Fame

Last Friday afternoon, I went to the Holt community to help with a Habitat for Humanity build. The Community Service Center at UA was helping host this particular effort and our office and theirs is in the same division on campus. This particular effort was a 'united' one among UA, Auburn, Kent State, and Auburn-Montgomery (and maybe some other schools I can't remember). They did a GREAT job and helped build two houses during the week. I feel like I barely did anything during the short time I was there.

I don't know anyone in the picture above except D.J. Fluker (center...the huge one). He's a football player, obviously, and one of the big names. I found this pic on the Community Service Center's Facebook page and had to claim it in some way ;)

The other guy is on the team, too. I just don't know who he is. Oops. There were only a handful of them who came. One was Niko Warren, also a big name, but I didn't get a pic with him. Nick Saban showed up after I had left.

It was so sad to see the Holt community. I had not ventured out that far yet. I literally parked in front of a slab of concrete that used to be someone's home. Most homes are completely gone, but some are still standing, just in very bad shape.

Little by little, it will get better. I'm hoping more efforts will be made once students get back to campus. Many of them left that day and haven't been back since. It will be a shock to them to see it in person, I'm sure.

Night 10-Sleep Training

Last blog about sleep training! Yay!! :)

Well, except for the occasional update maybe.

I totally expected Collins to cry last night when I put him in his crib, kissed him and Sugarplum, and walked out, shut the door.

Not a peep.

Slept all night long. Wait...I do recall a cry somewhere around 1am. But I never even got out of bed. He just went back to sleep on his own.

Thank you, Lord, for letting me be strong enough to do this and teach my baby to sleep! It has been wonderful. Thank you, friends and family, for the prayers. I am in awe.

Who would have ever thought I'd blog so much about sleep? Then again, I have ALWAYS been a huge fan of sleeping. :)

Night 9-Sleep Training

Almost done with the sleep training posts, I promise.

Last night Jake put Collins to bed. No crying or fussing, but just wiggling for about 10 minutes or so. Jake was in the hallway.

Tonight is when we're supposed to put Collins in the crib and just walk out...no lingering to be in his sight. I expect him to cry (maybe more than usual?) some since he always does the first night of the new position. The book says to expect that, but not to be alarmed. The author says he's had almost two weeks to prepare for this and that he can handle it. So far, she's been right on everything!

I am so thankful this has worked. It's such a relief not to dread night time because you don't know what to expect. We can tell Collins is happier, too. It's like he was so ready for us to do this already!

Vacation 2011

We went to Chestnut Bay Resort on Weiss Lake for our family vacation this year. It was a short 2.5-3 hour drive, which was the goal. I love the beach, but did not think it would be fun with Collins. That sounds mean. But he hates to ride in the car seat for more than about 2 hours, so a long drive would have been torture for the poor kid. Plus, I could just imagine getting all settled on the beach, only to realize nap time was in five minutes. Maybe next year.

Chestnut Bay was perfect for us! There were two pools, a slide into one of the pools and a slide into the lake (only MawMaw slid into the pool the whole time...I wanted to do the lake one, but never did). There was a little pizza shop on site, which we ordered from one night.

People rode bikes and jet skis, and there was a playground where MawMaw and PawPaw took Collins and played for a while.

Our house was the "Who Dat" house. It was huge...I'm shocked I never fell down or up the stairs. I was waiting on that to happen. Everyone had their own room.

Jake and I rode a jet ski one day and it rained the entire time. But it was still fun! We rode across the lake where there was a pretty waterfall, and we discovered our dream house which was hidden from where we were staying. Gorgeous.

Hank and Chloe even got to go with us and they seemed to like it :) Hank was hilarious climbing the stairs. He looked like a little bunny hopping!

We celebrated Haylee's birthday (a week early) while we were there. Mom, Collins, and I went to Wal-Mart to buy gluten-free cookies. We thought about a cake, but then there was the icing issue, so we stuck with cookies.

On the last night, there was a "street party" near the pool. They had all the kids out there dancing. It was basically like a wedding reception: chicken dance, hokey pokey, cupid shuffle, etc. Then they started playing regular dance songs. It was fun...we participated from our balcony :)

Collins got to put his toes in the "sand." I hope he'll like the beach when we get to go. He better! ;)

It was a relaxing week and I definitely recommend Chestnut Bay to anyone who wants to get away without getting too far away!

