Emily pretty much owns the family room now as there is no nook she has not explored. She likes to marvel at the glass doors to the fireplace, but cannot figure out why they won't open (heh, Dad put safety locks on em and that's the end of that!). Yep, I remembered to remove the key handle for the gas valve too, and sure enough she was over yesterday looking and poking at the valve slot with her fingers for sure :)
On to silly things. Emily is pretty good about taking naps at regular intervals and generally is cooperative when we detect the familiar cues for "tired" (rubs ears, rubs forehead, rubs eyes, demonstrates neediness). There are those occasions when I know she is tired and she knows she is tired, but she rebels at taking a nap and does not want to go into her crib.
Well, last week, I let her win one of these "time to nap" episodes and let her stay up and play for a bit longer as she seemed to be really enjoying herself and fussed at the idea of going upstairs for a nap. So, I am in the dining area of our kitchen about 10 feet away....Busily working away on some email correspondence (a work from home dad on Mondays you see) and all of a sudden it gets real quiet over where Emily was totally noisy playing a few minutes earlier. So I lift my head a bit to check out what's going on and what she is doing and what do I see.... a baby zonked out asleep on the floor! I guess she just could not hold on any longer even though she was chattering, and squealing and playing away with some of her favorite toys. So of course I have to run and get the camera (I learned this behavior from Jeff Trapnell by the way,
By the time I run to get the camera and come back, she has rolled over from her flat-out on the back sleeping pose, into her more familiar and common sleeping position (over on one side 2/3 toward belly position). Now I know she is really zonked as this is the deep sleep position she prefers these days. Anyway... I snapped some pictures... sent one off to Nancy at work so she could see this silliness... and then put a blanket over her and resume working until I hear sounds of waking. This turned out to be one of her famous "power naps" where she does about 30 minutes of deep sleep and then pops up ready for a new load of play and mischief. So she pops awake, looks around, and picks back up where she left off on toys. Heh, life is good as a baby I guess :)
The Morning Routine:
As working parents, Nancy and I of course have needed to get into a morning routine that works for us, and includes Emily as well. It took a few weeks to get in the groove, but now all three of us are pretty well in sync and in a working routine.
Wake-up time - no need for alarm clock any more, Emily does that for us by popping up between 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning. She begins to play in her crib and within minutes either Nancy or I hear her playful noises and chatter and pop up to go say good morning, change diaper, and make a bottle of morning milk. Most often I will pop up and say good morning and change diaper while Nancy prepares the bottle. Nancy then feeds Emily while I either go back start my morning routine.
Prep-For-Work time - some days we place Emily in her crib with toys while we get ready for work. Other days, we bring Emily to our room and build a little pillow fortress around her on the bed while we get ready. It mostly depends on Emily's mood (some days she very much wants to be with us and see us). The little pillow fortress has become a routine in the mornings, and is very much needed now that she is mobile and willing to crawl across open terrain. If Emily is in her fortress, then we put on the Sprout Channel so she can catch a few minutes of Kipper or Tele-Tubbies (she loves any program where there is singing, no singing.. well no care about program then :) )Final-Prep to leave for work - The three of us will then go downstairs where Emily will play in the family room (her main play ground these days) while Nancy and I do whatever else is needed to get ready for work (pack a lunch, pack up computer, etc. etc.). Then we load up in the car and off we go. Emily stays with her grand parents (Nancy's parents) during the day time while we are at work. It is only about two blocks away to grand parents house, so it is a short ride and Emily knows the routine right down to the familiar trees outside grandparents home. Some days she is ready and willing to go in to see grandpa and grandma. Other days, we get a little shake of the head (noooooo) but she succumbs to grandparents smiles and hugs almost immediately.
All in all, we have found the morning routine to work well these days. Emily is a wonderful little girl. Very interactive, and very willing to "work with us" on the daily routines.
This week Emily goes to the Drs office for her next regular check up. I'll post about this later in the week.
More baby news later..... same channel.
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