Sleep. Who Need's It?

Ok, so it's been a bit more than 10 days, but it's also been a bit more chaotic than I had ever hoped.  Here's an update on A^3:

Hawaii was AMAZING.  We had an incredible time on Kauai with my parents.  I promise I'll have pictures sometime next week.  I knew that the return was going to hard. We were leaving paradise, had a 6 hour time change to conquer, and A LOT of work to catch up on. We got back Sunday evening and unfortunately, the night started off with Adalyn having a fever just shy of 103.   Remember my 3 jobs?  - part time event manager for a million $ fundraiser in NYC, my photography business (has really taken off due to Facebook, by the way), and full time mommy to Adalyn?  Well, add to it caregiver of a poor little 10 month old with coxsackie virus!!!  That's right folks; it's better known  as Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease.  Little Miss A somehow contracted it and apparently it's been going around.  Two of the babies in my mom's group had it recently, although I haven't been able to see them in weeks.  I heard today that it is often contracted in pools, and well, Adalyn spent the vast majorty of last week splashing away in one.  She has blisters in and around her mouth and a few on her hand and legs.  Thankfully, they are almost all cleared up - which will mark the end of her quarantine from other kids.

Until today, she has been tough to handle. She was just so miserable.  Yesterday, she was refusing to eat dinner and just crying in her highchair.  I literally tried everything to calm on her down and nothing was working....except crazy dancing by mommy.  I turned on our favorite digital music channel, Contemporary Christian, and it just so happened that a version of this song was on.  I moonwalked, shopping carted, fan-kicked, and finally, after a good bout of the running man, got her to laugh.  It was a wonderful moment.

She is better, but both Andrew and I haven't slept more than 5 hours since last Friday night.  The combination of the time change and the sickness has Addy on an interrupted sleeping pattern.  Oh, did I forget to mention that we are moving on Saturday?!  I am functioning surprisingly well.  I mean, I'm up at almost midnight doing a blog post so I can check another thing off my to-do list. But, I feel a breakdown coming if I don't catch up soon.  We need prayers for sleep and a very productive Friday please!  I will leave you with one of my favorites shots from Hawaii.  I've had to stare at her happy face these last few days just to get through.

Baby Curls

Given that I have olive skin, dark brown hair and eyes, I have no idea why I have always pictured myself with a blue-eyed, blonde, curly-haired baby....but I always have.  Wouldn't you know it, God gave me a light haired, blue eyed little babe.  And since the humid weather has rolled in, her curls have come out.  Oh my goodness.  I could eat her she is so cute.

 I forgot to mention that her first official word is Jada!  Poor cat gets tortured and is no longer able to sit in her cat bed and relax.  Join the club, Jada.

 She also says Dada consistently when Andrew comes home from work, and as of this week, says it when he is on speakerphone. My heart just melts. Mama is still only said in the middle of the night. Whatever, I'll take it.

For those of you wondering, no, she still will not take the sippy cup or bottle.  I am now back to nursing her 4x a day, but oh so grateful that I was able to get my supply back.  I took these a few nights ago when she was also refusing to eat anything from a spoon.  Adalyn insisted on eating the mashed sweet potatoes with her hands.

 She then decided that she didn't like being sticky.  Andrew got home just in time to give her a bath.

I've been in a photo-editing frenzy.  Things with the business are going really well, but I am so looking forward to our vacation!!  Andrew left for California this morning to go golfing at Pebble Beach with his dad and brothers.  Adalyn and I fly out to LA Friday with my parents and we all meet up Saturday at LAX to head to Kauai.  I CAN NOT WAIT.  I just wish I had time to get a much needed haircut.  So, goodbye for 10 days or so.  I need a break from technology.

10 on 10 - sort of.

Well, things haven't gotten any easier with Adalyn.  She is still refusing to drink anything that doesn't come directly from my boob.  I've at least been able to add back in some feedings thanks to some pumping efforts.  Sigh.  I completely forgot about 10 on 10 yesterday until the afternoon, but I did do a modified version.  Here are 10 shots within 10 minutes of our day yesterday.   This was during Adalyn's afternoon snack - cut up chicken and peas.  I think this is now her favorite thing to eat, though she did find her hair bow quite tasty.

I'm really, really, tired.  And I need to clean our stove.

Challenging

This little monkey.....is being super challenging this week.  I've told her she's lucky she's cute about a million times.  It all started with my decision to start weaning her for daytime feedings.  Nursing was getting difficult during the day  - she was so easily distracted, wouldn't nurse with a cover, and I need to be away from her for over 8 hours on Wednesdays.  I thought that this would be the perfect way to keep our nursing relationship and still give me some freedom.  From Tuesday to Friday of last week, she took bottles of formula during the day just fine.  And then suddenly, when I was gone all day Saturday to shoot my first wedding, she refused the bottle.  She only wants to nurse.  I've tried 4 different types of sippy cups, different types of formula, and even some frozen breastmilk in the bottle.  She won't touch 'em.  I even tried to sneak some formula in her cereal this morning and she wouldn't have it.  Thankfully, I still have enough of a supply for a morning and night feed, so she's getting something and is having no problems with finger foods.  I'm just struggling with a lot of guilt from weaning.  She obviously wasn't ready and now I don't have enough to meet her needs.  :(  I know she'll be fine, but this is a lot harder than I imagined.

On the brighter side of things, we signed a lease for our new place this afternoon!  I love it and can't wait to decorate.  Our official move date isn't until June 2nd, but we had to take the lease by the 15th of May, so we are going in a bit early this weekend to do some painting.  We don't NEED to paint, but I have so many ideas and I know it will make it feel more like our own.  I can't wait to show pictures.  Ok, sorry for the short and scattered post, but man, I've got to get to bed.