Our Dapper Dog

Casey has got into the sewing spirit as well. He had a tie that was too long on him, so we finally trimmed off the end. He, being the green spirit that he is ;) did not want to waste and insisted that we "reduce reuse and recycle!" He decided that he would "reuse" the excess material to craft a handsome tie for our beagle. Doesn't he look charming?

My sweet little baby girl turned 1 yesterday. As all mother's say on their child's first birthday, "I can't believe it came so fast." She is turning into the most curious, life-enjoying little person. I've loved watching her learn new things as the months pass on. Who knew that with each new milestone, we as parents would be so completely proud and amazed at our daughter's growth. I'm not going to lie; being a mother is the hardest thing I've ever done. It's so draining to be on 24 hour on-call service day after day after day. Sometimes I say to myself, "Next baby is going to be bottle-fed from the start," as I imagine myself fast asleep at 3 am while Casey tends to the little one. But then bedtime comes, and my little baby reaches for my hair to twirl and caresses my face as she eats, and I once again cherish my time with her. Never before has a person caused so much frustration and anger in me. Really, she has caused some major meltdowns on my end. But on the other end of emotions, I am so attached and reliant and completely devoted to my sweet child. She is beautiful. She is vibrant. She has a smile that will make you ahhh. She's my little Maddie Cakes.

5. 5 Dollar. 5 Dollar Foot Loooongs.

5 More Things...

5 things I was doing 5 years ago...
1. Recently graduated from college in Virginia.
2. Finishing up my softball career in our last tournament in Georgia :(
3. Preparing to spend the summer alone in L.A. for my internship.
4. Checking out my brand new cell phone my mom got me for graduation.
5. Driving from VA to AZ with my best pal Brindi. We took the southern route and spent time in New Orleans, canoeing with alligators and eating delicious food.

5 things on my to-do list today...
1. It's 4:00, so I've done most of my list: folded and put away laundry done yesterday, cleaned kitchen, and did some sewing.
2. Watch the season finale of Biggest Loser. We don't watch the show until the last episode because we like to see the dramatic losses.
3. Watch Casey play some indoor soccer.
4. Perhaps go for a jog at the track if my husband permits me to run at night.
5. I need to read more.

5 things I would do with a million dollars.
1. Pay off all debt.
2. Go to Chandler Mall and shop at all the expensive stores (by expensive I mean more than $30 for a pair of jeans)
3. Hire a personal trainer.
4. Get my husband a new car or truck.
5. Buy a small business that does graphic design, printing and screen printing.

5 places I have lived...
1. St. Johns, AZ
2. Flagstaff, AZ
3. Buena Vista, VA
4. Los Angeles, CA
5. Orem, UT

5 things I want to be doing in 5 years...
1. Sending Maddie to school.
2. Tending a small baby boy (my son).
3. Being able to move to a new home with Casey settling into a career.
4. Developing a new hobby like gardening or mountain biking.
5. Watching Maddie play tee ball.

Thank You!

Thanks to all who were so thoughtful to leave a comment. I really appreciate your advice. I haven't yet tested any new methods, but for some odd reason, my child slept sooo well last night. I put her down at 9:30, she woke up at 5 am but I got her to go back to sleep. She didn't wake up again until 8:30. Amazing! Maybe she got on the computer and saw my pleas for help and decided to take it easy on Mom. We're going to do everything exactly the same as we did last night to see if it works again.
Again, thank you so much for the much needed advice.

Help!

So I know there are a lot of mommies out there, and I'm in desperate need of your experience. I would venture to say that of all mommy frustrations, sleep issues are at the top. That's the definite case in our home. Little Miss Maddie has to be nursed to sleep, which is a big problem in itself. (I FEAR weaning this child). But she also wakes up 3 times a night, about every 2-3 hours. She won't go back to sleep unless I nurse her back to sleep. Then she thinks it's fun to wake up at 6am. Everywhere I read it says that babies her age (11 months) should be getting 11-14 hours of sleep a night. She gets maybe 7-10. I've tried letting her cry it out to see if she will just fall asleep on her own, but after so long I just can't handle it. And when I do go in to get her she's standing up in her crib just screaming at the door. Of course she can't soothe herself when she's upright! Does anyone have ANY advice for me? I'm pretty desperate, and am tired of doing online searches.