you also started inching your legs up under your body so that your bottom sticks up in the air. I am preparing myself, because I know you are going to start crawling long before we are really ready for it. I was hoping we would be settled in a house before you got mobile so we wouldn't have to baby-proof the apartment, but I think you have other plans. 

 Your fine motor skills have also improved tremendously.  You are reaching for objects and able to grasp them much of the time.  Unfortunately for your sister, her hair is one of your favorite targets.  She is pretty understanding though; at least, it hasn't stopped her from playing with you.  I thik you're glad for that, because you love you sister.  Anytime she is talking, you are looking at her.  You ALWAYS smile at her, and she does a good job of taking care of you.  When you fuss, she is the first one there to your rescue.  Your favorite toys are the ones that make the crinkle noise.  You have a book that crinkles and can calm you down from even the most determined tantrum. 

Speaking of which, you get mad now.  Not fussy, mad.  You scream at the top of your lungs and big, wet tears fall down your face.  Most of the time, the tantrums come when you are set down and you want to be held.  As much as you like rolling around on the floor and playing, you also don't like to be left alone for too long.  I guess that is the plight of the younger child.  Your sister never lets you cry for long, and neither does Jackson.  He likes to lick you in the face until you start laughing. 

We also had to move to size 3 diapers this month. After two nights with 3 sheet/pajama changes because of leakage, it was clear that the size 2 diapers just weren't cutting it.  You had your first overnight stay without mommy or daddy, and had an overnight diaper explosion for nana and papa that night too.  Speaking of nights, you still aren't sleeping through.  We have reached the stage,  however, where I am not feeding you every time you wake up because you weren't eating much anyway.  You do not like that; you do not like to soothe yourself to sleep.  So, there is a lot of screaming and crying (I feel bad for the neighbors), but you are only eating one time a night now.  I hope that soon you'll be only waking up once a night.  Part of the problem is that you move around in your crib a lot, and often end up with an arm or leg hanging out of your crib.  I think you sometimes aren't sure how to get it back in, and then wake yourself up trying to figure it out. 

Oh, and you are perfecting your rice cereal consumption.  You still try to stick your hand in your mouth, but we can get through the feeding without you getting mad and without too much mess.  They are going to start giving you rice cereal in the morning at school next week. 

I am so excited to watch you grow and develop over the next couple of months.  Just a few months from now, I am sure I'll be writing about your mobility and how you are always getting into things.  I love you so much!

A dogs perspective

So we are running a couple of months late on our video editing, but here is a fun video of Jackson at the lake.

Three and a Half Years

I am a few days (ok, a couple of weeks) late with this post, but I still had to share what is on my heart. You are definitely not a baby anymore. You're a little girl now. Every time I look at you...I mean really look at you...I am amazed by how big you have gotten. Physically, you have lost every ounce of baby fat, and can run, jump, and climb almost anywhere you want. Just this morning you were telling me how long your legs are.  You have also learned to reason and do so daily when choosing yourwardrobe. For example:

You say, "Daddy, I haven't worn this dress in a while."

Daddy responds, "That dress has short sleeves; it is too cold to wear that dress."

You look at the dress, then your dad. After a short pause you say, "I can wear a sweater. Ok?" and pull a sweater out of the closet.

You have a mind of your own, which can be challenging for your mommy and daddy. However, I know that it is necessary for you to become an independent adult.  I just pray that you will use that mind to make good choices and follow God.  You are already on the right track.  You are always watching out for others and making sure everyone is taken care of.  When I don't feel well, you are always the first to ask me if I am OK.  You usually have advice for how I can get better too.  Sometimes...well, most of the time...this can come across as you being bossy.  You use those same command skills when playing with friends.  You often grab Lillian by the hand and drag her along to do what you want to do.  She doesn't seem to mind, yet. 

You also LOVE to help.  When we clean the house, all we have to do is give you a rag and you are cleaning off everything.  You prefer to use the Clorox wipes to just a plain rag or paper towel, but you are still learning what you should and should not clean with those wipes (wood furniture for example).  You are an especially good helper when it comes to your brother.  You  love helping give him baths, and anytime he starts to fuss, you are the first person to run to him.  Usually, it is just enough for him to see you, and he immediately stops crying and smiles.  There is no doubt that he loves his big sister. 

One of the best parts of being a parent is watching you start to choose your favorite activities, which I know someday will help lead you into a career.  It is fun to guess what you might choose to do as an adult given your current preferences.  You love to draw and color.  You are actually learning more control over your hands, so the untrained eye can now tell when you are drawing people, the letter A, bugs (which all look the same, no matter what kind of bug it is), and simple birds with two lines for wings and a dot for a body.  Your circles are definitely the best shape you draw, but you are working to learn others too.  You also love dancing, singing, and reciting stories.  One of your favorite pretend activties is playing with your baby dolls, particularly Bitty Baby.  You also like to pretend to be a princess sometimes too, and you love to play with legos. Thinking about the combination of these favorite activities doesn't give any clear hints as to what you might choose as a future vocation, but there are a lot of options.  Your daddy has been talking to you about the Mars rover and trying to get you interested in robots, science and engineering.  It is cute to see the two of you having some quality daddy/daughter time. 
 
