free form friday: baby swings

it is friday morning and the baby is sleeping, after a two hour wakeful period in the middle of the night.

we have been spoiled by two months of ten hour sleeping-through-the-night stretches! we were shocked and amazed the first few nights he slept for ten hours straight, all by his own choice (we don't do cry it out or sleep training). i was even a little remorseful: what, my baby doesn't want to nurse in the middle of the night??? but ultimately the abundance of sleep has done us all a wealth of good (that is, when dan and i actually choose to go to bed before midnight).

i'm hoping this middle of the night wakeful period -- which he has undertaken two nights in a row -- is just a phase. i actually love middle of the night nursings, if sleep quickly follows! but wakefulness for a couple of hours just * hurts * ! even if it involves tristan's smile that makes us all melty, and his beautiful little breathy voice that fills the room with super-cute!

there is much to navigate ahead. teething (we think he's been teething for months now, what with all the drool and hand chewing). solid foods (he is extremely interested, and, we sense, perhaps a little jealous when we sit down to eat). sitting up. crawling. pulling up. toddling. his little personality is becoming more and more defined, yet each day i still find myself asking, who are you, little treasure?

in the mean time, tashi is a sixth grader. my mind is completely blown by that concept. i am so in love with my daughter, who has a heart as deep as the most ancient wells on earth. i hope that our friendship will hold strong through the rocky adolescent years. i hope those years are not so rocky for her. and i hope she knows that i may not always have the answer, but i will always listen.

this year is a big year for us all.