Bean Update - 13 months!

1 year old is a very FUN age!  Bean just hit 13 months old yesterday! She seems to have grown a ton this month.  I don't have her actual weight and height, but can tell by how her clothes are fitting and picking her up.

She currently wears size 18 months, but that's quickly becoming too small!  Ahhh! She's ready for the next size - 24 months?! And she's just about ready to graduate to #5 size diapers.  We just ordered a big box of the 4s that she will wear during the day, but will start wearing 5s at night in the next couple week.  No way! How is she this big?

She's not walking yet, but she's getting so close! The other day, we caught her free standing on her own, but then after a moment, sat back down and crawled.  She has a couple push toys that she'll hold onto and walk all the way across the living room, but that's the most interest she has shown in walking.  Sometimes she'll hold our hands and take some steps, but then usually goes limp and throws a fit, haha.  Our goal is to have her walking by Christmas, but I'd love for it to be more like Thanksgiving.

She talks up a storm, but just not much English, haha.  She has the same weird sounds that she makes all the time.  Something like, "goo-da-gooo-da-di-goo-da" said rapidly.  Ha, I can't do it justice in writing, you'll just have to take my word for it.  Her current favorite word is "cahhck-rr" (cracker).  She can say "ma-ma", "da-da", "duuu" (duck), and "baa" (ball), but she often chooses not to say real words.  She does recognize words like "baby" and will rapidly crawl over to her doll.

She is as silly as ever and has found ways to make herself laugh.  She will crawl crazily through all her blocks, sending them all over, and laugh hysterically while doing it.  She likes to straddle the legs of her jumper and play with the toys from that angle; or I'll put her in the jumper and she jumps like crazy.  She loves being chased and being tickled.  I am told each time I pick her up from nursery at church that she is the life of the party and provides constant entertainment.  Pretty sure we're in for it with this one when she gets older!

Her current favorite toys are her school bus, Zebra push toy, baby stroller push toy, mega blocks, books, and carrying around wooden puzzle pieces.  I've had to put away some of her baby toys, and it killed me.  I totally see how mom's decided to have another baby around the 1 year mark, haha.  As hard as it is to pack away the baby clothes and toys, I don't have the itch for another baby.  I'm enjoying just the one on one time with Bean!

She eats like crazy.  She would it crackers (animal crackers) all day long if I would let her.  There is no off/full switch with her (she sadly gets that from me).  Her favorite foods are mac'n'cheese, yogurt, spaghetti, ravioli, cottage cheese, peas, bananas, animal crackers, and raspberries.  She tolerates sloppy joe, rolls, bagels, cheerios, goldfish, and applesauce.  She drinks whole milk all day long.  We've finally had a breakthrough and she'll drink milk from a sippy cup now (just had to find the right one I guess!).  So she gets a bottle in the morning and at night, but does a sippy cup in the afternoon.  Pretty soon, we'll change the morning bottle to a sippy cup, too.

Sleeping is hit or miss.  She has some molars coming in and that really affects her sleeping.  We'll go through a few nights of her crying out and needing us to go in multiple times, and then have a stretch of her sleeping through the night (past couple nights have been the better stretch - wooo!).  For naps, we've dropped the morning nap.  It was harder for me at first, but I can see she was ready.  If I allowed even a 30 min nap in the morning, the afternoon nap was a huge struggle, leaving me very frustrated.  Now that she's only taking 1 nap.  She'll sleep 1hr45min - 2.5hr.  She eats lunch around noon and goes down for her nap around 1.

She still sleeps with a pacifier.  When she was sick a month ago, she couldn't use her paci and I thought that would be its end; however, once she was better, she wanted it back.  We had a rule of paci only in the bed; but she found one in her toy box and has started sucking on it while she plays.  I've noticed she does it more when her teeth hurt.  If she doesn't have it, she whines a lot (or asks for crackers constantly).  Once the teething calms back down, those day pacifiers will disappear!

We love watching her grow up and learn new things.  We are constantly amazed how God has created her and using us to mold her into a young lady.  We are abundantly blessed with our precious Bean!

(Not only does Bean love to push her baby stroller around, but also likes to try to climb on top of it!  Sheesh.  She's really become a climber recently.  She can climb up into her Ikea chair all by herself - so we've moved it out of the room to prevent her falling off of it when we leave for a minute - and has also attempted to climb up on the foot stool.)

(Did I mention she's a climber?  She loves to take all the toys out of her toy drawer and climb into it.  Then she'll happily sit and watch cartoons from that angle.)

