A Tough Nut To Crack

A rare moment in the Ard household.  BOTH girls are asleep and I have a bit of energy to compose a post.

 Grace is the reason for the name of the post.  Lily gave us no preparation for raising a real baby.  She rarely fussed (I think the only reason she did is because I was feeding her every 4 hours at first and realized she was hungry every 3 hours after a couple weeks...).  I could set her in her bouncy seat and she'd never fuss.  I could set her on the floor and she'd never fuss.  She was sleeping through the night at 5 weeks.  Anyway, Grace is the opposite, and I knew I needed a real baby at some point, but Jason said it best:  "She is a tough nut to crack."  I think I have the magic trick one moment and then a week later it doesn't work.  Having her nap on her stomach seemed to be the magic trick for awhile to get her to not fuss as much and to nap for longer periods but it doesn't seem like it's working as well now.  My latest trick is bouncing her on my knee.  I also figured out why they call it a bouncy seat because she will sometimes calm down when I put her in there and bounce it with my feet.  Anyway, sweet Grace.  She's keeping us on our toes!

 

 

Grace in her aforementioned bouncy seat.  She's not looking as swollen!

It's so nice when they start smiling at you.  I also love her coos and goos.  She seems to talk and sigh more than Lily did, and I love it when she laughs pretty heartily in her sleep.  It's a riot.

 

Ahhh, peaceful slumber! I've noticed I've become incredibly lazy in dressing her.  I think I'm just tired so I mostly put her in these kinds of suits.  No socks required.

 

And in Lily news, she seems to be adjusting more and more.  Less meltdowns and she's learning to play more on her own and not need me every single time I'm feeding or holding Grace.  This was her helping set up our Christmas tree.

 This was her showing off the huge hole in her tongue as well as the road burn she got when she tripped on the asphalt flat on her face outside.  You might need to click on it to see it better.

 Lily is refusing to take naps in her crib.  I am not sure what to do about this one.  I guess I am the adult, but she always ends up falling asleep on the couch in the afternoon.  This new baby is really shaking things up around here!  Lily is also eating like a mouse.  She used to be such a champ with all my meals and ate almost every fruit or vegetable I set in front of her.  Not so anymore.  Not sure what to do about that one either.  Oh, yeah, and she's begun waking up at either 3, 4, or 5 in the morning screaming.  Any advice? 

This happened right before church, of course.  Jason made some chocolate milk to hurry and drink right before leaving, but his efforts were in vain as Lily grabbed the cup and dumped it right on her head.  Jason stayed home to bathe her since I had to teach.

I love that Lily loves our church's Friend magazine.  She'll often open it and look at it for extended periods of time.  She even fell asleep once "reading" it.