Fall has fallen....or something......

They say "spring has sprung" but what do you say when fall has arrived? "Beware of winter!" perhaps....

It's finally fall here in the Minne. It arrived later than usual, mercifully. Don't get me wrong. I like fall. I love the smell of fallen leaves and fireplace smoke and seeing all the glorious colors,and drinking apple cider, and hearing the strong winds that howl and rattle the windows from time to time (but not so much lately, because my parents got new windows a few years ago), and of course, I love having the excuse to knit like a madwoman! I haven't experienced a real fall for years....about a decade, actually....and I am happy to experience the change of the seasons. But I would like to prolong my re-introduction to winter as long as possible, so fall's late arrival is fine by me. In fact, it can hang around for as long as it would like. Heck, why not stay until spring??

Audia is still sleeping in her crib at night, and without too much hassle. The first couple of nights she went down pretty easily but woke up a couple times a night, crying and saying "up! up! up! up! up!" which made me laugh and cry simultaneously. But now she is pretty much sleeping through the night, straight for 12 hours. Though now she starts crying when we get to the end of her bedtime routine.....storytime has gone from 10 minutes to about 2 minutes (luckily she still loves being read to during the day) because she anticipates my leaving. Some nights she wants nothing to do with Chris as soon as the sun goes down. She's hoping, I suppose, that if she ignores him, he won't put her to bed. But she still is falling asleep in 10 to 20 minutes, so that's good. I don't suppose many kids look forward to bedtime.

We went apple picking this weekend with N, D, and A. Well, I lie. We were going to pick apples. That was the plan, and the entire idea behind going to the orchard in the first place. But at $30 bucks a bag (a bag holds 20-25 apples), we decided to take a walk through part of the orchard, have lunch, and just look at the apples instead. We can buy locally grown apples much cheaper at the grocery store, thank you very much!! We had a great time, regardless. I know I've said it before, and I'll probably say it a million times more, but I am so happy that they've moved back to MN! We had such a good time with them, as always. And it is so fun to see the girls get to know one-another...they seem to recognize eachother more and more each time we get together.

Unfortunately, Chris will be going to IL again next week to work for his dad. We figure that until he gets a job here, he can't turn down work. He'll work there one week a month until he finds a full-time job up here. The hunt continues.

In her CRIB!

So, this past week we spent Monday through Thursday up at the cottage. After a week and a half of crazy running around and birthday celebrations left and right, we decided it would be a good idea to just relax for a few days. Add to that the fact that our friends, B and S, and their daughter E, were in town visiting (S's grandmother lives literally about 15 minutes from the cottage) and we had to go!

The weather up there was BEAUTIFUL! It was the most perfect trip we've had up there so far, in my opinion (other than the fact that it was only 4 days).....the combination of beautiful weather, warm and calm lake water, and how QUIET the lake was (we only saw two other boats the ENTIRE week...) made it an absolutely ideal time to be up there. I am hoping we can go back in a couple of weeks, when all the trees are changing color.

It was really nice to see B, S, and E also, and to see E and Audia play together. I wish we had had a bit more time to spend with them, but there's always next summer.

But on to the big news! We decided before we left that upon our return, we would try to sleep train Audia again. We tried back when she was 6 months old, and she cried so hard for so long that she threw up 3 times, and I said 'never again.' But the differences between a 6 month old and a 12 month old are huge, so we decided to give it another go.

This time we did things a little differently. Mainly, I was not in the room at all. Chris stayed with her, in a chair beside her crib, until she fell asleep. And literally 30 minutes after I left the room, I got a text from him saying that she's asleep. THIRTY MINUTES! She woke up a few times during the night, but only fed once (and I'm not sure it was even necessary....in fact, we found that if I didn't take any part in trying to get her back to sleep, she fell back to sleep much faster). We'll see how subsequent nights go....I am still sort of waiting to find out that last night was a fluke......but needless to say I am completely beside-myself-thrilled not only that it only took a half hour, but that there was no vomiting. LOL.