(Ha! She got this hippo for her birthday and it makes a great lounging pillow!  She'll lay on it to watch tv, or will cuddle up with it to rest in between her crazy playing.  What a goof! And notice those sweet duck socks - thanks Ashley! They have grippers and are perfect to keep her from sliding on the wood floor when she pushes things around.)

(Did I mention the teething?  Lots of fingers in her mouth, sucking/chewing on pacifiers, lots of whining, chomping on food constantly, and messed up sleep.  If only all the teeth came in at once!)

(Traffic jam!  Sometimes she thinks it is funny to push one of her push toys with the other.  Here she pushed the zebra by holding onto the stroller and running into it.  She got several feet before running into daddy's chair. And also notice the book wedged in the console table! Haha, it prevents her from opening the top drawer - full of wii/xbox games/remotes - and also from sliding the wood panel on the right side.)

("Look at me mom!"  She found this headband in her toybox and put it on all.by.her.self.)

(Playing with cousins!  We got to go visit cousin Charlotte & Oliver at their new house!  Bean loved playing with them!)

(We also had a playdate with friend April!  April's mommy and I go waaaaay back to middle school, became best friends and eventually roommates in college.)

(First fountain!  Bean's hair is getting a little shaggy and long in the front.  I think she may need a hair cut soon, but I'm hoping to grow her hair out long and know there's a period you just have to push through.  I think we've hit that period. I can sneak hair bands and bows onto her head by distracting her with milk while I do it.  But once she figures out it is in, she pulls it out.  The fountain she left in all day.)

(In the words of her Poppop, "A Buckeye binky while riding a modern day Bucky".  Steve had a toy named Bucky he would ride on as a little kid.  Bean loves riding -and pushing- hers around.  It sings songs, teaches animal sounds, and lights up.)

(Look how tall she is! She was staring at our Charlie Brown Christmas clock. It plays Christmas songs each hour.  And YES, I have almost all of my Christmas up- including lights outside- and it's just now the middle of November and Thanksgiving is a 1.5 weeks away.  Don't judge me.)

Fall Family Fun Day with Friends!

The weekend in between Bean's real birthday and her birthday party, we headed to Mansfield, OH for a full family fall day.  Mansfield was a good halfway point to meet up with some college friends who have recently moved to north east Ohio.

We met them at a pizza/sandwich stop (that got great reviews on TripAdvisor), picked up some lunch, then caravanned to Malabar State Farm Park.  We had a delicious and very cold picnic lunch at the picnic area.  We then got back in the cars and drove up to the visitors center.  We knew there were tours of the farm and of the house every other hour. We had just missed the house tour and looked around the little center a little bit before signing up to do the farm tour.  When Steve went to sign us up, we discovered that the next tour was full!  Ooops, lesson learned.  We should have gone straight to sign up first!

We signed up for the next two tours, got back in the cars, and drove to a trail head to hike the grounds a little bit.  We were given directions to a supposed family friendly hike, but missed the turn.  We ended up going to the trail head with the cabin on the grounds.  We walked around the cabin and then began the rocky hike.  We were pushing the two babies in strollers and one of us was in boots with heels (she shall remain nameless, hahaha).  We got about a third of the way when we found a cave.  Steve and Mitch decided to go check it out while Alice and I chilled with the kiddos.  When the guys got done exploring, we deemed it time to head back to the visitor center for the house tour.  We got there just a little before 2, but ended up having to wait almost 20 minutes out in the cold.  The tractor had previously broken down on the farm tour and the guy driving the tractor is also the house guide.  While we waited, we got to watch a bridal party taking pictures (they looked colder than us!).

(How Mitch and Alice hike: in heeled boots and dragging a stroller)

(Steve came to the aid of carrying Wilson)

(Steve and Mitch went to explore the cave along the trail. They entered the cave on the lower right, walked all the way through it and came out on the top - you can see Steve on the top left of the hill.)

(While the daddies were off exploring, the mom's got to watch the kids being silly.  Libby especially loved jumping off the rock.)

Bean had fallen asleep in her carrier while we waited for the tour, but of course woke up once we got into the warmth of the house.  I made her stay in the carrier because I didn't want to deal with her wanting to touch everything.  The tour guide was very good about letting us with the kids go into the next room and let them have some space before the rest of the group came in.  Really made it easier to keep the kids separate and not interrupt his spiel!