Night 8-Sleep Training

I got in the hallway again last night while Collins fell asleep. He didn't fuss much, but did take about 15-20 minutes to finally settle down and go to sleep. He tossed out paci once and I thought Sugarplum was gonna take a nose dive, but he spared her. He kept standing up, sitting down. Over and over. But once he was asleep...he slept all night long. We woke him up this morning just before 7am.

Mrs.Wilda is going to try this technique on him today for his naps. We did it for naps all weekend (worked all but one time) and he even put himself to sleep for her once last week without them even trying. I took his sound machine to her house today to see if that helps any. I think it definitely blocks some of the household noises, especially when other kids are there. I just really, really hope I remember to get it back this afternoon! Jake and I are probably more addicted to it than Collins is!

Nights 6 and 7-Sleep Training

Night 6 was pretty uneventful. Collins fussed a little more than the nights just before, but still fell asleep pretty easily and stayed asleep. I think part of the problem was a slightly earlier bed time. We're still practicing being dedicated to the schedule. We started the routine earlier and got all off track! haha

Last night was Night 7, the first night to move into the hallway. It took him probably 10-15 minutes of fussing, squirming, etc. to lie down and get quiet. Once I tried to peep at him because I thought he was asleep, but I saw his little fingers going, playing with Sugarplum. So I hit the floor again before he could catch me!

About this Sugarplum character. I don't think I've mentioned her before. We tried to make a Lion his lovey, but it just didn't take. I don't blame him...it was kind of obnoxious. So on Night 1 Jake suggested Sugarplum. I didn't think it would work and was prepared to go out and buy the softest lovey on the market. One look at 'Plum' and Collins giggled and smiled the hugest smile!

Jake bought Plum for me when we were dating, and I think still in high school. We were in Books A Million and I thought she was cute. We got out to the truck and he had somehow bought her without me knowing. It was sweet, but now I realize just how sweet! Plum to the rescue!!

Anyway, back to last night. Collins woke up at 10 ish, so I went back to the hallway. I thought I was going to have to change him or something. It's times like that when I doubt myself. I had picked him up (just over the bed), calmed him (he was totally fine, but wet...with a night time diaper on), put him down, and he cried about 15 minutes. Maybe longer, I don't know. But that's when I start wondering: Should I change him? Are his teeth hurting? Maybe he needs Tylenol. Did he have a bad dream?

With Jake's clarity, I just let it go and waited it out. It worked.

Collins was talking at 5am, but I remembered reading in the book about "early risers" (children who wake up prior to 6am). Kim suggests not going in until 6, or if you do, trying to get them to sleep until 6. If it doesn't work, you leave the room for two minutes, then come back in like nothing ever happened and do your dramatic good morning routine. It gives the message, "I'm getting you because it's morning, not because you were crying." I guess that sounds harsh, but so far I love everything this woman says/does/makes happen! I didn't have to go in there, we just let him 'talk it out.' He's still asleep now and it's 6:30am.

Promise to quit giving so many detailed updates about sleep after this training period :) After two more nights of the being in the hallway, I'm supposed to just leave the room immediately and let him go to sleep. So far, I am so proud of my Collins!

Happy Birthday, Haylee and Maw!

Above are two of my favorite people in the world! And they share the same birthday, July 22nd. (Sorry I'm a day late. And however many dollars you were expecting short.)

Maw is 75 (but about 15 on the inside) and Haylee is 28. Excuse me, I believe she prefers 25...for the third time. ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAYLEE AND MAW! I hope you celebrate all weekend long!

We love you!!
Tiffany, Jake, and Collins

Night 5-Sleep Training

Last night was Jake's turn! He literally dreaded it all day. We had to discuss in detail what he was to do. Jake was expecting Collins to back track and scream a lot.

They rocked about four minutes. Collins wasn't even interested in books. Jake put him down, he wiggled a time or two, and was out. Jake never even got on the floor with him.

He slept all night long.

I'm amazed and will now give copies of Good Night, Sleep Tight as baby shower gifts! What's especially great about this book is that it goes from birth through five years. So there's hope for everyone!

Pennington Boys

These are my friend, Lana's, boys. Ford (left) and Ethan (right). I cannot believe I've only met Ford twice and Ethan none :( They are so cute! Ford looks exactly like Lana, and Ethan looks exactly like Ford did at that age. Lana and Jack are precious friends whom I love and miss so very much. Just like all my other college friends. At least there's technology to keep us close :)

Ten and Tricks!

