Lights Out

Things are changing in the life of Kiera Young and those of us who live with her. We have never really forced a routine or schedule, letting her sleep, wake, and eat whenever she felt like it. I figured that her routine would emerge in time... and it has! I'm beginning to see the morning nap and the afternoon nap and also BEDTIME!!!! Bedtime is my personal favorite because it gives us all a chance to wind down from whatever kind of day we have had. Previously there was no specific end to the day when we could just take breath, have a glass of wine, and talk like adults.

With the bedtime we are finding that it's harder to go out in the evening to social events with friends or dinner. Just tonight, we had to cancel plans with friends because we saw that it was creeping into Kiera's bedtime (7pm) and that we were pushing our luck. By "pushing our luck" I mean that she was screaming her head off. As soon as we got back in the house and had her laying on her sheepskin she was much happier. No one ever said that having a baby meant dinners out and cocktail parties, so we kinda expected that this day would come :) We ended up having a nice night at home eating pizza with Lexi.

We joke that Jeff has a PhD in "swaddling" and that he could go on to teach college courses in the art of the baby swaddle. It is a key part of getting Kiera to sleep at night or to calm down when she's crying. Here is a photo of Jeff's artwork. You will see that Kiera looks like a deer in headlights because she knows that there is no getting out of this one!

On another happy note, Lexi has started basketball practice, which can only mean that basketball GAMES are just around the corner!!! This is by far my favorite school sport to watch and I'll keep everyone updated on her team's success.

We had a great weekend spent with family. Below are some photos of Kiera getting lots of love. We're enjoying every minute with her, but I'm so looking forward to seeing her learn to smile. She is 7 weeks old today :)

Good Work Ethic

Kiera and I attended our 1st Mommy / Baby Playgroup together! It was great to connect with other mom's in the area. I knew just about everyone, but it was nice to meet some new people as well. There were 9 or 10 of us moms... all but one of us with girls! Sherridy brought her newborn son Lucas - what a lucky guy. He will grow up hanging out with all of these cool chicks :)

After the playgroup, Kiera and I headed off to work where Kiera got to watch her mommy run around like a chicken with her head cut off. I knew that it was a little risky to bring her to work when I was the only one there. I hadn't pumped any milk, so I knew that if she got hungry, I could potentially be serving food with a baby latched on (kidding!)

As expected, Kiera woke up wanting to eat at the same time that the rest of Bar Harbor wanted to eat. My friend Holly happened to come in just when I needed her. I was able to feed Kiera and direct Holly in where things were while she took food orders, delivered drinks, and served the food for me. What good timing! Luckily it is a pretty laid back cafe and most people found it more entertaining than annoying.

Long story short.... I learned a lesson and Kiera learned some good work ethic. My parents made me get a job and start paying for many of my own things when I was 14. It was annoying at the time, but now I am grateful that I learned how to work while most kids were busy being lazy all summer.

I hope that Kiera can grow up knowing that it is important to work for what you have and to appreciate what you are given. Maybe I will take her to work more often.... but with a bottle of pumped milk next time! haha

This photo above shows Kiera in a milk coma, after the craziness, at the cafe. She really is such a good girl!

Jeff and I have been a little under the weather the past few days. Nothing serious, but we have just needed some backup. LEXI has come to the rescue on more than one occasion. It's so nice to see how much she cares about Kiera and is willing to help us out when we need it! Here she is giving the baby a bottle for the 1st time.

I love how relaxed Kiera is in this photo.

I Love My Little Pea in the Pod!

What a great weekend! We celebrated Kiera's 1st Halloween by dressing her up as a pea in a pod and taking her on the Hall Quarry Hay Ride that Jeff has been running for the past few years. Unfortunately, she only made it to 2 houses for trick or treating before she decided that she was miserable and wanted out. Luckily we were able to take a few photos before and during her complete meltdown. My cousin Jean made the costume - she is so talented! Sorry Jean, but you may be finding yourself on costume duty for years to come unless you can pawn the task off on Emily or my mom :) We so appreciate the time that you put into making Kiera's first costume.

Halloween is such a special and nostalgic time for Emily and I. Aunt Beth used to throw a big Halloween bash every year, and while we were too young to attend them growing up, we loved her enthusiasm for the holiday. She put her heart and creativity into her costume each year and we like to carry on her spirit for the occasion. Emily is probably one of the most creative people I know and I rely on her every year to help me pull a costume together. This year she did not disappoint! I can honestly say that I am sad at the end of each Halloween when I have to wait an entire year to dress up in one of her designs again.

Here are some photos from this year. Emily is Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean..... obviously. She looks freakishly like him, and it was so cool to see her complete transformation take place. I went as a cave woman - Emily created my dress, club, hair, everything!

It was my very 1st night leaving Kiera at home (aside from one night when I had to go to work for a few hours.) It felt really funny to be away from her, but I appreciated the time and was able to have so much fun! Jeff was amazing and generous, as always, by staying home to take care of her all night. I will post some better photos soon so that everyone can TRULY appreciate how much Emily looked like Jack Sparrow.

Lastly, we went on a LOOOONNNNGGGG walk today with Grammie Di. We started out at Eagle Lake and planned to just turn around after a mile or 2, but ended up walking the 6 mile distance around the lake! My legs feel like they may just fall off. I love that we live in an area with access to a National Park. It is so unbelievably gorgeous!