Freedom Garden

I've been working on trying to grow some of my own vegetables both as a hobby and because I want Johnny to learn about where food comes from when he's old enough. I figure that I need to do some practicing before Johnny's old enough to watch seeds grow. Turns out I'm not too bad at growing eggplants.

After a mere six months of growth, I finally have eggplants growing! Yay!!!

Sitting like a big boy

Johnny has recently discovered depth perception. Well, not so much depth perception, more like the wow-I'm-really-high-up-and-it-will-hurt-if-I-fall-off perception. This means he doesn't fall off our bed anymore... not that that happened too many times... once or twice. Maybe three times. Anyway! Sometime recently, he stopped trying to dive bomb off the changing table and every other high surface he is put on. This means that I can put him on a chair to put his shoes on and I don't have to lean over and/or chase him around before wrestling him to the ground to get his shoes on. And he looks so cute, doesn't he?

P.S. Happy birthday Grandma Nancy!! :)

Sleep begets sleep

Once upon a time, I was a stay-at-home-pregnant-woman and had nothing better to do than stock up on baby supplies and read books about taking care of newborns. One of the books I read (I forget which one) talked about how with babies, it's important to get them a lot of "healthy" sleep, because unlike adults, "sleep begets sleep." Basically, the point was that with older children (and adults), keeping the day filled with activities that will tire them out means they will sleep well at night, but babies are not this way. They need lots of healthy sleep, healthy meaning good long stretches that won't be interrupted by the motions of a car or swing. The well-rested infant will sleep more because he/she is getting lots of sleep. The infant who does not get enough sleep will not be able to fall asleep easily because they will be "overtired" and thus, will not settle.

When I first read this, I shared it with John, who told me that it didn't make sense at all. I thought it made perfect sense after I had a newborn and experienced the overtired state that could also be called the fifth circle of hell (not so bad that it has to be relegated to the seventh circle). Now, I have proof of this "sleep begets sleep" thing.

Johnny slept for 17 hours on Saturday night. No joke. We put him down at 7PM and he slept until 11:30AM. He woke up a little here and there, but never cried to get up, so we didn't go get him. Now, according to most people, he wouldn't be able to go to bed that night, right? He should have been wired and tireless with a bedtime closer to 10PM than 7PM... not true. He went down like a ton of bricks at 7:30PM. And stayed asleep for the next 12.5 hours. No wakings, no midnight wimperings, nothing. Out like a light.

Last night, however, Johnny did not sleep very well. The heater in our house really dries out his nose and throat and makes him uncomfortable, so there was a lot of waking and adjusting and he woke up earlier than normal. Nap time? Way worse than usual. Kicking, screaming in agony, writhing as I tried to calm him down. I finally managed to get him to sleep, but it was an epic battle and some tears were shed. Putting him down tonight after a short nap and not sleeping well last night? The same kind of struggle.

It seems to me that some of those experts might actually know what they're talking about... even if it doesn't seem to make sense.

Toys

Since Johnny's birthday is so close to Christmas, he got an awful lot of toys all at once. So, I took a few of those toys and put them in the closet so that I could dole them out as he tired of his other toys. Last week, I brought out this one from Grandpa and Grams Mitchell and he LOVES it. It plays little songs about nutrients and vegetables and he dances to it, which is adorable. I tried to catch him dancing on this video and he does at the beginning and at the very end.

Sorry, I guess that was a little long... I need to work on video length.

2 down, one to go.

And I've reached the 28th week of pregnancy. I've finished the nausea of the first trimester, the hormonal high of the second trimester and am plummeting headfirst into the physical discomfort of the third trimester. I'm not feeling physically uncomfortable yet, which I will enjoy every minute of because I know what's waiting for me. It is nice to actually have a belly that looks pregnant instead of just fat or like a potbelly. At least, that's what I think:

I thought it'd be appropriate to take this week's belly picture in my exercise clothes since that's what I wear 60% of the day. Johnny and I go for a walk every morning and then I don't get to change until he goes down for a nap around 1pm-ish. So I do errands, go to playdates and various appointments while dressed in sweaty workout clothes. I think I might have cared about this sometime before I had a child, but now I'm just stoked that I don't smell like spoiled breastmilk. Win! Oh, wait, you mean that will be happening all over again in just three months? Damn.