Somebody is 10 months old today!! Bye-bye, single digit months!

Collins is so much fun right now. Especially with this new sleep thing ;)

Here are some of his new tricks:

• MawMaw and PawPaw taught him the fan goes "round and round and round." So now he does his little arm in circular motions when you ask what the fan does.
• Gives high fives, claps, and shakes hands. Really, they're all the same thing, but we'll count it as three different things.
• Pulls up on any and everything. Still not standing alone yet, but that's soon to come.
  
• Says "uh-oh," which still sounds more like "uh-uh-uh."
• Feeds himself finger foods and eats just about anything from the table: avocado, figs, blueberries, fish, you name it.
• Gives kisses...and not just any kisses. The BEST kisses!
  
• Just yesterday, started saying "pie!" when Mrs. Wilda was playing "peep-eye" with him. So cute!
• Waves bye-bye
  
• Pats his hand when you say "pat, pat, pat..."
• When we ask, "where's the deer?" (or fish, or squirrel), he looks at it. We say, "shoot it!" and he points! We then, of course, make an awesome gun sound. Yes, I realize this clearly makes us red necks. It's okay.
• Says "dada" easily and is just now toying with the idea of saying "mama" more regularly.

That's all I can think of right now. Oh! And he's found his...special area. :) It's hilarious. He'll grab it then look up at us and smile kind of mischievously. It took 9 1/2 months for that to start. Amazing.

Every day, he's more and more fun, and gets sweeter by the second! I told Jake last night that I think Collins is gonna be one of those people in my life who can make me laugh harder than anyone else, just by looking at him. I was getting ready to bathe Collins and I started doing motor boat noises as he was kissing me (mouth wide open of course). He thought that was hilarious and laughed so sweet and had the biggest smile! He really is funny. I hope he keeps that trait :)

Night 4-Sleep Training

Wow. I'm just amazed. My prediction yesterday about crying more last night was wrong.

Collins protested at me for two minutes last night. Two. Not twenty. Two.

He wiggled around for around five minutes total, then was out like a light. He slept all night long. It was glorious!

I am SO THANKFUL! I'm sure we'll have set backs occasionally, but this is just wonderful. I finally feel like the parent at bedtime! haha

While I was lying on the floor across the room from Collins, I started thinking about how awful it was just three days ago hearing him cry, and how badly I wanted to scoop him up and rescue him. It's never fun to know your child is unhappy, even if it's the best thing in the long run.

And then I thought about how God sent His child to die. On a cross. With and for the sin of all mankind. Because it was the best thing in the long run. And it got better--understatement--in just three days! :)

Wow. So humbling, so amazing, so undeserving. But I'm so grateful.

Night 3-Sleep Training

Guess who slept all night long!!! Everybody!!!

Collins got in his crib at 7:45ish again. I should probably start a little earlier, but this is working for now. It was similar to Night 2...took 22 minutes. I don't think he shed a tear...maybe one or two. He did yell at me though. (That kid has some lungs...surely he'll be able to sing well one day, and if so, I'm taking credit!)

Jake told me this morning that he heard Collins around 1 or 1:30am, and that he told me to go in there. Apparently, I said "okay, okay," but I have no recollection of this. So I guess Collins put himself back to sleep easily!

You may remember that Jake was supposed to be the one to sleep train last night. We'd been talking about taking a casserole of some sort to the Waids sometime this week, and Jake decided to do it last night. ;) I gave him a hard time, but who can be mad at a husband who cooks AND delivers food to friends?

Tonight I'm supposed to move a little farther away, like next to the door. Collins should still be able to see me, but not touch. I predict this will be harder than the last two nights, but maybe not too bad. After seeing such improvement in this short amount of time, I'm sticking with it and doing whatever the book tells me to do! I am so thankful this is working well.

Collins woke up happy again, around 6:30am. Just a talkin' in his crib! He is so precious.

A Funny

Situation: Getting Collins ready yesterday morning. I asked Jake to get a wash cloth to wipe Collins' face. He quickly hands it to me, then...

Me: Is it warm?

Jake: ::stalls:: Well, it was. ::back in the bathroom::

Me: It was never really warm, was it Jake?

Jake: Why do you talk to me like I'm on a witness stand?!?!

Welcome to the World, Garrett Grace!

