NAME OF THE WEEK

BELLE PEPPER. that's right, she's our lil pep pep! just thought i would share an interesting "proverb" that i realized today. when i get up to feed belle at 4 in the morning, i'm usually really tired and wanna say "lets hurry this thing up so we can get back to sleep." but here recently, she has this affect on me that makes me not want to go back to bed! the last two nights, while i am changing her diaper, i look at her and she just opens her mouth soooo big and starts smiling! i'm like, "good grief child, youre amazing!" which made me realize sometime this afternoon...with sacrifice comes great reward. even though i sacrifice sleep at 4am to feed my lil baby girl, the reward of her health, her love, her smiles, her looks and her cuddles sooo outweighs and covers any "sacrifice" of sleep and comfort that i have. i think this is true spiritually as well....the sacrificing might hurt big time but in light of the reward, it's so small. i also have realized that our lil belle pepper is gonna be a hard one to get out of bed when she's a teenager...maybe something like my mom experienced with me!

Also, the last few days we have experienced the 45 minute intruder. we have been following the book, "baby wise" on getting our lil pep on a schedule. it has been a life saver for me. it enables me to plan (as much as you can with a baby) and it enables her to get the sleep she needs! Her schedule is pretty right on..within half an hour...but usually right on. well, she had been waking up real early in her naps and crying...like a hunger cry. at first i was wondering if maybe she was getting sick...but after this happening twice today, i remembered the 45 minute intruder and got the book out. surprisingly, it talked about this certain growth spurt where the exact thing happens AND it usually happens between 7 and 8 weeks...which is exactly where she is. it's just so nice to know what is going on and that i dont have to freak out. one thing i'm learning as a mother....nothing lasts forever...and it will probably only last a few days...so chill out! another great thing about baby wise is that when she cries, most the time i know why. it takes a lot of the guessing out. i know that if she already ate ( a full meal)...i tell her i'm no snack machine, and she is dry...she must be tired...or she needs her alone time...which usually happens when she is tired. sometimes she gets tired of being around pple and being held and she enjoys just herself (and the Lord) in her crib. today b/c her schedule is off cause of the "intruder," i laid her in her crib thinking she has got to be completely wiped out...and she was in there for at least 1 hour and 15 mins totally awake and completely content!
so anyway, that's enough with the updates:)
(mom and dad, do you remember how small she was in her bumbo when you were here? look at her now!)