(Bean just chilling in the Ergo carrier.  I had my jacket over both of us when we were outside waiting, and a lady thought I was just holding her that whole time.  My arms would have been dead!  I love the support the carrier gives! But I must admit, I was ready for a baby break by the end of the tour & wagon ride.)

After the house tour, we headed over to the tractor for the farm tour.  Alice, the kids and I, camped out on the floor of the trailer at the back.  It got a little bumpy, but was nice to let the kids sort of roam around in our little space. The guys sat on the bench on the outside of the tractor and held on tightly! After we toured the farm, we warmed back up in the visitor center, then headed back into town in search of coffee.  That ended up being a bust so we decided to just head on to Pumpkin Glow at Kingwood Center.

(The wagon ride was a little like herding cattle at times.  Alice is sitting on the right - you can see her feet) and I sat to the left (back of the trailer behind me).  We let the three kids kind of roam in that space - we had some jackets and blankets for them to sit on.  Steve and Mitch were on the outer bench - Mitch is leaning over the side and helping stabilize Wilson.)

(Libby curled up with Momma and took a little nap.  I think Alice appreciated the shared warmth.  Wilson and Bean became quick buddies, they even shared a sippy cup!)

(If only it were easy to coordinate two toddlers to take a picture together - let alone on a wagon ride!  Wilson is just a month younger than Bean and has beat her to walking.  I guess having an older sibling gives you the right motivation.)

We had to take a shuttle from the parking lot to get to the festival.  When we got off the shuttle, we layered up as much as we had and started to walk through the pumpkin festival.  The sun was just starting to go down and they were lighting the pumpkins.  We got to the end of the pumpkins to the food area.  We were pretty bummed by the options - elephant ear, french fries, or an Auntie Anne's cart.  We (well, I'm speaking on behalf of the group) were done with being cold and decided we'd end the night with a meal together. We stood in the cold while searching up possible dinner locations on our phone.  We decided to try an Asian place, so we headed back out the pumpkins and realized that the parking lot really wasn't that far.  So we opted not to wait in line for the shuttle, but walk back instead.

(Alice and her "gloves" that she found in her van.  Can you guess what they are?!  She kept asking, "Do you think people will notice??" Oh Alice.)

(Trying not to get hit by the horses at the pumpkin festival.)

(Mitch rocking Libby's balloon.  I promise there were actual pumpkins at the festival.  Ha.  They would be lined up along the walking paths.  Then there was a stretch in the center of scare crows that had been sponsored by different groups for a contest.)

(What a fun day!)

We ended up taking the wrong way (the sidewalk turned into a grassy hill) but were able to trudge on and make it back to the cars.  Once we navigated to the Asian restaurant, Mitch decided to go check it out before unloading the kids -- good thinking!  The restaurant had white table clothes, candle light, and we realized all the clientele walking in were dressed up.  We scrapped that place and headed to a Greek restaurant instead.  It was a small hole in the wall place and accommodated the kids perfectly!  We had a good time with our servers and the food was delicious.

After dinner, we said our goodbyes and loaded our kids up.  We had an absolute blast with our friends and are already planning a meet-up in December with them :)!

Bean's Birthday Bash!

The week of Bean's big party, I started getting sick.  I had my week planned out so that I'd have most everything ready for the party when my family arrived Friday night.  I didn't get as much as I had hoped done before the arrived, but considering I was sick, I got a lot done!  Luckily, our house was still fairly clean from the baby shower I did a few weeks prior to the party (planned that way on purpose!).  Just a quick straightening up was all that was needed.

I chose pretty simple food - veggie tray, tortilla chips, homemade queso (ha, who are we kidding, Velveeta & Ro-Tel!), baked potatoes, toppings, and chili - and stuck to pretty simple decorations.  I made the chili in advance, and put my mom on potato duty the morning of the party.  Thanks to my Cricut machine they were simple!  I was able to cut out a bunch of "birds" and "ones" and hang them up all around the house.  I even made a "Happy Birthday" banner.  Using my Cricut was a good excuse to spend a day on the couch "relaxing" and trying to get better quicker.  I had about half the decorations up and let my sister Amber finish it up when they got here.

(We had to get a little creative on where to set up everything.  We left the dining room table open for people to eat it.  So the food was all lined up in the kitchen, and the cupcakes/punch was in the foyer.  I also had saved a bunch of Bean's bird stuff from my Kokomo baby shower.)

(Cricut decor!)

