Days 11 and 12: Under the weather

For most of the time that Tilly and I were together yesterday and today, she was fussing or crying. No giggles or big dimply smiles. Just fussing and clinging and tears. She obviously doesn't feel her best. She doesn't have a fever, but her cheeks are a little rosy. She's not coughing or sneezing, but her nose is a little runny. I guess she has a regular ol' cold, but she's not handling it very well.

Clinging to momma

Communicating her discontent

Here's to better days ahead (and hopefully a better night sleep, too!)

Day 10- Afternoon Naps

Tilly has been feeling just a little bit under the weather this weekend. I can tell her tummy isn't feeling 100%, and she's been really clingy. She's usually happy to play and explore independently, but yesterday and today, she has wanted to be in someone's arms most of the day. Even for nap time, she's wanted snuggles, and Brad and I took turns today snuggling her while she napped. 

This afternoon, though, after some snuggles, I was able to get her to nap in her crib. She looked so sweet and peaceful, that I couldn't resist taking her picture. I love how she still sleeps like  this, all curled up with her bottom up in the air.

Unfortunately, after I snapped 2 or 3 pictures, she woke up. Whoops! Brad thought maybe he could rock her back to sleep. After a few minutes, I went in to check on him, and it became clear that afternoon nap time was officially over.

Day 9- Bathtub Time

Today, I gave Tilly a mid-day bath. She usually gets a bath before bedtime a few times a week, but today, an earlier bath was in order. Grimy baby was grimy. Sticky baby was sticky. Smelly baby was smelly. You get the point.

The thing is, when Tilly gets a bath, Nora insists on getting a bath.

I feel like this series of pictures is going to sum up their relationship. They love each other, but sometimes Tilly gets a bit overwhelmed.

Tilly tries to make sense of Nora's enthusiasm.

Then she decides maybe it could be fun.

But the fun is short-lived, and soon Tilly needs her personal space.

At least sweet smelling baby smells sweet once again.

Day 8- Bedtime Bottle

Tilly is getting close to dropping her bedtime bottle. Sometime in the next few months, I will snuggle my baby while feeding her a bottle for the last time, and that makes me just a little bit sad. There's just something about knowing that she is my last baby and my last times with her will be real last times. For that reason, I find myself hanging on to some of the baby routines just a little tighter.

Day 7- Very First Birthday Present

I belong to a small Facebook group made up of moms who were all due to have babies in January 2015. We decided for the kiddos' first birthdays, we would do a gift exchange. Tilly's arrived today, and she LOVES it!

Omg it's paper! I love paper!

Wait, there's more?

What is this thing?

BANG ALL THE THINGS!

Tilly thoroughly enjoyed pounding on her bench tonight, and I have a feeling she might finally have a favorite toy.

Day 6- Mischief and Sweetness

 Tilly doesn't really like to sit still. She loves to explore the house, but if I'm busy doing something like making dinner, I have to keep her very contained. This usually means using chairs to block off all ways out of a space where I can keep an eye on her because she is a naughty baby who will get into mischief if I'm not watching (or even if I am watching!)

This is the face of mischief.

She peeked into the kitchen at me, and I peeked back. She was fussing, and I knew it was dinner time, so I brought her a little snack. Copper must have heard the bag rustle because he nosed his way in to the scene as well. Tilly happily accepted the cheese cube. Copper happily accepted one, too.

One of the few ways to keep Tilly happily contained, at least for a few minutes, is to put her in her highchair. I love this picture because she is obviously in deep contemplation over her black beans and also because I love the way she has her ankles crossed. So lady-like.

This is the face of mischief and sweetness.

Day 5- Sleep

Tilly hasn't always been the best sleeper. Up until last week, I could count on one hand how many times in 11+ months she had slept through the night. Since last week, that number has doubled as she has now slept all night for 5 nights in a row. She did, however, wake up at 5:05 this morning. That was one hour before my alarm was set to go off.

So at 5:05, I stumbled into her room, bottle in hand, and sat with her in her rocking chair trying to get her back to sleep. By 5:45, she was asleep but didn't want to be put back in her crib, so I took her to our bed, where I was unable to go back to sleep since it was almost time to get up. After the alarm went off and Brad hit snooze a couple of times, I transferred Tilly to Brad and headed to the shower.

When I got out of the shower, she was still asleep.

When Nora and the dogs came barging in, she stayed asleep.

She slept after I turned on the lights and got dressed.

She continued to sleep soundly as I dried my hair.

She finally woke up, a bit dazed and confused, at about 6:55. I can't stop laughing at this series of pictures.

Where am I?

Who am I?

How did I get here?

I hope she sleeps past 5:05 tonight, but if she doesn't, it's Brad's turn to get up.