The Night Watches

The past two weeks have me in a marked state of alertness. Why you may ask? I am getting up to 7 hours of sleep each night! Kind of hard to believe I know! Tyler is just about to be 12 weeks old, and has for the past two weeks been sleeping from 5-8 hours straight. He has also gotten so much better at taking naps. He lets me know when he is tired, by getting fussy and rubbing his head on my shoulder and rubbing his eyes... Sometimes he gets himself into some funny positions to get to sleep, like this one below. It is all I can do to put him back in his crib when he is falling asleep, and not snuggle him! I know that if I held him, I would get nothing done! But usually, all he needs is a blanky to snuggle up to and a pacifier, and a few of his buddies surrounding him in his crib, and he is out (with some fussing and a few songs from mommy). Tyler continues to amaze me! The best thing of all, is that when he wakes up, he is joyful and full of smiles and coo's! He is just too cute!

Tyler has grown so much over the past few days. It is amazing to see him learning so much, as he looks intently everywhere. The other day, he did something adorable. Ty is learning to reach out and touch things, grab hold of things you put in front of him, and use his hands. I was doing laundry in our bedroom, and decided to put Tyler on our bed with me. I sat him up against some pillows and put a big cuddly bear in front of him for entertainment. To my great joy and surprise, a few moments after I placed the bear in front of him, he began to bat at it with his little hands, all the while keeping his hands very close to himself. He did this for about 5 minutes, when it dawned on me to take a picture. After a few pictures and giggles later, the bear must have scared him, or he got bored... I don't know what happened... because Tyler just started to cry out of no where... play time was clearly over with Mr. Bear.

What a weekend! We packed up our pack n' play, loaded our car up and headed north to Hagerstown, where we spent the night at a lodge with our Caregroup! It was a blast! It is amazing how getting away provides the opportunity to just have fun and grow closer together with friends. Tyler did very well, as he continued the latest trend of sleeping through the night, despite what sounded like a nuclear bomb siren going off in the middle of the night! The weekend was full of fun, some good food, a grocery shopping adventure, and an interesting nature center. We also shared a wonderful time of worship together. The Lord really met us, and we were so blessed to be together. Here are some picts of our trip. Before we left... looking a little cold. Most of the girls forgot pillows, linens, or a coat, or some other item that would have been helpful! I was wearing capri's.... what was I thinking???? Some of the funnier moments of the retreat included the grape eating contest between Caitl...

Spending time with our family is such a rich time for me. We have such a variation of cultures, people and histories. Jordan's family brings southern hospitality and ease to our lives. My mom and company bring Italian passion to everyday life. Both families share our faith in Jesus Christ as our savior. This is such a gift, as we experience so much of God's grace together in everyday life. Tyler is surrounded by this love and passion for our savior, and I am so blessed that he has this heritage. Tyler has another heritage that I am extremely blessed he has and will experience in his life. My father and his family bring the richness and tradition of the Jewish faith. This past Friday night, Tyler experienced his very first Shabbat dinner. This was very special, as my Abba (father) prayed a blessing over his grandson for the first time. Tyler will grow up surrounded by a complex and diverse heritage that many children do not get to experience. It will be interesting to see which ...

My son has captured me with his big blue eyes and toothless grin. We have hit a milestone, as he clearly recognizes and smiles at Jordan and I when we coo and play with him. It is such a wonderful thing to look at his little face, us making silly faces and singing to get a smile in return! Although he is not smiling in this picture, it is this face that I simply adore!

I can hardly believe how wonderful the past 12 hours have been... it is almost a miracle! After a very long day yesterday, and the boy hardly sleeping more than 30 minutes during the many attempted naps, Tyler James slept through the night.... 7 hours on his own, and without any intervention, cuddling or holding from mommy or daddy! Yesterday was very hard for him... as he just refused to fall asleep on his own. And since I was resolved to help him see that he could, it was not a restful day for baby or mom. Jordan and I decided last night was the night we were going to let him cry, and so we put him to bed, and to our great relief and surprise, with minimal crying, a few songs, he fell asleep, not to awaken until 6:50 am! I kept waking up through the night... my body would wake me as if to tell me it was time to feed Tyler... and I was in shock to find him still fast asleep! And now, we are on nap #2 of the day, and he isn't doing too bad! He fusses a bit, but has successfully put...

I have been told that I am helping my son develop bad habits, by letting him fall asleep in my arms, while nursing, and by rocking him asleep. All of these are the more pleasant way, and quiet way of putting him down for a nap, but certainly not the best way or the way that will serve us in the future. So we now begin the task of teaching Tyler how to fall asleep on his own. From the start, I know this is going to be a tough task. He likes to be in mommy and daddy's arms very much. Today we begin. Pray for us! I am weak, and when I hear his pittiful cry, all I want to do is hold him in my arms! Tyler really does like his crib... especially his dump truck mobile. Now if we can just get him to fall asleep there! 

One of our favorite times of the day!  

Tyler had is 2 month Dr's appointment today. I knew this would be a tough one for the little guy, as he had to get several shots. But I was also really looking forward to seeing how much Tyler had grown. So the resuls are in: Tyler weighs 13lbs (and is now in the 80th percentile) He is 23 inches long (he grew 1.5 inches, and in the 50th percentile) His head has also grown measuring 15.75 inches around (that is an inch since birth, and also in the 50th percentile) I knew he was getting bigger! The Dr. said he looks great and is a very healthy little boy! very encouraging to hear! Here is a picture of Tyler before his shots admiring the office... And here he is after 3 shots in his thighs.... it broke my heart to see him in pain. And here he is when I picked him up... mommy can make things better! But as soon as I put him down.... It has been a rough day for the boy!!! 

Just wanted to share a cute picture of the boy- so that the main one you see is not his sad face! Isn't he so cute. Kinda makes it hard to not hold him all of the time!