(These crazies)

(We even gussied up our chandeliers)

("Watch Me Grow" banner)

I spent probably way too much time working on pictures for her party.  I had a "watch me grow" banner made up of all the "month" photos I've taken of Bean over the past year.  I also completed her record calendar (it's just a do-it-yourself calendar that I started from day 1. I'd record milestone and events in it.  I just had to add in some pictures for each month), put pictures in her baby book, and made sure it was up to date (baby books are awesome! My advice is to fill it out as you go!).  Between the blog, the calendar, and her baby book, Bean's first year has been well documented!  I think I did it in a simple way that I should be able to upkeep these records for future babies.  We'll see when the time comes ;-).

So back to the picture project, it took me about 2 hours, 5 attempts, and 2 visits to Walmart to finally get the pictures I wanted.  I had issues ordering the photos at first and had to keep scrapping my order and starting over.  Once I got them ordered, I was able to zip over to Walmart (which is like 5 minutes away).  Later that night, when I went to work on them. I discovered they were printed wrong and a lot of the photos were cropped (people missing heads and limbs).  Ugh.  So I called the photo lab and they said I had to come back in and they'd fix it.  I didn't have time that night, and went the next day.  2 hours later, I walked out with the photos I wanted (I had to reorder about 20 of them, selecting them one at a time from my phone, send in the order, and wait to get them).  They didn't charge me, but I lost a chunk of my valuable time.  In the end, I'm thankful I did it, just should have done it the week before, ha.

My good friend Sara made cupcakes and an adorable bird smash cake for Bean.  Since a good portion of my family is gluten free, she lent me one of her recipes and I attempted to make Gluten Free Buckeye cupcakes.  They turned out pretty good, but there's something about a cake without gluten. . . Those cupcakes were probably the most intense part of Bean's party.  They took me almost an entire day to get them prepped, baked, iced, and decorated.

(How adorable is this smash cake?!  Thanks Sara!)

At 11:30, my dad, brother-in-law, and Steve got to work moving furniture around, putting Bean's toys up in her room, and set the living room up for the party.  My mom was working on a little purse for Bean (she made me one for my 1st birthday), my sister was getting her kids ready, and I started to finish up the food.  A couple friends showed up just before noon, and I assumed they were just early to help out.  But when everyone else started showing up, I realized the party started at noon, and not 12:30 like I thought.  OOoops!  Good thing I was so far ahead ;-).  I quickly pulled out the food and barked what orders I could muster in my head.

(More of the bird decor I had from Bean's room/baby shower.  We had quite the turnout of people!  Friends from church, neighbors, and family both from Ohio and Indiana.  Bean also had a lot of gifts sent to the house from those who couldn't make it.  Bean is blessed!)

(I had a craft station set up for the kids. I had pine cones that the kids were to put peanut butter on and roll in birdseed to take home.  There were also some little wooden birds they could decorate with markers.  This table ended up being taken over by people eating, so the kids got kicked to the floor for the craft.  They didn't seem to mind!)

(Bean got to be front in center for the whole afternoon.  She of course loved it and did more of a show for people than actually eat.  Of course, she didn't care for the cuisine I made for lunch.  So she ate her favorite - cottage cheese!  I had some left over pasta that she picked at - and then apparently threw on the floor.)

(Bean loved being sung to!  She just smiled and looked all around.)

(Mmmmm, cake.  Bean was so dainty about eating the cake.  At first, she just stared at it.  I had to put her hand in it and give her icing.  At first she refused - she isn't very trusting of me with food.  Her friend Emelie, however, wasn't bashful!  She came up and stole some icing- don't worry, I let her do it!  No sense in the cake going to waste since Bean was being dainty!)

Thanks to everyone who helped out and made Bean's day so special!  I definitely couldn't have done it without everyone! We are blown away by everyone's generosity and love for Bean.  She got quite the haul and is enjoying every gift she got!

Sara's Baby Shower

So, I now realize how far behind I am on blogging.  Yikes!  About a month ago, I hosted a baby shower for my friend Sara.  Her little one is due in just a few weeks, and I can't wait to meet him!  Two other friends helped me shower Sara & Poppyseed (as he's currently called) with a joyous celebration of her little man!

(My friend Candace headed up the food department.  She came up with the menu and delegated responsibilities to others.  She made these awesome croissant sandwiches, her famous cheeseball, and also little cucumber sandwiches.  yum-o!)

(More of the delicious food!)

