Our Life

There's something so special about doing exactly what you've always wanted to do. I don't want to forget it, so let me tell you about what a day looks like for us. 

Parley usually wakes up around (within an hour of) 7:30. He's happy and being rolly polly baby in his crib but starting to get impatient to squak loud enough to wake me up. He eats, and then we play for about an hour. I've fallen asleep on the floor next to him a few times in more tired mornings. He'll fall back asleep and sleep in his crib for about an hour. I usually take a nap at the same time. 

After that, his naps are much less predictable. He'll go about 1.5-3 hours between naps and sleeps anywhere from 20 minutes to 2.5 hours. If he sleeps in his crib, they are usually about 45 minutes. When he sleeps, I work on my job and thesis, cook and clean, and hang out with Nikki. I love all those things. When he's awake, we play, cook and clean, and hang out with Nikki. Also love those. :) I talk on the phone to lots of my family every day which also makes me happy. I miss them. 

His play is changing as he gets older. He's been really into rolling over and can roll from his back to his tummy all by himself. He can't roll back yet, but he's trying. Today, we took a team bath, and I wrapped him in his towel and was getting out. Quick as anything, he rolled over, plum naked. He was so proud of himself. He's been way more vocal, cooing so cute when he's happy and squaking when he gets impatient. He loves super baby and going on walks around. He gets really interested in picture books and loves his daily call with his grandparents. He tolerates walks and likes the carrier way more when he gets to face outward. Recently, he has hated riding in the car. 

He spits up so often, so he gets lots of new outfits, and we do a lot of laundry. We've been trying to eat healthier and have had fun cooking. Most days, right before dinner, Nikki hangs out with Parley, and I go on a 10 minute run. It's really hot but also beautiful and so nice to go outside. I'm excited for it to get cooler so I can hang out with Parley outside more. After dinner, we take a bath. He's often pretty fussy by this time of night, but as soon as he realizes bath time is coming, he grins and grins. Once we get in, he smiles some but mostly gets so relaxed. We have a great time. He has cradle cap, so we put lots of creams on his head, and he always smiles at that, too. 

A huge blessing of these few weeks is that Nikki isn't busy with classes yet. It's my favorite thing in the whole world watching him with Parley. They have so much fun and get into all kinds of trouble. I invented rhino baby where I rush up to Nikki while holding Parley so Parley can kick his dad. They've turned it against me! They try to scare me, too. Nikki has been trying to give Parley pointers on rolling back over, but Parley won't listen. He's an independent baby and does things his own way. He can't hide how much he loves his dad though. When I'm feeding him and Nikki walks in and says something, Parley always jerks off and looks up, trying to find his dad. It's so precious.  I also have so much fun talking with Nikki and working with him on our house. I am so, very blessed to have him. 

It's still a big process to get Parley to sleep for the night. We'll read stories and walk around and sing. He's been falling asleep anywhere from 7:30-9:30. About half the time, he has a few false starts before it sticks. But then, he's been having massive chunks of sleep! He'll sleep and sleep until 2:30-4:30 in the morning. It's so nice to have evenings. I finish little cleaning things, talk with Nikki-- read scriptures and sometimes watch movies together, and get ready for bed. For so long, I went to bed as soon as I possibly could after Parley did for survival, and it's nice not to have to do that anymore. 

When he wakes up in the night, I feed him, and he usually goes right back to sleep. Occasionally he'll be too excited, and we'll hang out for about an hour before he's ready to sleep. Then we both sleep until about 7:30, and we do it all over again. 

It's a good life. I'm so in love with Nikki and obsessed with Parley. Being a mom is wonderful.