Every child must have at least one Mooommmmmmmmm-worthy photo in their album. Here’s one for my Peanut.
I can’t get over how much pudge she has on her now, compared to just weeks ago! Must be time to get taller AGAIN. Grow baby, grow!
Maya’s discovering more benefits of her newfound mobility:
Pulling CDs off the entertainment center shelves.
Oh! The camera!
Racing toward Mama to grab that shiny silver thing out of her hands.
Finding new places to “camp” out.
I snapped this one while on the phone…I heard an unfamiliar sound behind me, and there she was!
Yet, through it all, she’s still an angel, really. Just look at that sweet sleepy girl with milk on the side of her mouth. She’s just perfect.
While Maya and I have made many visits to Palmer Park, we hadn’t yet done any “real” hikes together until today. This morning, we hit Section 16 and the Palmer-Redrock Loop. This trail is one I stumbled upon during a business trip to Colorado Springs the summer before I moved here, and in some ways, I think that hike sealed the deal that I’d eventually move here (or at least somewhere not FLAT like Houston).
Topo map of the trail — I start at the top right arrow, and make a complete counter-clockwise circle (roads connect the two trailheads).
Here’s a description of the hike, except I do it from the right side to the left, opposite of the description here. This info covers from arrow to arrow — doesn’t include the linkup on the roads.
Trailhead — about a five-minute drive from my condo.
The pups enjoy some offleash time as we start on the first, relatively innocuous part of the trail. This won’t last for long.
Just look at the sorts of rock formations we pass. It’s a gorgeous, clear day, and it’s early enough that the (soon to become) oppressive heat hasn’t hit yet.
Within the first 10-15 minutes, Maya’s OUT. My theory is that I hiked enough while pregnant that she finds the movement calming now.
FINALLY, I can see blue sky above the hillside! By this point, we’ve gained more than 1000 feet in altitude over the space of 1.5 miles, and I’m dying.
After we hit the top of the first big climb, Little Miss decided to wake. She quickly learned how the Camelbak worked…sort of. She still hasn’t gotten that whole “sucking” think down (go figure), so for her to drink, I’d bend over and squeeze the mouthpiece just over her mouth. (Funny…I give the dogs water the same way!) After a sputtering false start, she got the hang of it, and learned that if she wanted water, she could just grab the hose, and I’d figure it out.
Flowers along the trail.
View to the east about halfway through the loop — that’s the city down below, giving you an idea of how high we climbed!
We reach Hunter’s Run, a small stream feeding into Bear Creek. The dogs are delighted to drink heavily (instead of waiting for me to Camelbak them), and I pray that they don’t encounter giardia.
View back down the trail over the stream bridge.
Hiking is such strenuous work, Maya decides to rest a little more. I keep plodding along — no rest for the wicked, you know.
More flowers along the trail — these grew in large patches. They’re actually the same flowers as I have in my garden, just much, much, smaller and more plentiful.
Ah, High Drive…we finally pass the higher trailhead and make our way along the road back to the car at the lower trailhead. The dogs are *definitely* leashed by now — day-trippers often zoom down this road after a drive in the mountains forgetting about us unsuspecting hikers!
Back at the Jeep, Maya’s just waking up again, and I’m HOT. Not only did I have a baby on the front of me, I had a Camelbak on the back of me…not a whole lot of breathing space! After this first (real) hike, I realize that a frame backpack is in my immediate future.
I turned on the car to hear the CD player pick up on Toby Lightman singing “Angels and Devils,” and laughed when I realized it’d been stuck in my head the entire hike… walk on, walk on, keep my feet movin’ on…walk on, walk on… How…appropriate, eh?
We wandered around town through the afternoon, and I picked up a pack from REI that actually has space built in for a hydration bladder. Even after all that naptime during the hike (and in the car while running errands), Maya STILL fell asleep in the frame backpack during a test-drive. Yeah, that passes the baby test.
After she was dressed (but before I was…what can I say, I was reading email!), Maya crawled across the living room to say good morning to the pups.
Um…would you put the camera down and take me out to PEE already, lady???
For a first experiment with paint-it-yourself pottery, it didn’t turn out too bad…although I can see how I’ll do this differently next time. 