(One of my "few" responsibilities was to make the desserts.  I came up with the idea to make mason jar desserts.  I made a pumpkin pie mousse dessert, turtle brownies, and apple crisp.  I had all the stuff pretty much set up before my friends came to help decorate.  However, with an hour until the party, as I started to layer the jars, i discovered I didn't have pumpkin!  Eeks, so luckily, Steve was out in town and was able to get some for me.  A week later, I discovered i had 3 cans in my cabinet.  Geesh.)

(Sara's theme was "Animal Parade".  I found all the decor, invitations, plates/cups/napkins, and thank yous for a ridiculously good price months in advance.  Candace and our friend Amber helped put all the decor up while I was in crazy dessert land.)

(Bean took a nap while we were getting the party all ready.  Right as it was about to start, she woke up.  Okay, maybe she was already awake, but by the time I finally checked in on her, she was up.  She of course was the life of the party.)

(We had a great turnout, meaning Sara got a ton of gifts! I think there were almost 20 ladies/girls who came for the party.  I let Sara take the bassinet home with her to use the first few weeks Poppyseed is home.) 

(Amber and I supplied some blank bibs and onesies to be decorated.  Poppyseed is going to look so spiffy in all his uniquely designed clothing!)

(We didn't do any games and kept it low 

key.  Other than the decorating station, the only other thing people had to do was sign a little book for Sara.  They could jot down well wishes, advice, or just let her know they were at her party.)

(Since Sara found out she was having a boy back in July, I got to work making her a blanket.  I have a friend who makes these amazing basket weave blankets- I've made them before, but my friend's are famously known as "Aunt Courtney Blankets".  So I chose to make a blanket for Poppyseed.  Although, I don't feel like it's the same feel.  Maybe it just needs loved on?  Bean sleeps with her blanket every nap & every night.  It's been washed a lot and well loved, ha.)

(Poppyseed is going to be the most fashionable little guy I know.  He got a ton of clothes at the party!)

(Sara posing with some of Poppyseed's new clothes!  Can't wait to meet him & finally learn his name!)

Catch-Up

After 2 weeks of being really sick, I'm finally starting to feel like myself again!  I have had a super productive day today, and feel like I've gotten more done today than I did during those 2 weeks (not counting the fact that Bean's big birthday was smack in the middle of being sick!).  So I'll round out my productive day with a blog post.

Ever get so far behind with something, that you don't even know where to begin to catch up? I kind of feel that way with the blog.  A LOT has happened in the past 2 weeks, and I'll try to catch up in an organized way before more stuff happens.  Sorry it's really long and sort of pointless.  Ha - you have been warned.

So back to 2 weeks ago -- I got to sneak in a girls trip to Columbus with my good friend Sara, even though it was the start of an insanely busy week.  I'm glad I went with her because I was able to get fitted for GOOD running shoes (which arrive tomorrow and I'm SUPER excited!).  When I got home that evening, I wasn't feeling the greatest - my throat was hurting - but just chalked it up to talking a lot.  The next morning, I woke up feeling awful.  I finally gave up my delusion that I wasn't getting sick on Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday, Bean had her 1 year appointment. I was able to get me an appointment along with her (we have the same doctor - so practical!).  I discovered that I had the beginnings of a severe sinus infection and got a prescription for an antibiotic. Bean checked out at just over 20 pounds and 30" in length.  She's growing at a perfect rate!  She also showed some signs of possibly getting what I had, so I was given a prescription for an antibiotic for her, just in case.  She didn't have a fever, so they went ahead and gave her 3 shots.  Poor girl!

That night was awful! (for both her and me).  By dinnertime, I went ahead and started her on the antibiotic.  I figured with her birthday party just a few days away, and me being so sick.  She wasn't just going to bounce back from the runny nose she'd been having.  By bedtime, she was pretty miserable, but not from being sick - from those shots!  She got up a bunch in the night screaming-- at one point, she was shaking and screaming so hard, that I had to wake Steve up.  I couldn't get her calmed down and was starting to freak myself.  He was able to snap her out of it. While he was calming her down, I moved the guest bed to be up against the wall and set up a bed for Bean and I to sleep together.  Typically, this scenario turns into her playing and climbing all over me; however, this time, she snuggled right next to me, but kept whimpering.  So at 2am, Bean and I were snuggled together in bed watching Curious George.  After an episode, I turned it off and we both fell asleep.  A little bit later, she woke up again crying. Another episode (or maybe 2, I sort of fell asleep, ha) calmed her down.  I turned it off and we both slept until morning.