Who knows why some things work for some kids and other things work for others; I certainly don't! But, I am really glad that through it all, we've listened to our gut instincts and followed Audia's cue on so many things. I will never regret co-sleeping.....I think that our co-sleeping is part of the reason that she is so secure and smart and happy, and am confident that it was what she needed. But, I am also so glad that we decided to try sleep training again, because if we had never tried it, we would never know what the possibilities were.

One Year Old!

It's official! Audia's a toddler. Well, she pretty much was before, what with all her toddling around, but now her age says so too. :-)

The past week has been pretty busy, but here's the basic rundown:

Saturday we went to the MN State Fair with our dear friends, N and D, and their daughter, A, who is one week older than Audia. We had a great time! Going to the fair with other people can sometimes be like going to Las Vegas with other people....there is SO much to see, and everyone wants to see something different so it can end up being a bit of a headache. Not with N and D, though :-) I am so happy that they have moved back to MN! Not only to have friends who are at the same point in lives and a child the same age as ours, but to have friends who are as laid back as we are, who enjoy doing the same things that we do. It truly is a blessing having them here.

We had a nice party for Audia with some of my parents friends (aka my surrogate aunts and uncles) on Sunday. It was a very nice day; laid back, with beautiful weather.

Monday we went to Audia's BFF's first birthday party. It is so much fun to watch them interact with one-another!

Tuesday was Audia's actual birthday. We went to Como Zoo and Conservatory with N, D, and A during the day, and it was so much fun! It was kind of a last minute decision to go there (we decided on Monday), but it was a great choice. The Zoo is one of only 4 free zoos in the country (but we donated. it's hard to justify not donating when you go!), and it's the perfect size for younger children, in my opinion. Plus the conservatory is beautiful. I think the girls really enjoyed themselves. I know I did! The extra cool thing about our going is that Audia received a gift in the mail yesterday from her Aunt A and Uncle J, and it is a tree planted at Como Park in her name! Talk about kismet! Going to Como Zoo for her birthday will have to be a tradition from now on :-)

That night, we did presents from us and my parents, and let her try her first piece of cake. Boy did she love that cake! Not for eating so much as for making a mess with! It is so funny, too, because A barely touched her cake at her party on Monday. Must be nice to have a child who doesn't like making a mess.....I can only imagine! LOL.

Yesterday Audia had her 1 year check up. I still really like Dr. S. She is patient and thorough, and not once did we feel at all like she was rushed or in a hurry to get onto the next patient. Audia seems to like her too; as soon as she walked into the room and sat down, Audia crawled over, sat by her feet, and said "Hi!" about 7 times. hehe!

Audia is doing really well; she's 21 lbs, 7 oz and 31 inches long. That puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height.

In between all this, we're trying to get my photo website up and running, and I've been editing photos like crazy both for the site and for us. Plus, Audia's taking more and more steps on her own, without holding onto anything. Yesterday she hit her current record of about 8 steps. So, I'm having mini heart attacks almost daily! I certainly am feeling like I'm running on empty this past week, but I've been trying to knit when I get a chance.....it helps me to keep my "zen", if you can even call it that.

Tomorrow we are having her official birthday party, and I'm really hoping the weather holds out! Then, next week we will be heading to the cottage one last time this summer, to meet up with our friends B and S and their daughter E. After that maybe I'll get a chance to relax ;-)

Trying to Float

There's a movie I love called 'Home for the Holidays'. I watch it every Thanksgiving. It's funny, clever, and real. A quote from this movie has been going through my head repeatedly for the past week or so.

"Just Float."

I am trying. I am trying very hard to just let the things that are bugging me roll off my back and to float. The logical, mature part of my brain knows that it is up to me to be happy, up to me to see the best in everything and everyone. That if I have the time to whine about something, I have the time to do something about it. But lately it's been a struggle. I feel like I am focusing so hard on not complaining that I am becoming mute. I know that a million people are worse off than I am, have much more serious problems than I, and I have plenty to be thankful for. But knowing these things doesn't change the fact that I feel like screaming until my throat bleeds these days. It is amazing how alone you can feel in a world full of people.

Thank goodness for the light in my life, my beautiful daughter. Her smile, her laugh, her silly, playful personality is the only thing getting me through right now.