Breakthrough

Last night Katie hit a big milestone that I have been anxiously longing for. For the first time in her life she slept through the night! This is the first time since November 8, 2009 (the day before I went into labor) that I got 6 hours of consecutive, uninterrupted sleep! Ahh, does it feel good! I must thank my friend Katie Earman for helping us get on a good daytime/nap schedule. Who knew that babies sleep better at night when they get MORE sleep during the day?

We've been waiting for this since mid-November. The first few nights at home with Katie were rough; she was up almost every hour. A few days after she was born Andrew had to run to a nearby Home Depot to pick up some materials for a simple home improvement project. An hour passed and I hadn't heard from him so I started to get worried. Finally, he called to say that he had been roaming the aisles and couldn't make any decisions. Desperate, he almost bought something totally unnecessary and four times more expensive than what we needed. He eventually managed to call his Dad, who talked him through the purchase. Apparently, this is a condition called "baby brain drain." It's amazing what lack of sleep will do to you!

The key to a good night's sleep!

Smiles At Bath Time

This Really Can't Be Comfortable

Sing-a-long In Action

We've been having some trouble posting video, but this is too cute not to try. Hopefully it will work this time!

Sing-a-long

Since we began dating Andrew has tried to get me to sing with him. He is a wonderful singer and guitar player and likes to do it often, but unfortunately for him, I am not confident in my singing abilities and only do it when I am sufficiently drowned out (in other words, in my car, with the music up very loud, by myself).

Now, finally, he has someone to sing with! Since Katie has found her voice she will coo along with him as he plays and sings. It is the sweetest sound! We tried to get it on video but we're having trouble loading it on here (sorry to everyone who tried to play our previous post but couldn't) so pictures will have to do. I'm also posting some other recent shots of our darling little girl.

Back to Virginia

Nine years ago, when Andrew entered a doctoral program at the University of Virginia, only God knew that his work would one day lead our family just over the Blue Ridge Mountains to a job at my alma mater, James Madison University. Yesterday he accepted an offer from JMU to begin work this Fall as a professor of U.S. history. We're grateful to have found such a good job in such a bad job market and thrilled to be moving closer to our friends in central Virginia. As you can see, even Katie is happy about the move. She's already started wearing JMU apparel and palling around with JMU's mascot, the Duke Dog.

Go Dukes!

These Days

Our little Katie is growing up fast! She turned 10 weeks old on Tuesday and we just took her for her 2 month appointment this week. She now weighs about 12 pounds and is 23 1/2 inches long, putting her in the 75th percentile for height and weight. She continues to be a great nurser, but unfortunately not a great sleeper. I am still waking up at least 2 times every night but apparently this is normal for breastfed babies; her little tummy is still too small to hold enough to tide her over for the whole night. She is able to lift up her head for longer periods of time and is incredibly alert; she's always gazing intently around the room. Her eyes are a beautiful deep shade of blue and her smile still melts my heart. One thing that makes her smile and squeal in delight is when Andrew moves her arms and legs while making silly sounds, almost like rapping. She loves her daddy!

Katie really is a good-natured baby, not too fussy and very flexible. We feel so blessed that she is our little girl!