so much to say

i'm in kind of a bummer mood right now. we tried to go to a PEPS orientation tonight, but arden was screaming/crying in her carseat. she wouldn't calm down like she usually does in the car. we got at most 10 mins from the house. it felt like an eternity, and we decided to turn around. also, anna is feeling crappy. i think she is finally getting the cold arden and i had/have.

i'm determined to be in a better mood by the end of this post, but excuse me will i ramble for a bit. have you ever been mad at your baby? actually please don't tell me that you haven't. that will just make me feel like the worst mother. now, i don't mean that you are actually, truly mad at your baby. but frustrated. flummoxed. you're upset because your plans go awry and you can't do anything about it. but you think about it being caused by the baby. (and yes i realize i'm deflecting all of these emotions right now by using non-personal language) anyways. arden was upset, anna is sick, and i'm tired. spoiled evening. there, that's done with.

good stuff. hmm. arden happily went into the ergo today when we headed out for a walk. just the two of us. no puppy. we went to the library to pay a past-due fee (oops). then, she peacefully fell asleep. i thought she was just licking my shirt, a new favorite past-time, but she had dozed off face pressed into my boob :) we walked to a coffee shop in the neighborhood (about 15 mins away). she slept, i talked with my dad, she woke. we went into the shop and i ordered a sandwich. i intended to get it to go because she will often fuss after waking up on a walk. but she just chilled in my lap. i fed her with no issues, too. then it was back in the ergo when i finished eating. again she fell asleep, and slept 1/2 an hour. awesome :) it was a truly relaxing time and i shared it with arden.

she is doing so much now. she loves to sit up (assisted of course). we talk with each other. she seems to like books. she is definitely grabbing at things. her moves are still a bit spastic, but i think they are slowly smoothing out. i can make her giggle, but she doesn't always laugh at the same thing. i find that interesting. she's a mover and a shaker:) funny story: usually when she takes a shower with just one of us, we'll put her in the bouncy seat right next to the tub. we'll quickly do our shower stuff, then bring her in. when i took a shower with her earlier this week, i did the usual routine. as i'm rinsing off the soap, i hear a light thunk-thunk noise. i thought she was kicking the tub. i open the curtain and, low and behold, she is half out of the bouncy. she was kicking the floor not the tub. er, oops, guess we need to strap her in all the time now :)

we set up the pack-n-play in our living room recently. i wish we had done it sooner. it has a top area thingy that you hook up so you aren't putting the baby down low. it also has a bar across the top for toys. we attached a little sun that plays music and flashes lights. she loves it. she'll lay in there chewing away on the rings hanging down from the bar and kick-kick-kick. i can easily do some chores while she just chills.

i didn't do another sleep update after those two wonderful nights we had last week. arden returned to her usual sleep routine. it's ok. tiring still, even though it's better than when she was a newborn. she's staying awake more during the day. her naps are usually only as much as 1/2 an hour long. although she did sleep 3 hours this past saturday, but i chalk that up to her cold.

arden and i are going to fly to boise in the middle of march to see my mom and sister. my brother is even flying in from indiana. he hasn't met arden yet. i'm wicked excited to see everyone. i'm nervous about flying though. i would love to hear any tips for flying with a baby. it's only an hour long, but i worry about her ears. should/can i breastfeed during take off and landing to help her? does that actually help? any tips for going through security? what do i do with the carseat?

right i just remembered the social worker visit. it went fine. she was very nice. she just came in, sat on the couch and asked us questions. she wanted to know about our relationship (when we got together, moved in together, got married). did we understand what this adoption actually meant in terms of rights. the only thing that ended up actually being stressful was our dog :) she gets so excited when people come over. she thinks they're there for her. now, we just wait for the social worker to file her report. then, we set up a time to go before a judge with our attorney. good times :)

well, i think that's it. i hope everyone is doing well out there. even if i'm not writing consistently i am checking blogs. ok, ok, i admit i refresh my bloglist like 20 times a day :) hey, i like to know what's going on out there.