let sleeping babies lie...

I have a confession....or 2 or 3....

I have the best sleeping baby ever. She's the best when she's awake and making everyone, herself included, laugh and enjoy her precious little personality. But seriously, my baby sleeps like a champ.

I put her to bed at 9 pm. She seriously sleeps till 10-11ish the next day. She gets up and has her morning milka milka (as she calls any drink) and breakfast and plays. Give that little nugget an hour and a half to two hours and those pretty blue eyes are getting rubbed and those little words I love to hear so very much get uttered....night night mom mom.

So begins nap #1....for a good 2-3 hours...which I adore as my little spats of insomnia can catch up on some missed zzzz's and make a nice mommy for when the boss lady wakes up.

So she wakes up...second time of the day to walk in to this little cherub standing in her crib...arms crossed looking at you like "welcome back to my room - wanna play?". So we eat lunch and play. This is truly one of the best playing babies as one of my other confessions. I adore her sense of independence. She is so happy to go in her room and play by herself for 45 minute stretches. She's not a huge TV watcher...although commercials come on and she's captivated...gotta love that short and sweet instant gratification. She truly would rather play with her toys and above all her booka bookas. A child after my own heart. I think if she had to pick a Disney princess personality twin, she'd be Belle. Hang out with a guy who has a library as big as hers and a sweet soul who loves you no matter what you look like.

This playtime can be altered of course. We can be out running errands, playing at home (still in our pj's - duh!), or lately splashing around in the pool when she declares in her little raft with her head down once again those magical little words, night night mom mom. (Hard to break it to a 16 month old naps can't be taken in the pool when you're just a little goldfish like her!)

And nap #2 commences for another 2-4 hours. I know she has been given the milestones paperwork at the pediatrician at check ups that she should be down to one nap....but she asks for it and who am I to say no?! When Jay's mom told me he decided naps weren't necessary once he turned one I just died on the inside for her! At 34, he still can't take a nap. At almost 30, I would die without at least one!

So we wake up again with that long hair in her precious puffy just woke up face, with her typical questions on her mind. "Lola? MeeMee? Kennedy? Dad Dad? Booka booka? Milka milka?". Yes. All of those are asked upon every waking moment. This kid's mind must have the same hamster wheel her mother has - constantly wondering what's going on with all the ones and things she loves.

And yet again playing begins, now in her new found lower drawers and playing the "let's take everything out" is followed by her OCD trait of "then put everything back I took out" begins. First part - definitely from me. Second part - definitely her dad...mommy doesn't like the clean up portion - look at my house or ask my sweet man and he'll agree - ha!

Sometime into this portion of open eyes is her absolute favorite part of her day. The dogs tip her off when they hear the garage door open and the three musketeers RACE to the back door for their long awaited arrival of DAD DAD!!!! He greets all three anxious little guests awaiting their acknowledgement from their favorite person in the world's home bound arrival. It's one of my highlights, too. To have been at home all day with all 3 little bittles and attended to all their needs, Jay walking in is like their peanut butter to their jelly. Life is good again.

And then comes her second favorite daily event(perhaps third since napping is a popular daily to-do). She (im)patiently waits for Jay to change clothes and jump in his arms and walk into the kitchen where once again the boss lady commands, "Go Go!". It's time for her Daddy and Presley ritual of going outside and watering our ever growing little garden. It's another sign that she is her Daddy's girl - that kid can't get enough outside time. I'll claim the booka booka love affair.

Once the ever present mosquitos suck the sweet sweet juice/blood to the point of irritation on my part (she doesn't care!) it's time to go in and either veg for a bit or start dinner or play a bit more. She is now a champ at eating whatever we make for dinner with us...although she never complains when she gets the same dinner she had for lunch - the other half of whatever variety of Progresso soup that I've dumped the broth out of so she can indulge on the veggies and noodles. Toss some playing in and we start into the magical 8-9 time frame and the request of milka milka starts the countdown to slumber.

We go into her room as a big family, puppies included of course, to tuck Sleeping Beauty in, hand her one of the pacifiers she's refused to give up at bed time but not needed during the day, and occasionally the last of the milk she hasn't finished. She gets her sound lamb turned on and warm wishes of love and sweet dreams and kisses and a run down of our next day and any companions she may run into and it's lights out.

