the past few days...

here are my thoughts on sleep training... EFF IT! we went for a solid 5 days and i've never been more exhausted, or an emotional mess, in my entire life. i mean seriously, for days i could cry at the drop of a hat... and did! i think the method we were using just wasn't suited to penny's needs, and she fought it with every nap, and every night. her naps didn't get any longer, and she was more cranky when she would wake up. so for now we'll just continue on as we had before. she'll take a few 40 minute naps throughout the day, and she'll remain her happy go lucky snuggly self. the one good thing though that came out of it, is that we now get her down for the night earlier, and therefore have some time to ourselves at a respectable hour of the day. as any mama & papa can tell you, this is vital for your sanity! i do plan on trying something again soonish, but penny and i are heading to NY for memorial day to see some family, so it will have to wait until after that. no use getting her on a schedule, only to have it thrown out the window once we get there! so that's that for now, and i'm ok with it. for awhile there i was feeling like a failure, but then i stopped and reminded myself that she's completely healthy, and happy as a clam, so why freak out trying to change that! things will fall in line eventually...

anywho, here are a few peeks at what life has looked like since i've been gone...

 puppy snuggles were had

we voted on a very important issue

penny napped in her ergo carrier...

and held onto mamas shirt the whole time <3

we took lots of walks...

and she fell asleep often.

a friend came to visit in his sweet ride!

i baked!

penny stayed cute...

and then got even cuter!

and that, my friends, is all i have to say about that!

crickets...

we're knee deep in some serious sleep training over here, hence the silence on the ol' blog. so far there's not much to speak of as far as progress goes, but i think it'll be a few days before we get there. penny came down with a little cold the first day we were attempting it, so really starting the training was pushed back a few days. my fingers and toes are all crossed in hopes of this helping her to extend those dang 40 minute naps, and possibly even sleep longer stretches at night. wish us luck...

one of those days...

yup, it's one of those days you hear about before becoming a mama, but you just don't fully grasp it until you're smack dab in the middle of it...

penny's teething situation is still giving her quite a hard time it seems. we got these homeopathic drops the other day, and while they do help to give her some instant relief, they don't really help her sleep any longer at night. so basically for the past two nights she's been waking up every hour and a half, to two hours, crying and wanting to nurse to comfort herself. poor little bean :( it's making for a sad little baby at times, not to mention a sad zombie-like mama too! so today i'm doing my best to not lose my mind, or at least not lose it again (there may have already been one minor breakdown earlier), and just enjoy this time best i can. i'll nap when she naps (even if it means just closing my eyes for 10 mins here and there), i'll snuggle my sweet cuddly girl, and i'll try not to stress about the 30 other things that need to get done. the dishes, the post office, the laundry, they'll all be there tomorrow too!

and let me just say that these really tough nights have been pleasantly balanced out with some really fun playtime in the afternoons. penny is starting to show us glimpses into her personality. she's testing out those vocal chords all the time. she'll "sing" quietly to herself in the backseat as we're driving along, and screech with excitement when we give her a new little toy to explore. we've discovered that her belly button seems to be ticklish, and that makes every diaper change into a little giggle session. the biggest news of all perhaps, is that we've reached one of those milestones that every parenting book talks about. i'll just let you see it for yourself HERE! as much as you we don't go by everything books say, it's still pretty darn exciting when these things happen.

so that's what this parenthood thing is all about i guess. the highs and the lows doing there best to balance each other out, and keep you from going crazy. oh yes, and i'm fully aware that this is only the beginning...

a blogger in the making!

penny made her very first vlog today (anyone else think that word is just silly?). she had been super chatty all day, and then naturally as soon as i try to get it on video she clams right up. what's up with that, girlfriend?!?! so here's a lil' bit-o-penny, the tiniest blogger in town! oh, and don't mind the disaster of a living room in the background. we found a leak in our kitchen and both rooms have been turned upside down because of it... but that's a whole other story!

family time

the other night penny and i met up with evan after he got off work, for a little pre-dinner, sweet treat date. i know just how lucky i am that i get to stay home with penny, and i often feel sad that evan has to miss a lot of her first's because he's at work. so long story short, penny and i decided a family date was needed! also, it was about 84 degrees on said day, and mama had a bit of a sore throat, so frozen sorbet goodness sounded perfect for lots of reasons!

i know people always say that you have to plan time away from your baby to keep from going crazy, but really, when your baby is as sweet as this, why would i ever want to be away from her? i love our little family to bits, and i know eventually this may change, but for now i'm just happy as a clam when it's the 3 of us doing anything at all. penny, you make what was already a good thing pretty darn incredible!