Unconditional, unconditionally... I will love you unconditionally. There is no fear now, let go and just be free. I will love you unconditionally. Come just as you are to me, don't need apologies. Know that you are worthy, I'll take your bad days with your good. Walk through the storm, I would. I do it all becuase I love you, I love you.

So, I've had several of my friends and family members tell me that I should either 1. Write a book. Or, 2. Try to branch out my blogging to a wider audience. While, I would love more than anything to someday write a book, I think building a more vast blog audience would be beneficial in pitching my book to a publisher someday. So, I'm branching out!

On the right side of my page you will see a 'Top Mommy Blogs'  icon- if you click on it I will get votes that will help bring my blog up in the ranks on the Top Mommy Blogs website. Of course, a higher rank would likely bring more exposure. So, if you wouldn't mind supporting a gal every time you visit my blog, I'd be much obliged! It's free, and legit takes less than a second...unless you're on dial up internet... at which point, wow. Just, wow...

Moving on... My last blog post was all about sleep training. I don't want to spend this entire blog post talking about how wonderful it continues to be for us- so I won't... but I will say, it's really going SO WELL! I'm so very pleased. No issues whatsoever with sleeping through the night. She's even extended her sleep time til later in the morning (um, can we say 7:45am?!?), and she wakes up and just plays quietly in her crib with her Lambie. I do not have a single regret about doing it, whatsoever. Well, that's a little bit of a lie- because I do regret not doing it sooner. Even a few weeks, or a month. But, I guess I can't really live with that regret. So, if you're on the fence about it, I would highly suggest you at least look a bit further into it. Everyone is happier in our house. Even the dog, she hates hearing the baby cry... and grumpy babies, who don't get enough sleep- cry a lot. FYI.

Happy Baby!

As we continue to iron out the naps (they aren't at 100% yet, but we are definitely getting there- I will happily take the bad with the good-awww, unconditional love), I've begun to try to think of what our ideal schedule will be. I've never really been one to live by a schedule. I'm much more of a 'fly by the seat of my pants' kind of girl. But, I have come to realize that Evie (and probably most babies) really enjoy a schedule! They LOVE the predictability. I think there is a sense of accomplishment and pride if she is able to anticipate what's coming next. It's like "Gosh, I'm so smart, I knew we would be eating next." So, for now at least, a schedule we shall live by. Even though the times may be a bit different every day, the pattern of the schedule remains pretty much the same.

Wake-->Eat-->Play-->Solids-->Nap-->Eat-->Play-->Solids And so on.

Did you say play?!

This chickadee continues to LOVE her jumperoo, AKA 'The RON'- thanks to my friend, Katie for the nickname. 'The RON' is short for 'The Ring of Neglect.' When Katie first mentioned the 'The RON' I laughed for a good minute. Because, as awful as it sounds...that name is more than a little accurate. We can leave her in that thing, and she will happily entertain herself for a hot minute. I used to have some 'Mommy-guilt' ..over leaving her in The RON, but that feeling has since passed. I now enjoy the few minutes to hour (OMG, did I just admit that out loud) of freedom that 'The RON' permits me. Jas and I have also noticed that no matter how upset she may be while she's in there- she can't stop jumping. She will be crying and still jumping around. It's kind of funny. Gosh, are we heathens or what?

The RON

My friend Arabella and I were talking the other day, she has a 2 month old, and we were discussing how sometimes we will have a fleeting moment of 'Mommy Guilt' which then turns into what she calls 'Scarlett O'Hara Syndrome'- so for example "I feel like I didn't play with Evie enough today, she spent a lot of time in The RON. Tomorrow I will be sure to spend more time reading to her." I think I will refer to this affectionately as "SOS" and I feel like almost every day is a vicious cycle of "SOS". I swear, some days it's just so hard to get ahead of the 8-ball. I will say though, the older she gets, the easier it gets. However, she definitely requires more attention and entertainment now. Jas and I call it the Dog & Pony Show. "Ooop, well the baby's fussy- time for the Dog & Pony show!" We basically pull out all the stops and act like bouncing, singing, squealing idiots until she chills the F out. Will that ever end? Probably not. Am I totally over it? Not quite... It is a little fun to act like a freak every now and then.

Baby Led Weaning is so freaking cool. If you are a new parent, or a parent-to-be, I seriously would consider trying this method of introducing solids. It's so amazing to watch her discover new foods. Last night we had some Asian Fusion Pulled Pork Tacos... that Pork had some kick to it... and sister sucked it down like it was nothing! She loves all the flavors and textures. I definitely think I am not raising a picky-eater and I love that!!!! She also loves blueberries. I squeeze them just a little before giving them to her, so when she pops them in her mouth, they aren't perfectly round like a marble. She mashes them with her gums (still no teeth...I really thought she would have some by now) and swallows them without any issue. I think she could eat her weight in blueberries. And now apparently she loves starfruit. Works for me!

Today's lunch: Leftover pulled pork, asian style slaw and starfruit

Starfruit

7 months old and looking fly! She can be such a ham... She reminds me of myself a lot of the time. But then she has these pensive moments where she is literally just taking everything in, sitting back and observing and that is so much like Jason. If she thinks before she speaks, then we will definitely know who she got that from... A hint, not me!

 She's flexible like her mama...well, like her mama used to be. Watching her do these toe touches during our photo shoot the other day, took me back to my good ol' gymnastics days. Wow that was a long time ago. Jas thinks we have a future Olympian on our hands... I think we have a circus performer. Either way. Damn, my kid is going to be a carney!

The District got some snow! There have already been multiple snow days in this area, but this is the first time it actually amounted to anything. So pretty! Sadly it's too cold to take Ev out in it, but I'm sure she'd love it.

In other news, we have finally figured out who Evie looks like:

Grumpy Cat!

The resemblance is uncanny. And she may kill me for this picture someday. Whoops.

I suppose that's all the excitement I have to share for the time being. I'm certain it won't be long before I have something else to talk about. Here's a few recent pics.

Until next time...