In the name of all that is good, TAKE A NAP

Last Tuesday I met my friend Tricia (we were in the same pregnancy group) and her son, Kieran, for a shopping trip to H&M. It was totally fun and just what we needed--some socialization and a break from Baumholder. Shaking up Evie's schedule can be a dangerous thing, however.

We actually operate pretty loosely when it comes to following a specific schedule--I basically follow Evelyn's lead as far as timing goes, but we do have a general pattern. It usually goes something like: wake, eat, play, sometimes other random activity, sleep, repeat. But from last Tuesday to this Monday, Evie's pattern when more like this:

Wake
Eat
Play
NOT SLEEP
Get cranky
NOT SLEEP
Play
Eat
NOT SLEEP
Repeat

Did I mention, NOT SLEEP? The child did not take a nap on her own between the hours of 8 am and 10 pm ONCE in almost an entire week. I almost lost my mind. She would sleep, after she was totally exhausted, but ONLY on my lap after nursing herself into a drunken slumber and she would wake immediately if I tried to displace her.

I tried everything to get the kid to sleep last week. Everything. Nothing seemed to work, and I can only say THANK GOODNESS that she seems to have settled back into her usual routine. It's amazing how little you're able to accomplish in a day when you don't have any baby-free time. By the time she went to bed at night, I was so exhausted I couldn't bring myself to do anything other than stumble to bed myself.

The past couple of days she's been taking not one, but TWO entire naps! It's beyond amazing. It's miraculous. I hardly know what to do with myself.

Of course, she randomly has started waking at 2 am...

Thank goodness...

I stumbled upon this article today in the New York Times. It basically says that a little dirt is good for babies because it helps build a strong immune system. All I have to say is, THANK GOODNESS because otherwise Evelyn would be kinda screwed. I have a lot of strengths, but keeping things really clean is just not one of them. We certainly don't live in a pig stye, and I'm rarely really embarrassed at the state of the apartment if an unannounced guest pops by, but I wouldn't win any awards for dusting or mopping. This has sort of begun to worry me a bit, thinking of Evelyn crawling around everywhere some time in the ever-nearing future. I need to begin baby-proofing in earnest and will certainly put forth more of an effort to get the floors clean(er), but it's nice to know that my cleaning ineptness is, in fact, good for Evie's immune system.

Illustration Friday: Climbing

I'm almost too late to get in for this week's Illustration Friday topic! I started a class online this week, so that's taken priority and Evelyn has been a bit cranky the past few days, requiring extra attention. Here I am, staying up WAY too late, though, because I really wanted to do this drawing.

This idea, originally featured two dwarves climbing up her hair. There was a mountain goat standing on her head as well. I ended up changing them to just a squirrel....because that makes more sense?

I wish I had more time to work on Mr. Squirrel. The lady I got more or less what I was aiming for. Squirrely could use some work, but not as much as I could use some sleep.