Since we’re doing the Fathers Day thing tonight (Dad flies out for biz tomorrow), I think it’s safe enough to throw these up now.
The girls at the pottery shop thought the butterfly idea from Maya’s hands was just too precious, and said they’ll add it to their idea book. (yay, me…it seemed obvious to me)
Back on the topic of today’s earlier post, a gal on the September Mommies group posted this article about one family’s struggle to help their son sleep through the night. The methods sound similar to those of the No Cry Sleep Solution (which I’ve been *meaning* to re-read), and I decided to give it a try.
First of all, Maya DID eat earlier than usual today, and at this particular meal, ate a full 4 ounces of peach-mango-applesauce, followed by what’s I’d estimate to be at LEAST 8 ounces of oatmeal. After that, she had a bath, a good poop (poor kid had been fighting for it all day), and a change of clothing. She played around for a little while, then it got to be about that time…so she nursed, and as she started to nod off, I told her it was time for bed.
This was 7:30pm.
We walked to the bedroom, and I laid her down in the crib. As is her norm, she started to cry and fuss. I talked to her gently, telling her that it was night-night time, and offered her a pacifier. Bingo. She went to sleep.
8:00pm…baby awake.
I went to the crib’s side and coaxed her, stroked her back, gave her some cold meds (we’ve both been itchy/sneezy today — allergies?), and gave her some motrin when she started pulling on her ears (could be teething, could be ears - note to self: ask doctor next week).
An HOUR later, she’s finally back to sleep. My back is a bit sore from bending over the crib.
Surely, this can work. After all, at her grandparents’ house, she’s learned that when it’s between 7-8pm, it’s time to sleep, and she does so with only a few minutes of fussing (that used to be worse). She can learn to do the same here, right?
It’s not that I mind cosleeping. Really, there’s very little that could possibly be more charming that waking up to a smiling baby grabbing your nose and waiting for you to go “HONK!” in return. She laughs at me, and we slowly start the day. Just the same, she rolls into me, and I really would love to sleep on my back…or my belly…or any other way than on my side. Is that too much to ask?
We’ll see how this works.
After chasing Maya around the house (she’s getting faster every day!), I heard a noise at the sliding door…and my neighbor’s niece (I think?) came to say hello to the doggies, then the baby.
After seeing this photo, I think it might be time to get the noseprints off the window, no?
My mommy group friends are well aware of our “issues” with Maya’s sleeping in the evenings. Ever since she started teething hard, she doesn’t want to sleep in her crib once bedtime hits. On me, fine. In the crib, not-so-fine. She can be out cold, but as soon as she’s within inches of the crib mattress, she wakes up. MAD.
Last night, instead of nursing, she was playing…and wanting to nibble on my nipple (OUCH).
“Bedtime!” I told her in a cheery voice.
We wandered off to the crib, and I sat (rather than laid) her down. “G’night, Peanut!”
Holding my breath, I left the room, and left my bedside lamp on its dimmest setting, so if she wasn’t ready to doze, she could see enough to play on her own. Within minutes, she started to fuss and cry. It wasn’t the all-out-my-heart-is-broken wail, so I left her alone. After about 10 minutes, just as I was about to grab her…silence. Baby had gone to sleep!
Perhaps 1-1/2 hours later, I heard a cry. Before I finished what I’d been working on, the cry ceased again. Hooray!
Later still, off to bed with me. As I peeked into the crib, here’s what I saw.
That’s a FOOT next to Maya’s head, people.
My poor baby had fallen asleep SITTING UP, CRYING. *sniff*
Amazingly, she was sleeping really soundly in this awkward position. I debated leaving her as is, but thinking of how sore *my* back would be after sleeping like this, I just couldn’t do it. After stretching her legs out from underneath her, I went to bed.
Yes, she still ended up in bed with me later, but I have no idea what time…without contacts, reading the clock is a challenge.
Photo evidence of Maya’s recent spurt. In the left photo, she’s stretched out about as tall/long as she can be. In the right one, she’s slumped, and her legs are bent.
With her newfound mobility, Maya chases the dogs around.