Sweet little Garrett Grace Waid was born on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 at 7:14pm. She weighed 7 lbs, 7 oz and was 20 inches long.

We're so glad to have you join us, GG, and love you already!

Night 2-Sleep Training

Last night was MUCH better initially! Really, all together. But the initial bed time was the biggest difference.

Collins didn't cry as soon as I put him in his crib. In fact, he just kind of nuzzled down and I thought, "whoa...this is awesome." But he soon figured out what was going on. He stood and we loved on each other for a while. Which, by the way, totally feels like the mama/baby scene on Dumbo that's so sad to me:




Anyway, it only took a few minutes for him to start lying down, and 18 minutes total before falling asleep!! I was so relieved.

He woke up at 3:45am and took about 10 minutes to go back down. I got in bed for about 10 minutes before he was up again...discouraging for me. That's when I started doubting and wondering if he needed something else. Like Tylenol, fresh diaper, etc. I did end up changing him b/c that thing was soaked, but I did so in the crib. I'm planning to look for night time diapers today.

That last time took about 10-15 minutes and about killed me. I think it's harder in the middle of the night because that's usually when he's easier (and sweeter!) to rock. I just loved on him and wanted to scoop him up, but knew that would confuse the heck out of him.

We had to wake up Collins this morning, so at least he's getting some good rest despite the 'trauma'! He was happy again this morning and acts as though he has no recollection of hating me ;) I think we can do this. Jake is supposed to try tonight. I know he's dreading it.

Showering Baby Hudson

The weekend of July 9th was Casey's baby shower to prepare for their little boy, Hudson Graham. Isn't that a pretty name? I love it!

The shower was at Casey and Bradley's house. Below is the hostess picture: Beth, Lanna, Casey, Christa, me, Lea, and Cheryl.

It was a fun shower and Hudson got lots of good stuff.

Tailgate picture :) Rebekah and Walker, me, Casey (and Hudson!), Ashley (and Garrett Grace!), and Beth

Can't wait to meet you, little Hudson!!!

Night 1-Sleep Training

UPDATE TO POST BELOW: After putting Collins down last night, he woke up at 9:30pm (for five minutes) and at 2:30am (for 10 minutes). Not bad! Those times were MUCH better than the first time. I know he'll cry more initially than in the middle of the night, but maybe it will get better. I could definitely tell during that 2:30 time that he is getting the hang of soothing himself. I hate, hate hearing him cry and seeing those little speckles around his sweet eyes in the morning. But I really do believe this is best and is the only way I can handle the tears AND teach him to sleep. If anyone (other than my mom...I know she did!) prayed, thank you!! It worked :)

He's down! That was horrible. But he's down.

I put him in the crib at 7:46 and he was asleep by 8:35. That's only 5 minutes longer than he usually cries when we let him cry himself to sleep.

One thing I learned the first night: to heck with the chair. I was too much on his level while he stood up, which was most of the time. For the first few minutes he didn't cry, just looked at me like I was crazy while I patted the mattress! So I got on the floor.

He cried a lot, obviously. And reached his sweet little hand out for me :( I rubbed him some and talked to him like the book suggests, but I think I'll do less of that tomorrow. It almost engages him too much and I feel badly for touching him, but not picking him up.

Collins tossed paci out twice, but I just tossed it back in. Eventually, he just quieted down and finally laid down in the crib.

It was very hard, but I expected that. I came out to find Jake in the living room about to have a heart attack. He says he can't do this. I say he has to ;)

I predict I'll be doing this again around 1am, but it's okay because I'm confident this system will work. It will be much better for him in the long run. It will be.

Prep

We just got back from a wonderfully relaxing vacation at a place called Chestnut Bay Resort. More on that when pictures are uploaded. This is a post about sleep training.

During vacation, I read the parts of Good Night, Sleep Tight that apply to Collins and us. I am prepared now. I think.

I just got finished rocking him for the last time...potentially. I even cried a tear or two thinking about my little baby. Then my fond memories and flashbacks got interrupted by my child trying to tear off my nose, ears, or jugular vein. He twisted and turned and climbed me like I was Mt. Everest. Could not get comfortable to save his soul, which is part of the reason I know it's time for sleep training. During that 30 minute restless session, he didn't open his eyes once. He wants and needs to go to sleep on his own.