With 2 days until Bean's big party, I wasn't sure what to do.  I had invested so much time and energy into pulling it all together by that point.  Really all that was left was picking up a few things around the house and some of the food.  My family was planning on coming Friday evening.  So I knew that they could help pull the final stuff together.  What a help they were! We got the party pulled together (despite my thinking the party started later than it actually did, but more on that in another post!).

(Happy Birthday Bean!)

That night after the party, all our family left and we headed to a Halloween party.  Steve has a co-worker that has a yearly party at Halloween, complete with costumes.  We were the only couple there with a baby (although, another couple is expecting!), but we still had a good time.  We enjoyed showing off our little Bean to everyone - we think she's pretty awesome!

(Who you gonna call?!  GHOSTBUSTERS!  Don't worry, we did not cross any beams and did not roast that cute little Stay Puft Marshmallow.)

(I made our Ghostbuster backpacks out of coke boxes and a $.99 can of spray paint.  I slipped real back packs inside the boxes, cut holes for the straps to come out & voilà! We purchased protective coveralls to be our ghostbuster suits, printed off some logos, and taped them on.  Bean's costume was just some basic felt from the craft store that I rigged up to be the bib & hat.)

On Monday morning (a week ago), I made an impromptu trip to Indiana for a few days (more info on that in another post, haha!). Bean and I got to quickly visit with friends and family before returning to Lima.  I had hopes of that trip being a way to "recharge my mom batteries".  But unfortunately, I was still fighting my sickness and came home as tired as I left.

We got back just in time to get to church.  I had to be back for my first praise team practice (even though I had half a voice).  Even though I was too sick to audition the week before, the choir director has heard my voice from a solo audition, and put me on team. I was hoping to only be on team once a month, but looks like 2-3 times is more like it.  I don't mind the extra singing, it just takes away a little "family time".  On Wednesday nights, team practice is at 6 & choir is at 6:30.  Steve started helping out in AWANA at 7 a month ago.  We would go to church together on Wednesday nights and he would just wait the 30 minutes until AWANA started.  But on the nights I have team practice, he'd have to wait a whole hour.  So we drive separate.  Also puts a kink in driving together on Sunday mornings, too.  Oh well.

The rest of the week was spent trying to recuperate and ignoring the house.  By Saturday night, the house was so out of control, that I took 2 hours to clean it (after coming home from a ladies' night at 9pm).  Good thing I'd get an extra hour of sleep with daylight savings!  WRONG! Bean woke up at 2:30 screaming (I went to bed at 12:30, so 3 hours with the time jump) and would sleep off and on for 30 minutes.  I could never fully fall back asleep in between her cries.  So at 5:30, I finally called it quits, went downstairs, and put on Frozen (Bean's new favorite, thanks Mom!).  Bean went back down to sleep just a little before 8.  In time for me to get ready and head to church.  I had hopes of an afternoon nap, but instead helped husband rake leaves.

(Laying on the floor watching Frozen at 6am.  I ended up feeling bad leaving her on the floor, so I picked her up and she snuggled with me on the couch. )

Bean had a better night last night, but still cried out a couple times and was needy.  I found myself rocking her at 2am and falling asleep.  I tried to put her in the crib, but she'd lose it the minute I'd lay her down.  I got the brilliant idea to sit on the floor next to her, with my hand on her, in hopes of her falling asleep.  It ended up with me laying on the floor and her staring at me (quietly) between the rungs of her crib.  I called it quits and went back to bed (where I admit I had a breakdown.  I miss uninterrupted sleep.) Bean quit crying, I quit crying, and we all fell back asleep until morning.

Which brings us to today -- I woke up feeling pretty good (just a random cough once in awhile) and got straight to work.  I started tackling laundry, spent an hour alone in our bedroom/bathroom (just doing normal straightening up and cleaning.  It was that out of control!), went grocery shopping, did some sewing, went for a RUN (first run in 2 weeks.  Yikes!), made dinner, folded laundry, got Bean to sleep before 8 AND NOW writing a blog post!  It feels good to feel better and be back in the swing of things.

(Bean didn't take a good afternoon nap.  I'm pretty sure she's got some teeth coming in which is why she's had such bad nights.  I should've stayed on top of the Tylenol today, but didn't.  So we snuggled in attempts of her falling back asleep, but that didn't happen.  She did sort of zone out while I ran right after this though.  so had she taken a good nap, I wouldn't have ran.)

(And just because!  How can you get mad at that cute face?? Okay, at 2am it is quite easy. She isn't walking yet, but is much more confident in using her rolling toys.  Today she pushed her stroller into her zebra and continued to push it until they ran into the chair.  What a crazy girl!)