Thursday, December 24, 2009
O, Christmas Tree!
Daniel and I have had repeated conversations about not touching the ornaments. However, if Daniel is alone with the Christmas tree for long, the temptation is usually too great for him. Today, he decided the lower ornaments were too humdrum. He wanted to investigate some higher ones, so in typical Daniel fashion, he found something to stand on and climbed up! When I caught him red-handed, he quickly got down and acted as if nothing was amiss.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Lottsa photos
Life has been pretty busy around our house lately. Christmas has snuck up on me again. How did it get to be the middle of December? What happened to November? With my obvious inability to monitor time, it is no surprise that I had a month or more worth of photos hanging out on my camera. I finally got around to downloading them this morning, and here are some of my favorites.
Daniel with his great-grandpa on Thanksgiving day.
They are good buds!
Daniel reading books with Grandpa Roger.
Preparing to kiss his cow. Don't you love those jammies?
Thanks, Aunt Sara!
Hanging out with Daddy.
He loves this bicycle helmet.
And he loves getting into places that he should not be.
Playing with Grandma Missy (or Mi-eeee as Daniel calls her).
Just adorable.
Celebrating with Uncle Jonathan at his college graduation!
Look at those handsome boys. What a pair!
And this last one might be my favorite photo ever. He looks so old with that backpack on...like he is heading out the door to kindergarten. Oh my soul!
Daniel with his great-grandpa on Thanksgiving day.They are good buds!
Daniel reading books with Grandpa Roger.
Preparing to kiss his cow. Don't you love those jammies?Thanks, Aunt Sara!
Hanging out with Daddy.
He loves this bicycle helmet.And he loves getting into places that he should not be.
Playing with Grandma Missy (or Mi-eeee as Daniel calls her).
Just adorable.
Celebrating with Uncle Jonathan at his college graduation!
Look at those handsome boys. What a pair!
And this last one might be my favorite photo ever. He looks so old with that backpack on...like he is heading out the door to kindergarten. Oh my soul!Friday, December 4, 2009
Our sleepy saga
I have uttered many prayers for Daniel since he was born. My most frequent prayer usually has something to do with his health and safety. But a close second goes something like this: "Dear Lord, please let Daniel go to sleep!" Or this slight variation: "Dear Lord, please let Daniel stay asleep!"
Yes, friends, sleep has been a very precious commodity at our house for the past two years. Daniel has only slept through the night about a dozen times total (until now!). And I have slept through the night fewer times than that. Now, you can see why so many prayers regarding sleep have been sent heavenward.
We tried letting him cry it out on a few different occasions, and for one reason or another, it never worked. I finally decided that I would rock him until he was a teenager if I had to! All the trauma with sleep training just didn't seem worth it.
But, in recent weeks, the Lord had been giving me a plan...showing me strategies to use...and now we are putting it into action. On Wednesday, Brian set up a cot in Daniel's room right beside his bed. Instead of rocking him to sleep (which is the usual routine) I put him into the crib awake and laid down on the cot. That first night, he thought it was some kind of game. For the first 30 minutes, he jumped in bed, turned circles, and even attempted a few somersaults. Then, he realized this was no game and began to cry. It took almost an hour of tears, but he went to sleep by himself.
On night two, he skipped the goofing around and went straight to crying. It just about broke my heart, but we stuck to the plan. And one hour later, he was asleep. For the past two nights, he has not cried one bit and has fallen asleep within 30 minutes. And you know what else? He has slept through the night ever since we started the sleep training. Our progress astounds me! It seems too good to be true. I know we may have some setbacks, but I feel hopeful about his sleeping for the first time in forever. The prayers of my friends and family are helping us greatly. And I know that God has heard every single desperate prayer that I have uttered during these past two years.
Just last night, I read an article at the Baby Center website on sleep training. It discussed a method very similar to what we have done. There were many, many comments left by readers, the majority of whom were bashing the very idea of sleep training. Their main complaint was that it's cruel to let babies cry and that parents should be eager to hold and comfort their young ones. I can see this viewpoint. I really can. I love cuddling Daniel, and despite my great joy over his improved sleep, I miss rocking him. But, I really wasn't doing him any favors by always rocking him to sleep. I read somewhere that children who cannot soothe themselves to sleep get roughly an hour less sleep per night than those who can. It has definitely been true of Daniel. He was being deprived of precious sleep needed for his development, not to mention his demeanor. Since he is sleeping through the night, all of us are much happier. And I am beginning to feel human again too. I woke up this morning, and the first thing from my lips was the Hallelujah chorus! Hallelujah...Hallelujah ...Halleluja, Hallelujah, Hal-le-lu-jah!
Yes, friends, sleep has been a very precious commodity at our house for the past two years. Daniel has only slept through the night about a dozen times total (until now!). And I have slept through the night fewer times than that. Now, you can see why so many prayers regarding sleep have been sent heavenward.
We tried letting him cry it out on a few different occasions, and for one reason or another, it never worked. I finally decided that I would rock him until he was a teenager if I had to! All the trauma with sleep training just didn't seem worth it.
But, in recent weeks, the Lord had been giving me a plan...showing me strategies to use...and now we are putting it into action. On Wednesday, Brian set up a cot in Daniel's room right beside his bed. Instead of rocking him to sleep (which is the usual routine) I put him into the crib awake and laid down on the cot. That first night, he thought it was some kind of game. For the first 30 minutes, he jumped in bed, turned circles, and even attempted a few somersaults. Then, he realized this was no game and began to cry. It took almost an hour of tears, but he went to sleep by himself.
On night two, he skipped the goofing around and went straight to crying. It just about broke my heart, but we stuck to the plan. And one hour later, he was asleep. For the past two nights, he has not cried one bit and has fallen asleep within 30 minutes. And you know what else? He has slept through the night ever since we started the sleep training. Our progress astounds me! It seems too good to be true. I know we may have some setbacks, but I feel hopeful about his sleeping for the first time in forever. The prayers of my friends and family are helping us greatly. And I know that God has heard every single desperate prayer that I have uttered during these past two years.
Just last night, I read an article at the Baby Center website on sleep training. It discussed a method very similar to what we have done. There were many, many comments left by readers, the majority of whom were bashing the very idea of sleep training. Their main complaint was that it's cruel to let babies cry and that parents should be eager to hold and comfort their young ones. I can see this viewpoint. I really can. I love cuddling Daniel, and despite my great joy over his improved sleep, I miss rocking him. But, I really wasn't doing him any favors by always rocking him to sleep. I read somewhere that children who cannot soothe themselves to sleep get roughly an hour less sleep per night than those who can. It has definitely been true of Daniel. He was being deprived of precious sleep needed for his development, not to mention his demeanor. Since he is sleeping through the night, all of us are much happier. And I am beginning to feel human again too. I woke up this morning, and the first thing from my lips was the Hallelujah chorus! Hallelujah...Hallelujah ...Halleluja, Hallelujah, Hal-le-lu-jah!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