According to Kim West (the author), I'm supposed to have someone other than Jake to hold me accountable and hear all my details. How about it, blog readers?! Better than boring someone at work in case they don't care but are too nice to say so. Y'all can just skip reading. Plus, I'll be ill and sleep deprived and I can sound nicer via text than in person ;)

The plan: Nights 1-3 one of us sits right next to Collins' crib in a chair and only soothes him verbally and through touch...no picking up. This is after we put him to bed "sleepy but not asleep." That's so that he doesn't wake up thinking, "wait a minute...how did I get here?" Makes total sense. Not sure how long he'll cry. I'm dreading this. The following nights we move farther and farther away until eventually (day 10 I think) we are in another room and out of his vision while he cries. Supposedly, he will only cry a few minutes that night. Supposedly. (Maybe I'm still too skeptical to try this??)

If anyone feels like praying for sanity, consistency (the KEY!), and patience, Jake and I would greatly appreciate it! Jake is in there rocking Collins right now. I came out to say I was about to start the "Shuffle" (that's the author's term, "Sleep Lady Shuffle") tonight since Collins couldn't get comfy anyway. But Daddy took over. He must be wanting one last night with a little baby too :)

Maybe blogging about the details will either a) help me go back and identify what I did wrong, or b) make for an extremely explicit testimonial. I sure hope it's the latter!

Cutie

"Check Your Front Door"

On the night of the Fourth, I got a this text message from Katie:

"Didn't want to bother y'all but check ur front door for a surprise!!!! :)"

She knows I LOVE figs and she has some trees in her back yard. She has been my fig provider for the last few summers, and I ate a LOT last year while I was pregnant. People (i.e. Jake) say too many will hurt your stomach, but that has not been the case yet. I seriously can eat this many or more in one sitting.

Katie said to think of it as a Happy Fourth of July present. Now that's a good friend!! Thank you, Katie :)

Cuteness

What a terrible picture of me, but would you just look at that little booty?! Love it!!!

Good Night, Sleep Tight

Several months ago, I vowed never again to read a book. At least not one related to how to raise or train my child. I think they have a lot of good info, but they made me crazy. I tried the suggestions and then got frustrated when they didn't work.

However...this sleep stuff has got to get worked out.

Last night was perfect. Collins went to sleep at 8pm and slept all night without a peep. I'm convinced he did that b/c he somehow knows I ordered a book online yesterday.

The night before...the Fourth of July night...he went to bed at 7pm (he was soooo tired), but woke up at 8:50pm. And stayed up for about three hours. I thought at first it may have been fire crackers waking him, but even when they stopped he didn't.

Eventually, we let him cry himself to sleep. It broke our hearts b/c it was a slightly different cry, but we were 99% sure there was absolutely nothing wrong with him.

I believe it was earlier that day that I had read an article in an old Parents magazine about the "Sleep Lady." Not that it takes much to convince me to try stuff like this (if not for limited funds, I'd buy almost anything on an infomercial), but I kind of have high hopes for Kim West's book, Good Night, Sleep Tight.

Not planning to try it just yet. Might as well read the whole book first so I'm mentally prepared.

If nothing else, I'll be able to report back as to whether this would make a better baby shower gift or compost ingredient.

Rediscovering the Pack-n-Play

There's still a smidgeon of hope we'll get our money's worth out of this thing!

First Fourth

We didn't shoot fireworks this year. Not even a sparkler. We didn't go to a party or have dinner with friends. We did eat some BBQ courtesy of Jake, but that was all. I think it must have been the most low key Fourth we've ever had, but somehow it was the best. Wonder why that could be? ;)

Weekend with M & P

MawMaw and PawPaw came over Friday night and stayed through Saturday (and MawMaw let me sleep through the night since she got up with CDG!)

Saturday morning, Collins and I went with them to IHop for brunch. It was really good and Collins discovered he kinda likes the taste of syrupy pancakes (only a little taste)! Jake and Papa were in Philadelphia, MS at the Hank Williams, Jr. concert, so he missed the IHop outing.

Afterwards, we went to the Discount Golf store for PawPaw, then to the mall to get MawMaw some makeup and shoes.



When we got back home, Collins somehow convinced MawMaw to push him around the house in a box. Then he and I took a nap. I love naps.



Then we went for a dip in the pool. Collins loved it and
I'm pretty sure M & P did, too :)

Play Date With Grammy

Photos taken last week during Grammy's "vacation" at Collins' house :)