A Very Eventful Day

With four children, there really is no such thing as an "uneventful" day.  I was going to say that some days are more eventful than others, and that is probably true, but mostly some days are just a little more noteworthy than others.  Today is one of those days.  


It started with a better-than-expected night.  Michael started out his life as a superstar sleeper!  There were very few times that I was up with him more than twice in a night, right from the very beginning, and most nights I was only up once.  Yes, I know how blessed we were!  Trust me!  A couple months ago, things changed.  At the end of January, we brought Michael to the doctor for what ended up to be an antibiotic-resistant ear infection.  It took several weeks and 3 different antibiotics to clear things up.  This, of course, was immediately followed by Michael trying to cut a mouthful of teeth.  All of this led to a tremendous disturbance in his sleeping, and being off-track for so long seriously derailed his excellent sleeping pattern.  We found ourselves in the middle of exactly what we feared- on a road we were familiar with...the sleepless zone.  The "I will not nap at all unless I happen to fall asleep on you or while riding in the car and good luck getting a good night's sleep" zone.  As I said, we've been there before and it's not my favorite place, but now I am getting WAY off track on what I was going to write.  To make a long story slightly shorter, we are working our way back to being a good sleeper.  Last night, he fell asleep just after 9, woke up to eat at 5, and was back to sleep until almost 9:30.  It was wonderful!!!  We still need to really work on reclaiming nap time, but it will come, and as long as Mommy gets some sleep at night, we will be ok. :)  


So, that started things off on a pretty great note!  When I sat down to feed Michael this morning, Abby (our self proclaimed "Helperator") came over to snuggle and talk.  When Michael was done, Abby turned to me and said, "I will help give Michael some milk!"  I asked her how she would feed him (since he doesn't take a bottle) and Abby lifted up her shirt and said, "My belly button!  Come here Michael!  It's yummy!!!"  I thanked her for being so sweet and helpful, but told her that Michael was already full.  So, she decided to feed her baby doll, Laffy, instead. :)


Shortly after lunch, it was time to put Abby down for a nap.  (She also doesn't feel the need to nap, but her later afternoon/early evening whiny meltdowns would suggest otherwise.)  :)  So, I brought her down to her room and tucked her into bed with a couple of books.  I told her that she could just relax on her bed and read for awhile (a tactic that has worked well before).  About 10-15 minutes later, Abby came upstairs with a very sad look on her face.  When I asked what was wrong, she looked at me and said, "I can't read!!!  Can you read at me, Mama?"  How can you say "no" to something like that? :)  So, I read the books to her and tucked her back in.  


When I came back upstairs, Michael needed to be changed.  Afterward, I went to set him on the floor and he put his feet down to stand.  He has become very good at standing unassisted lately, and VERY good at  "cruising" along the furniture.  So, I set him on his feet and he stood for a couple seconds and then...he took a step!  When he tried to take a second step, he fell down.  Then he pulled himself back up and took a couple more steps!  That's right...our nine-month-old has started to walk!!!  I am fully convinced that within the next week or so, he will be running and then there will be no stopping him!