In The Midst of It

2 1/2 weeks of jury duty down, 3 1/2 to go (give or take). We're nice and burnt out by now, if you can imagine. But I try to shake things up pretty regularly by writing surprise messages on the bathroom mirror or having a nice dessert ready when Sean gets home, going shopping with Milo, or going on walks with the dog and boy. I hope to go to a park later today with the kids and hopefully all goes well there. It's starting to get nice and spring-y here so we're really itching to get out.

Also we're in the midst of sleep-training. And although things started out kinda rough, I really feel like there's progress being made! Here is the article where I got most of the ideas I'm trying to implement.
Basically:

• We have a routine and wind-down time before each sleep period including reading books, singing or listening to slow songs, cuddling as much as Milo wants, and ocean noises. 
• I sit in the rocker within his view and sing a couple more songs then just sit quietly while he gets comfortable.
• No more picking him up at night because that just wakes him up more. 
• At night, I go in and do similar to the normal routine but sometimes give him a smaller bottle if he's going crazy.

He fell asleep without any rocking or much fussing for the first time just now and I'm on cloud 9! I'm so praying that it's actually progress and not just a fluke. It took me about 30 minutes both times he woke up last night to put him back down and that's not bad compared to the 40 minutes it was taking to rock him and feed him before. Plus he's eating more during the day so night feedings should be unnecessary besides to calm him down. YAY! 

This weekend we're putting a hitch on the car (something Sean's wanted to do for a while, plus our car is already super prepared for it) in preparation for our first road trip/camping excursion this summer. I can't tell you how much I've research and researched and planned and made lists already and it's still like 4 1/2 months away. I have a list of ideas for things to include in future lists. I know camping with a baby is a tricky thing, especially since we'll already be so far away from home, so I want to be super-ready for it. We're renting a camper because, honestly, I'm not a great fan of camping and anything to make it better I will do. Plus baby reasons. 

I'm always excited for trips to MN but this will be our first time driving with a baby! Good news is, though, that he is a really good car sleeper, so the first 12 hours of driving (hahahaha I know) will - hopefully - be a breeze and the next ~10 won't be bad. Plus, if anything happens, we have a spare day planned in case we need to stay in a hotel for a night and we've done this trip without a kid several times so we know the way pretty well. And Strider is coming along, so we'll just have to see. 

I'm super excited to see all our friends and family! All the Donner kids haven't been together ever with all the spouses and kids, so it's going to be extra exciting! We love family! And Milo just keeps getting more fun every day so I can only imagine what kinds of things he'll be doing. #yikes

PLUS! It's going to be Milo's 1st BIRTHDAY! WHAT?! How is that coming so fast? I almost can't even handle it. He's starting to push himself forward (not exactly crawling because it's with his toes and more of an army crawl) and be mad when I take things away from him. He gets sad almost every night we have to leave dad at work for a few more hours after dinner.

Anyway, I'm sure you're done hearing about how over the moon I am about this kid. HAH. I love him. And You.

Love, Miss Ellen

P.S. I FORGOT TO MENTION! Milo is getting ANOTHER cousin in just a couple months! Congrats, Jeremiah and Kayla! We can't wait for Baby Boy!