Week In Review: Jan 6 2013

The start of the new year is often a time for reflection, resolutions, goal setting, determining the aim of the upcoming year, etc. Since we had a nice long ride home from Florida over the holidays we discussed somethings we would like to accomplish, some habits we would like to form and some goals we would like to achieve, some personal, some as a family. 
One of the things we struggled with last year was Eli's sleeping and napping habits. I have read and re-read books, attempted numerous changes and celebrated small victories of 4 hrs stretches while enduring months and months of getting 1.5-3 hr stretches of sleep at night. Even though I do a ton of research for most things related to Eli, I attempt to hold most beliefs pretty loosely. I was really committed to the no-cry sleeping method but as much as we tried, it just wasnt working.  Not only was Eli not sleeping, he was crying a lot even if I held him because guess what... kids that dont sleep usually get over tired and cry.  So all of this is to say, we modified our nap and sleep method, we adjusted our bedtime routine so that we no longer end on nursing but instead by reading, praying, cuddling and even light playing and then I put Eli down while he is still awake.  The hard part is the rule we made... I can't go back in.  Once he is down, he is down until it is time to get up. The first two nights were not that bad, night three was awful but I think its because he is getting some teeth combined with some short naps. I do miss our middle of the night cuddles, especially since Eli is so active during the day he never cuddles but I am just having to accept our new normal. 
One day while Eli was napping I tipped toed in to capture this cute little picture:

This is his new position, he sits and looks around then face plants and falls asleep. He slept like this for an hour. 
Here are some other highlights from the week:

Monday we unpacked all of Eli's new toys, then we spent New Years Eve with friends (didnt take any pictures for some reason):

Tuesday Eli finally started crawling properly... no more army crawl, he is up on his hands and knees.
Wednesday Eli had his first bath in the tub and not his baby tub. Bobby decided to give him a mohawk in celebration:

Thursday we took Eli on a shopping spree with his Christmas gift cards.  I held up things and then bought the one he grabbed first... it was fun. And he now has his pair of chucks (uncle dj will like that).
Friday Eli had a little melt down in the childcare of the Y, for some reason he didnt want to be put down, which is really unusually since he likes to "walk" around things all the time. It was only his second time being in there so hopefully it will get better.
Saturday we signed up for swim lessons at the Y, which start next week. 
Sunday, he got to wear one of his new outfits to church (excuse the drool, he was chewing on his car seat straps). Here he is waiting for some first time guest to show up:

 We hope you had a great week!