New Tricks and such

One of my latest tricks (which I've been doing for at least a few weeks now) is turning on the Xbox. I figured out if you press the round button, it lights up and the disc drive slides out. It's such a fun game to play with Mommy, I turn it on, she says "no" and turns it off. Repeat. Repeat.

I think Lexi will be an accessories girl. She often walks on her tip toes (practicing for heels I suppose), and always grabs at earrings and necklaces. She has now figured out that she can tote around her little purse from her exersaucer (complete with keys and money, of course!)

A Baby's Perspective on Sleep Training...

OK, here's my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 9 months. The first few months were great--I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, day or night. Then something happened.

Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep thru the night).

At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months.

Here's the thing: these Mommies don't really need to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep--they just don't need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle.

It goes like this:
Night 1--cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it's for her own good.

Night 2--cry every 2 hours until you get fed.

Night 3--every hour.

Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don't give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!!

If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! But she really does not need the sleep, she is just resisting the change.

If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it. Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it.

BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with.
My sleep sack tickled my foot.
I felt a wrinkle under the sheet.
My mobile made a shadow on the wall.
I burped, and it tasted like pears (I hadn't eaten pears since lunch - what's up with that?)
A dog said "woof" outside (I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL.)
Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room.
Too hot, too cold, just right--doesn't matter! Keep crying!!
It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am.
You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies' internal clocks.

P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, NO milk will come out! Trust me.

How to amuse a baby (and yourself) when your husband is out of town...

- take your new car out for a spin, of course! We took our first jaunt to the grocery store today in the Mazda. The one down side of the new ride is less trunk space, but we were pretty spoiled with Wanda the wagon and her colossal sized trunk

- take your new car out for a spin (oops, already did that, ha ha) to the car seat clinic to make sure your car seat is correctly installed in new car (they really should write a car seat installation for dummies manual)

- take a bath together - we don't do this often, but it was pretty fun, as long as Lexi doesn't pee in the tub like she usually does. By the way, naked soapy babies are very, very slippery!

- take a walk around the good ol' neighborhood while the sun is shining. Wave hi at familiar barking dogs and old men trimming their hedges for the second time in the past week

- meet friends for coffee and take advantage of dinner invites to other people's houses so I can avoid eating Mini Raviolis out of the can (OK, I don't actually eat them out of the can). Why cook for one?

- spend too much money at Costco, and if I can stomach it, Metrotown (while Daddy is away, the Amex will play, mwwwwwwwwaaah!)

- go to bed really early and not worry about being 'social' with your significant other. By early I mean 8:30pm. Boy I'm old.

- try to snap a picture of Lexi standing unassisted, which she has been doing for about a week now, but for some dang reason, refuses to do when the camera is out and ready to go

- try new foods - this past week or so, Lexi has tried mango (LOVES it), broccoli, cantaloupe and egg yolk (this one was a big YUCK). And OK, I'll admit to giving her a crumb or two of Hayden's birthday cake this past weekend

- spend lots of time on Google chat with Daddy

Doug won't be gone nearly as long as he was for the China trip, so hopefully Lexi won't decide to cut more teeth like she did the last time Daddy left town, and we'll be just fine!

We did it!

Our new 2009 Mazda 5 GS sits in our parking spot as we speak. We're still trying to figure out a name (apparently the name I chose is already the name of my friend's Mazda - great minds think alike - is stealing a car name like stealing a baby name?) We'll get a picture soon!

Mommy's Free Time

Now that Lexi takes a nap once in a while, I've got some free time to play with my scrapbooking stuff again. I started scrapbooking back in 2005 - I started with making our wedding thank you cards and favor boxes, and I was instantly hooked. I've always been fairly crafty - over the years I've done knitting (my Nana taught me when I was 8), cross stitch, crocheting, sewing and painting (OK, does paint by numbers count?) To date I've done several scrapbooks, including a beautiful wedding album, and I hope to finish a scrapbook of Lexi's first 6 months before I head back to work (gulp) in just over 3 months. It's even become some what of a side business for me, as I sell my cards to a friend who owns a housewares store in Kitsilano - Briers Home Decor on West 4th Avenue. I've done thank you cards for a couple of my girlfriends' bridal showers, baby thank you cards for myself, and several sets of bridal and baby shower invites.

Here's a sampling of what I've been working on recently.

Taking the Plunge...

No, I'm not going swimming (I hate public pools after all). Doug and I are F-I-N-A-L-L-Y buying a new car. This week. Really, we are.

We test drove a couple of cars in December and decided on the Mazda 5 for it's similarities to a mini-van (sliding side doors), yet it still has a sporty look. Not that I would mind being a mini-van driving Mom, heck, I drove my parents Ford Aerostar when I was a teenager. We decided to wait until February to purchase, as historically it's the slowest month for car sales. We sent out emails to several dealerships, and were quoted a price at least $3000 lower than the price we were quoted in December. We hope to purchase and bring it home on Friday (if it's currently on the lot). Stay tuned!