The past six months have been a lot of change for you, but you are perservering.  You definitely have your attention seeking moments, and it is at those times that I have to remind myself that you are only three and a half.  You are getting to be so mature in so many ways that I often forget you aren't nine or ten years old. I love you so much and hope you never get too old to snuggle on the couch under the purple blanket or have Saturday morning dance parties in the living room. 

What Will He Say First?

I just have to share this exchange between my children and their father.

Audrey said to Barrett, "Can you say dada?  I think you can."

Then, Billy chimed in, "Audrey, what do you think Barrett will say first...mama or dada?"

Without a pause, Audurey replied, "He's going to say Audrey." 

Once At a Time

Audrey likes the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and has now heard it so many times that she can recite the story quite well. When we are driving to or from school, she frequently tells the story for me. Each time I hear her tell it, it makes me smile. She always tells it very quickly and sometimes skips parts, but it is absolutely adorable to hear her rendition of the story. One of the best parts is how she always starts. "Once at a time..."

4 Months Old

It is so hard to believe that you have been with us for 4 months already.  At the same time, it seems like you've been part of our family forever.  The past month has flown by, and you are really starting to grow up.  You look a lot older than you are because of your size.  Your 26.5 inches puts you in the 95th percentile for length, even though you are only in the 50th percentile for weight at just over 15 pounds.   The look of your face is also starting to change.  You look less and less like your sister and more like your own little person. I can't put my finger on exactly what has changed, but you are changing.  Teachers from other rooms at school that visit your room from time to time have not recognized you at times over the past few weeks.  Great-grandma York also didn't recognize you; in her defense, one of my friends was holding you, so it was an unusual context.  But, the point is still made...you are growing up!

I think we can officially say that you are done with pacifiers.  You have discovered your thumb, and now prefer that or your fingers to the man-made pacifier.  I guess you just want to be like your big sis.  I just hope it is as easy to get you to stop using it as your sister (thanks to the dentist)!

You've not only discovered that your hands can go in your mouth, but you are also learning to use them to reach for things.  You love reaching for the animals that hang from your bouncy chair, or the frog that we've put on your car seat.  You have even reached out, and successfully grabbed, your sister's hair.  I think you liked that a lot more than she did.  You follow everything with your eyes, and have started turning your head to follow certain sounds. 

The biggest change lately is probably the one to your diet.  You are eating rice cereal in the evenings!  It has only been a few days, and we still aren't sleeping consistently through the night, so I hope that will change in the coming month.  Mommy could definitely use some consistently good sleep.  We are also working to let you fall asleep by yourself (without rocking or cuddling).  The next few weeks might be a little painful, but we know it will pay off in the long run. 

I know you are going to change by leaps and bounds over the next couple of months.  You are so close to rolling over, and once you master that, crawling will come all too quickly. I am excited to celebrate all of the milestones that we have coming up, but I am also going to enjoy each day with  you just like you are now. 

Welcome Fall

The past month has been a blur.  Work has been busy, and I made my first overnight work trip since returning after Barrett's birth.  It was only one night in Washington, DC, but it almost turned into 2 nights when I left my driver's license at Treasury.  At home...well, we haven't been at home a lot, so maybe I should say...outside of work, we've been busy too.  We were at the Lake of the Ozarks last weekend to see my parents new boat.  It was cool, overcast, and rainy, but that has never stopped us from boating before.  After such a hot, dry summer, it is really a pleasant change.  None of us were complaining. 

With cooler weather, unfortunately, comes stuffy noses.  We've all had them.  Audrey was even a little horse the other morning, so I made her a cup of tea with honey.  It was decaf, and I made it very weak, so she loved it.  Now, she keeps coming in the kitchen saying she doesn't feel good because she wants tea.  I guess she hopes that I will offer it if she acts like she is sick. I keep trying to tell her that if she wants tea, she can just ask for it. 

In the fall, I also like to break out some of our favorite fall/winter foods.  Audrey is also enamored with the items we are bringing back into our normal rotation of meals.  We had chili one night last week.  The next morning she said, "Mommy, chili soup is de-yummy-ous (I think that is the best way to spell it).  It is much better than the green soup at school."  I am not sure what the green soup is, I think it might be their white chicken chili, but I do agree that our chili is de-yummy-ous. 

Even with all of the great weather and yummy fall foods, I think my favorite part of fall is the change of pace that it holds for our family.  We enjoy going to the respective lakes where our families are, and boating, and swimming.  But it is a lot of travel and doesn't leave us much time at home. So, at this point in the year as the frequency of our trips slows down, it is a welcome change.  We have a few fun activities coming up over the next few weeks, but we will also have basically every other weekend at home.  That means more time for going to the park, enjoying bike rides, and maybe even a little bit of looking at houses.  As much as Audrey loves the lake, I think she'll be alright with the change of pace too! 

