a new week

It's been a rough several days, I won't lie. Curren seems to take short catnaps throughout the day and I'm a big believer in sleep training and can't figure out how to ease him into more of a routine. It's driving me a bit crazy. Maggie was a better napper...I'm sure of it. The longest he goes at night between feedings is 3 1/2 hours and I'm ready for him to take a good long 5-6 hour stretch. Laurie was good to remind me that sleeping through the night comes first, then the naps. I was glad to be reminded of this and was able to re-adjust my expectations. It seems the journey of parenting is all about re-adjusting expectations, you know? I was telling Aron this weekend that the hardest part about this new season of life is the constant state of highs and lows that occur. We can have some good feedings and sleep, then Curren has a few hours of being a total crab and crying his eyes out. You get the idea. I just feel I'm on a constant emotional roller coaster.

Yet, despite the challenging and tear-filled last few days, there have been joyful moments, too. I love the above pics of my kiddos, Curren fresh from his bath and Maggie happily smiling because she was my big helper. And this morning Maggie helped me put the final touches on some homemade cinnamon rolls; it was so fun. And speaking of her, I have to smile at how wonderful it's been to watch Maggie continue to grow and change before us. She loves, loves, loves to sing and regularly sings, pretty much verbatim, "All Creatures of Our God and King," "Rescue," "Do-A-Deer-A-Female-Deer" (think "The Sound of Music"), and several others, including some of Aron's original works. It makes me downright giddy to hear her sing his lyrics. She is very much into playing with her dolls, including changing their diapers ("it's stinky pinky!"), and building with blocks and Legos. She has a very active imagination and often talks about a dinosaur that is in the house ("Dinosaur, don't eat me!" or "The dinosaur is drinking coffee"). She likes to prepare meals for us, "stir & pour" at the sink, and has begun to ask the endless questions, my favorite of which is "who's that, mama?" talking about someone on the street/in the car next to us/at the grocerry store, you get the idea. Do I make up names? But perhaps one of the most rewarding things we've experienced in the past month is her beginning to pull out heart truths that we are instilling. After being disciplined, we ask her why she received a discipline and she will often tell us ("Because I playing with food," or "Because I not obeying," or "Because I run away"), then proceed to ask us for forgiveness. Without prompting, she will often talk about how it's good to obey "Because it makes Jesus happy." Wow! It makes me smile. And it is encouraging to show that she is listening and is internalizing what we are teaching. In those rough, dark moments, I try to remember these happy moments.