One of my favorite things to do starts from here....above her crib Jay installed our video baby monitor camera to look directly down into her bed. The child has 1 normal sized pillow, 3 little pillows, and 4 or 5 soft babies/animals to love on, her paci and the occasional beverage leftovers. Keep in mind I haven't mentioned a peep coming from her at any of the times to be laid down. She silently sits up for a few minutes to rearrange her pillows and usually changes the sound of the lamb from rain to the heartbeat (which from the monitor makes it sound as if Darth Vader is constantly watching over her with his creepy breathing sound) or the whale songs or the ocean waves. She then morphs into sleeping like her Daddy. You have to almost play Where's Waldo/Pinpoint Presley when she decides to snuggle under her pillow and all you see are little legs in a Wizard of Oz house on top of her style. She is a traveling sleeper. She lays in some of the most bizarre positions. But it's the nights like this one that makes me giggle. It's 4:31 am and it's like she may have an intuition someone else is up because she slightly stirs. Not waking up completely, but enough to change positions, figure out if it's better with the little pillow on her face (5 or 6 times of this on and off her face routine), time to pat one of her babies to sleep, or pat around looking for the paci or drink, and maybe start the lamb up again. She doesn't know these sweet moments are some of my favorites. Watching her little idiosyncrasies and quirks that make my little princess more Sleeping Beauty's Aurora's twin now rather than Belle.

I keep the monitor plugged in on my side of the bed for when she decides to wake in the morning ready for her list of comments and concerns as mentioned above. I've told Jay I will be so sad the day he thinks it's an invasion of privacy to no longer be "big mother" and secretly peep into my child's room and world through the camera and monitor. It's the little rearrange my bed to sleep better, showing her maternal instincts soothing her little babies to sleep, and being a part of a little slice of her her night life that make my not sleeping not so lonesome.

Birthday celebrations

As I am trying to plan my 30th birthday bash I have found myself remembering all the 29 other celebrations that led me to this day. Can you remember some of your favorite parties or presents? I sure can!

I have pictures to know my parents went all out for my first birthday...100+ people to celebrate a one year old is quite a way to set the bar going forward. I know there was a fun party when we lived in Israel that I was dressed like a bride and got the whole Barbie wedding setup - complete with the plastic grass to set the chairs for Barbie and Ken's friends, little bouquets my grandmother made for the bridal party, and hearing I had an accident during the party in my costume and had to change before heading down for the pool party.

I remember my first birthday party right before my mom and David got married at White Rock Skating rink where I received not one but two baby lab puppies with giant bows scampering onto the rink - Pollyanna and Penelope - what a great present times two!

I know there was a spin art party, watermelon theme pool party in our Grand Prairie house backyard complete with a NKOTB cake, a makeover party which we jammed to the new hit cassette tape single "Whoomp! There it is!" and went to Ogle for makeovers, small slumber parties and trips to the cute little Duncanville tea room, concert at Six Flags to see Richard Marx (don't laugh-I asked for it!), 50's theme skating party at PCBC, my mom quizzing me on my present to get it - "a drug dealer, a doctor, and now you have this in common?" (a pager), getting back from our fabulous Washington, D.C. Choir tour and heading to Traildust for a big dinner and dancing night, family dinners on birthdays there wasn't a huge party, and then the ever memorable (depending on alcohol consumption maybe not so memorable) bar hopping nights, jetting off to spend 10 days in the south of France with my family wasn't too shabby either!

Looking at where I have been the last 3 years - France for 27, I was able to announce on my 28th birthday after passing the "safe to tell" time frame that I was pregnant, 29 was marked with being given anti-depressants and a grilled dinner at home with my little family, and now here comes 30.....

I love that it is a celebration with friends, family, kids, and good times for all. How funny to think going to a bar these days involves babysitters, looking up at 10ish exhausted, and ooooooover the bar scene....let's say a big HALLELUJAH! I am proud of growing up into this part of my life with what really matters and not the superficial, expensive bar tabs, stressing over finding the perfect dress, and hoping everyone who RSVP'd showed up.

Bring it 30. I've got big plans for you...let's see how this party holds up to the others....