In the Midst of It

The last two weeks have been long and tiring. For about the last three weeks Kayley has been more fussy and clingy than her previous first 3 months of life. At first we figured she was either growing or a tooth was coming in, but as the fussing continued and no teeth have shown up and typically a child doesn’t experience growth pains for this long of time, we think she has thus entered a new phase in her life. We think giving her the little snack of solid food each day is helping to give her the energy she needs as she continues to develop, and she’s been sleeping better at night (except for when she has gas…). Part of me wants to up the amount of solid food we’re giving her each day, but I don’t think her digestive system is ready for that. So, for now we’ll continue with the one ounce snack each day in the afternoon. She is loving it!

The last couple weeks have also been long because Andrew’s work schedule has been a bit crazy. The last couple weeks he has been doing more afterhours work than we both thought he would be doing with his new role at his job. And last week he worked a couple 10 hour days in a row and had pager duty for a company. This week he’s on pager duty again, this time for a different client whom he expects to have some late night calls from. This means Andrew has been very tired when he gets home, and him coming home doesn’t mean he’s done with work. This also means I haven’t been getting my little breaks from Kayley at night, and since she’s been more fussy and clingy, I haven’t really gotten them during the day either. So, poor Kayley has been dealing with two tired parents. All the while the cat has been seeking attention so much so that she doesn’t mind if it comes from a drool covered little hand.

BUT! Even though our household has been tired and worn out, that doesn’t mean God hasn’t been blessing us with some great times. In the midst of everything going on, we were all able to…

• Have a family date at Panera for lunch last week

Chowin' down. Andrew' on his salad, Kayley on her giraffe.

• Enjoy the start of the new bible study that we are leading with our friends Wes and Kelly

• I’ve been able to teach the 1^st and 2^nd graders at church the last two weeks

• Kayley has enjoyed a variety of solid foods and we have enjoyed giving them to her

She got peas everywhere! I am currently trying to teach her to keep her hands down

• Our niece Sara and her boyfriend came to visit us and we spent Saturday hanging out with them

• Kayley is starting to be able to sit by herself! Hopfully I'll have a picture soon

•  I have been able to go to my women’s bible study and complete all my homework for it

•  Kayley and I went to the zoo with our friends Hsin-I and baby Kaylin

Enjoying the sun at the zoo!

Kaylin's first time at the zoo! Hsin-I is showing her the bears

• Kayley got to video-chat with her cousin Addie who is 6 months older than her. It was their first time seeing each other

•  We had some friends over for dinner before our friend Gifford went to CA for a few months

•  Kayley was happy in her jumper for a straight hour so I was able to have time studying God’s Word

Jumper time!

• Kayley loves to laugh when Andrew exercises with her

One, and two and three! Note: Do not attempt to exercise with your baby right after she ate

• Andrew got spit on in the face (and in his mouth a bit) – okay that’s not necessarily good, but it made us laugh!

• I found a way to have Kayley safe and happy in the kitchen with me so I have more opportunities to make dinner

• Hoshi is letting Kayley pet her more, and letting Kayley “walk” after her  

Hoshi chillin' on the floor with Kayley next to her

• I am becoming more comfortable going on outings by myself with Kayley. We really enjoy visiting our friend’s donuts shop and the Yakima Fruit Market 

• Kayley has another play-date with Kaylin

Friends holding hands

• There was one night where I slept from 10pm to 6am, the first time in a long time! Kayley’s been doing it most nights for a while, but my internal clock still goes off around 3 or 4am.

• Our home is clean (we both like having a clean home)

• Andrew and Kayley had some great morning time together on Sunday before Church

Andrew and Kayley reading the Bible at breakfast

God has blessed us with more than that the last couple weeks, but those are the things that stand out to me right now.