Cat For Sale

Before Helen Grace was born, Mocha was my baby, always by my side or sleeping on my head. He patiently waited for me to get out of the shower so that he could get his morning petting. When we ate dinner, he would stand on his hind legs (we call this his ‘circus bear’ act) to get as close to us/food as possible. Such a sweet, cuddly, clingy kitty.

Since HG has arrived, I still do my best to love on Mo Mo, but there’s no possible way for him to get the same amount of attention. My hands are a little full! The cats are just lucky to get food and water daily nowadays. He has started throwing up every now and then, and the vet thinks it’s just his reaction to a life change. I’ve gotten pretty good at hearing him though can usually get him to non-carpet flooring before the big event. I guess he thought that since that didn’t get me rowled up anymore, he had to get smart.

One morning last week when I was off of work, Helen Grace was wide awake after her bottle, so I pulled her into my bed and we both fell back asleep. That is until I am awakened by a loud tapping noise. In my groggy mind, it takes me a few seconds to realize it’s coming from our plantation shutters on the window on the far side of the bed. Then I notice Mocha’s dark brown body stretched tall with his paw reached up, and I realize he is pulling open the shutters. That little booger!! I throw a diaper cloth (the only thing I can find) at him but it misses (of course) and does no good to stop him. In an instant, bright sunshine hits HG (who was still asleep despite my hushed cussing) and me right in the face. The bright light took only five seconds to wake up the baby girl, and I frantically try to simultaneously hush her back to sleep and yell at the cat. Just when Helen Grace is closing her eyes again and I think it’s going to be ok, I hear the same noise AGAIN. I sit straight up in bed to see (in my now brightly lit bedroom) that Mocha has scaled the laundry basket, is straddling it (the top was not on it), and is opening the shutters on the other window across the room. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

Obviously, Mocha needs more attention from me and knows that he is hitting me where it hurts to mess with my sleep. So if anyone knows someone who’s looking for a new cat…Just kidding! Well, kind of… ;)

Happy Feet & Sweet Potatoes

Helen Grace has found her feet! Ms. Jeanne has told me that she has been holding onto both of them, but I hadn’t seen it until today…and now she’s wearing them out!

In our pjs this morningAfter a long day of socializing and enjoying sweet potatoes

Today we have been busy! This morning, we dropped off groceries at the House of Grace shelter while on a Girls Inc. conference call. Now that was complicated, I have to admit, but thank goodness, HG was happy through all of it. Then we went to hang out with our mommy and baby friends at FTM and finally onto lunch at Ridgeway Country Club with Whitney, Mrs. Graham, and Mrs. Powell. Helen Grace enjoyed her first Delta Gamma ladies’ lunch, although I kept apologizing for her volume. She normally will sit quietly in my lap and usually falls asleep during lunches, but she was wound up today. As she would laugh, squeal, and even fuss a little, they kept telling me that the noise usually only bothers the mama- and yes, it was majorly stressing me out! Whitney and Mrs. Graham kept her entertained and honestly seemed to love playing with her. I’m lucky to have sweet friends. :)

Not sure if HG’s feeling a little distant from this new sleep technique or just tired, but she has been very clingy and fussy today, which is fine by me. We came home after our busy day and crashed on the couch for a while. She was happy as long as she was in my lap and had my total attention. With it being a cold, dreary day, there was no place I would have rather been than right there cuddling with my precious baby girl. It’s amazing how my heart just feels like it’s going to explode when she looks up at me and gives me that little toothless, lopsided smile!

We finished off the afternoon with some yummy sweet potatoes. She’s started doing this adorable birdy-mouth thing. She’ll open her mouth when she’s ready for another bite- so dang cute!! And she at least does something like her mama…the girl loves sweet potatoes. So far, she’s been really good about eating anything you give her, although I’m sure that will change in the next few years. I’m already dreading her being old enough to ask why mommy and daddy aren’t eating any of the stuff that she has to eat.  “Ummm…because we are the grown-ups….???”

Last night, we had a little more difficult time getting to bed. I gave her a bottle, we read a book, we rocked for a few minutes, and then I put her in her bed. She entertained herself for a few minutes, and then the squall began. After it went on for about 25 minutes, I went back in and picked her up. All it took was a few minutes rocking, and baby girl was OUT. I think I should have gotten her a little more sleepy before putting her down. Tonight, I held her until she was kind of out of it, and then put her on her side in her bed. I haven’t heard a peep from her since. YAY! Maybe this will be the compromise…let her get pretty sleepy (rather than tired but awake) but still put her in bed before she conks out. Whew, parenting is HARD! Don’t even get me started on the struggles of deciding on the swine flu vaccine- ahahahah!! <<pulling out my hair>>

Before bedtime tonight

I Finally Did It

For all of Helen Grace’s life, I have held her when she got sleepy- affectionately called the “sleep hold”- and put her down in her bed once she was out cold. She has been sleeping through the night in her crib since she was about 4-6 weeks old but only after using the sleep hold…so I guess that doesn’t really count, huh? I just love that cuddle time with her, and since she gets sleepy so soon after I get home from work, I feel like that’s the only way I get to look at her for more than an hour.

