10 year reunion

I am the lucky one charged with planning our high school class reunions...our 10 year is coming up next summer, so of course it has me looking back in my yearbook to start tracking classmates down. I had a lot of fun reading through what people wrote those last days of high school. One that made me laugh from someone I don't even remember knowing: "Have a good summer and have your hot sister call me" Such heartfelt memories, right!?

I actually had a great time in high school. College was great too, and I love my life as a wife and mother now. I learned something (well lots of things actually) from my very wise father. He told me that you spend the first 20 something years of your life waiting for that "next step" like graduating from primary, going to junior high, getting your license, being allowed to date, turning 18 "becoming an adult", going off to college, finishing college, getting married, having kids...if you're not careful you end up living through each of life's experiences only in anticipation of experiences yet to happen, forgetting to enjoy the precious moments in the present. Then you get to a certain age, and realize that you will now spend the next 60 something years wishing we were younger.

My dad taught me to enjoy each phase of my life...and so far, I really have. That is not to say that I didn't spend nights at times wondering, impatiently, when certain phases (like the single phase) would end, or even now, with Ella, wishing, the spit up phase will end- but I love that I can look back and say that I have really, really good memories of each phase...of all of them I feel like I can say, "They were the best days of my life."

The 2 am kitchen talk

I heard that babies eyes will stay the same color they are at 6 months... I hope this is true because her eyes are so bright







This is Ella's primary goal in life right now...to get her foot, or even better- both feet, into her mouth, as much as possible all day long. its pretty fun to watch her...and this is why the dishes don't get done.


Anyway, on to the reason I started this post.

My mom came up to help me with Ella for a few days after I had that wretched ear surgery. It was so wonderful to have her here!! She watched ella all day while I was dizzy and miserable, and she even took her downstairs to watch her during the night (since Jared is pretty much dead to me when it comes to waking up). I didn't think this would be very hard for my mom because ella has actually been sleeping from about 10:30 pm til 6 am for the last 3 months. so good, right!

Well, the last night she was here I took ella back because i was feeling much better and wanted my mom to be able to sleep in before she headed home. 1:30 am ella woke up and started crying. It must have taken me a little longer to hear her because when I got up to give her the bink I met my mom in the hallway with a bottle in hand. ??"what are you doin mom?" She told me that she was getting ella her bottle because she didn't think I heard her crying. I told my mom that little ella doesn't need a bottle at night, because when she wakes up she just needs her bink and she goes right back to sleep, and this only happens like once, maybe twice a week anyway. My mom simply explained to me that ella does wake up at night and she just needs her bottle and she goes right back to sleep.

So, little ella, who used to sleep through the night,* has now realized that this is actually optional.

After 3 months of sleeping through the night, grandma comes for 3 days and she now wakes up at 1:30 and 4:00 am and thinks its time to eat- and the bink is worthless.

What now? I'm back at work 3 days a week and this is killing me. How do I get her back to sleeping atleast 6 hours again? Help!

*ella was a great sleeper once she finally got to sleep. Getting her down was the hard part, which is why I tried (but failed) at making her cry it out. She is still hard to put to sleep and now she doesn't even stay asleep!!

Even though I think I should have held you hostage until she was back to her old schedule...i love you mom!! Thanks so much for all your help. I don't know how you did this 8 times! You are amazing!!