02/08 3eme semaine/ 3rd week

Cette image a ete prise a New-York, vendredi dernier, dans une tempete de neige, qui a bien failli nous coince la pour la fin de notre semaine. Avec 400 m de visi, et un plafond a 100 m, dans une neige qui n'arrettait pas de tomber, nous avons bien failli ne jamais partir. Bien que nous soyons arrive a l'aeroport a 6 hrs du matin, ca n'est que vers 2 hrs de l'apres midi que nous avons enfin reussit a decoller, destination la Floride, alors evidement, on etait plutot content de partir!

Miracle of miracles finally do happen. Florence finally sleeps in her crib for all naps and nighttime. And, most importantly, without fuss. Only took a week. Well, nine months and one week. Was a combo of "extended womb experience" as one set of parents called it, and the simple fact that she is a very light sleeper - like her Dad. She is so darn sensitive to movement and sound. Thank goodness that the Arizona summer is returning, so we can again blast her fan which lulls her to a great night's sleep with its sounds.

Frankly, wouldn't be a bit surprised if Florence ended up being a powered pilot because she loves all things about all fans. We turned a ceiling fan on tonight because it began to get near 80 degrees in the house, and she just watches it and giggles.

She's near walking unassisted. She can walk great, pushes her little push cart all around the house. And she can stand unassisted. Doesn't even wobble. Her first are firmly planted, like tree trunks. She almost took her first unassisted steps to get back to her push cart, but then she realized what she was about to do and decided her bravery isn't quite there yet.

But, oh, what a little explorer she is. The baby who was once called by us "the lump" because she was content doing not much at all will not ever sit still, much to our horror, and is in a constant state of motion upon awakening bright and bushy tailed at 6am each day. If she took credit cards I'd pay her big money to sleep longer but good luck. We've tried rearranging her naps and bedtime but nothing shakes her early morning rise and shine. A born future Marine, I guess.

Regardless, upon awakening, she likes to walk, walk, and walk, climb, scoot, reach, push, etc. Unfortunately, her nights are still crap. Only way to put it. Best case she wakes up only twice. Bad times, she reverts back to newbornhood and wakes up literally ever hour all night. Good thing we don't have a gun in the house, because on those nights I'd shoot myself just to get some good sleep.

But, she's cute. Boy, did evolution know what it was doing when it made babies cute or what....

And we sit in the ever repeated parent limbo of wishing for when she'll be more independent so we can return to a good night's sleep and knowing full well that when those days do arrive that we will long for this little explorer to return because, although she is never content to not explore all this world has to offer, at least for the moment this world of hers is defined by the reach of our arms.

Is it not inevitable.... "I won't be able to make it home for Christmas this year, Mom. Some friends and I are going skiing. Maybe Easter. But no promises."

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....