She is almost six months old, and I am still struggling to get her to take a nap without being held (although my mother and mother-in-law can get her to nap on her own…arg). I know, I know- you are saying, “Duh, Sha, I wonder why you are having trouble??” I finally decided it was time to put her down awake and get herself to sleep. This can only make her nap time easier and help her get more rest during the day.

Tonight, after her bottle, she was tired and rubbing her eyes but not happy and cuddly like normal. She was crying and fussy, even after a bonus few ounces. So I thought that since she was already mad, this would make putting her down and walking away a little easier than when she’s giving me that adorable little smile. However, as soon as I laid her in her bed and got her in her sleep sack, she was happy as a clam! How do they do that?!?! I kissed her goodnight, turned on her CD, and walked away. After about 15 minutes of crying, she’s out cold.

John says our baby has grown up. ;)  I know it will get easier each night and I know this is better in the long run, but I already miss our snuggles. Be strong, Sha; be strong! Emotions aside, I am proud that we’ve crossed this milestone. Maybe this way I will finally be able to work on smocking her dress before she outgrows it and ordering pics from the last few months and Christmas shopping online and doing laundry and washing dishes…can you tell my mind is going a million miles a minute??

Think You’re Busy?

One of my daily Proverbs 31 devotions really hit me this week, and I wanted to share it with my blog friends….

Please Interrupt MeLysa TerKeurst
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

I wonder if the greatest witnessing tool available to us Christians is often pushed aside because of our busyness.

The other day I was focused on all the items on my seemingly never ending to do list. As I was sitting at a stoplight a friend called me and started lamenting that her son had forgotten his lunch and his belt required by the school's uniform policy. She was stressed and trying to get in touch with her husband who'd just dropped her son off at school. She was at home with a new baby feeling groggy from a sleepless night and overwhelmed by her situation. Her son could probably get his friends to share their lunches wi th him. But, the belt would be a problem. The school would call her when they noticed the missing belt and require her to bring one. She lives over 20 minutes from the school.

As I sat at the stoplight listening to my friend, I looked to the store off to my right. That store has belts. That store has lunch food. I was faced with a decision. Could I help? Well, I could but my schedule would have to be rearranged a bit. Would I help? My friend wasn't asking but in that moment I knew it would be a tremendous blessing for her. This day I wouldn't let my busyness take precedence over the blessing of divine interruptions and opportunities to love. So, I helped.

I don't know this for sure but I suspect my friend had been asking Jesus to please help her. It's hard being up half the night with a sleepless baby. It's hard to find a new normal when life gets a little off kilter by changes in the family dynamic. It's hard when you need help but feel like everyone is so busy you hate to bother them. Now, I'll admit, I'm a task-oriented person so it doesn't come naturally for me to look for ways to be interrupted in the midst of my busyness. But sitting at that stoplight, I realized the power of pausing. Pausing just long enough for Jesus to tap on the edge of my heart and say, "Could you? Would you? Do this as if it's the most important part of your day and not an unwelcome interruption."

The Bible teaches one of the most important precepts is love. When we love others we are living the message of Jesus. And listen to what Psalm 19:8 says, "The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes."

Oh how many times have I missed the joy of pausing to live and love and light the world for Jesus?

Dear Lord, help me to pause today and remember my great witnessing tool is to simply be available to love others. Show me where I can love. Make me courageous enough to step aside my carefully planned to do list and look for ways to be an answer to the prayers someone has prayed today. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Daddy’s Girl

Think our Baby Girl looks just a little bit like her daddy? This is a pic of John when he was around three months old.

I captured a fun father-daughter moment this morning. She was laying in bed with John while I was getting her bath ready, and he was re-enacting the parachute she loves so much at Kindermusik. She is just having a ball, laughing and “talking.” I love this stage!

Parachute

Who knew a parachute could be so much fun?! Helen Grace loves this part of our Kindermusik class, but I think she loves experiencing it with her boyfriends, Tyler and Callum, even more! We missed our girlfriend, Lilly, though!

Days of Play

Helen Grace and I have been on the move these last two days!

We had lunch with Aunt Whitney at Bronte on Thursday. We are so glad she is in Memphis to stay. That afternoon, we stopped by Greenbrook Elementary to surprise Spif. We interrupted a meeting she was in, but I don’t think she minded stepping out to get her hands on her grandbaby! So cute to watch my mama get so excited over my baby- very special life experience. Thursday night we had dinner with Aunt Brandy at McAlister’s and then went on a Target shopping date. Man, we shopped til we dropped!Since HG spent most of the day wearing her bib, I wanted to get a good shot of her cute dress.  This is what she does to her dresses these days. Straight to the mouth. Instead of having spit up down her dress, now she just has big wet spots from her slobber. There has to be a tooth in there somewhere!Helen Grace and her buddies, Tyler and Callum, under the parachute at Kindermusik this morning. Loads of giggles! We had lunch today with the Romans (Gina, Brandon, and Jane). Brandon was so sweet with Helen Grace and just smiled so big when he got to hold her. Jane was napping during the photo shoot- we’ll have to have a make-up session for her. My Little TurkeyThe pic’s a little blurry, but I love this smile. “Alright, Mama, I’m kinda tired. Can we finally call it a day?” “Stick a fork in me- I’m done!”