Boating in a Hurricane

Thanks  to Hurricane Isaac, we got a ton of rain to help us celebrate Labor Day weekend.  We did not let that stop us from getting out on the lake though.  We were in Greenville, and the rain caused the lake to raise almost 4 feet overnight Friday.  It was still raining Saturday, but Grandpa Pat put the full enclosure on the Cobalt, and we went for a ride. 

This weekend we also got to meet my brother's puppy, Megatron.  He is so adorable, that we decided the name Meggie Weggie Poo fits him much better.  You can decide for yourself.

We returned from Greenville early Monday so that we'd have time for a zoo visit that afternoon.  We made it a real St. Louis holiday and went to Ted Drewe's afterwards too. 

Eating Out

Sometimes I get so caught up in the day to day, I don’t stop to think about what is really happening.  That is why from time to time, little exchanges with my children catch me off guard as they remind me that they are growing up in a world that is vastly different from the one where we were raised.  Many parts of this world are scary, so I consider them worse than when I was a child.  Other parts are not better or worse; they are just different.  Some of the differences have more to do with our geographical location than the changing times; being in a city affords much more diversity of people and activities than a rural setting like Greenville. 

Audrey brought me back to this line of thinking a couple of days ago.  We were driving home after a day of work/school, and we called Billy to determine our plans for the evening.  You see, we had gotten back from the Lake the previous day and went to see our friends The Hoenigs for dinner.  So, we didn’t really have anything to make for dinner at home.  After a short discussion, we determined that we would go out to eat.  I hung up the phone, and Audrey immediately started in with questions.  I guess that is part of being three.  She asks questions, primarily “Why?” and continues doing so until we change subjects, distract her, or tell her to stop asking questions.  After answering her questions, I decided to direct a question back at her to put an end to the questions. 

“What would you like to eat for dinner?” I asked. 

Her response was short and simple.  “Let's go to Bread Co.   I want Mac’n’Cheese.” 

I was immediately taken aback.  I was shocked that she had deduced from her line of questioning that we were going out to eat; so when she answered my question she knew to respond with both a restaurant and a meal choice.  I know that she is observant, but she is not just watching, she is also connecting the dots. 

My shock quickly turned to questioning.  Do we eat out too much?  Do we go to St. Louis Bread Company (Panera for you out of towners) that often?  Is this healthy, or are we teaching her bad habits by eating out as much as we do? 

As I mulled over these questions, I slowly came to the point of comparing my upbringing with the way I am raising my children.  When I was a child, eating out was a luxury that did not occur frequently.  I think that was primarily due to the fact that there were not many restaurants to go to in and around Greenville, but eating out is also more expensive and often less healthy.

That lead me back to the question of whether our habit of eating out from time to time is one of those changes for the worse or if it is just different.   I know it is a balance.  Right now, as I return to work and we adjust to life with 2 children, we are trying to achieve balance with all of these new variables thrown in.  It is a constant struggle to stay in balance, but this is where I have to turn once more to our heavenly Father.  Whether the current world is better, worse, or the same as when I was a child doesn't matter.  What matters is how we live now, and that we live for God.  I will never be a perfect parent, and my children will never be perfect people. But that doesn't matter either, because that is not God's plan for us.  He knows we are imperfect, sinful humans and that we will stumble, make bad choices, and fail to deserve his loving grace time and again.  The beauty is that he loves us anyway.  If we live for him, as much as we mess up, God will always offer us his grace and help us to turn back to him. 

3 Months Old

Three months…it is so hard to believe that it has been three months since you were born.   You are huge, so people that don’t know you think you’re even older than that.  You're so heavy now that I can't hold you for long with just one arm.  I have to use both arms or support you on my hip. 

So much has changed in the past month.  I am working again, which means you are spending your days at DCC in the Sunshine room.  That is the same room your big sis was in when she was a baby.  They love having you there, and you seem to love being there.  The week you started at school, you also started sleeping through the night.  In fact, your first full week you had 3 nights that you slept at least 8 hours without waking me up to eat.  You don’t sleep through every night, but this is major progress and help make me more rested when I go to work. 

You are also developing well.  You can hold your head pretty steady and follow everything with your eyes.  The biggest change is the way you use your hands.  You have started reaching out toward objects, and just this weekend reached up and grabbed my hair when I was changing your diaper.  You’ve also started making a lot of different coo noises.  You coo, goo, bbbbmmm, and squeal when you want to talk to someone. 

One thing that hasn’t changed is how happy you are.  You are always smiling and easily contented.  Last week, your teacher told me you’d had an off day.  When I asked what was wrong, she told me that it was nothing in particular.  You weren’t fussy, but you weren’t smiling and giggling like normal.  I guess if that’s an off day, you’re doing pretty well.  It gives me such joy to see you grin at me; it is hard to be frustrated, angry, or sad when you flash your gums.  I genuinely hope you maintain that happy personality as you get older and continue to lighten hearts when you smile.