Loch Ness

I had no idea Laura and I made so many references to the Loch Ness monster. Please be assured we will try to limit those for only truly special occasions in the future.

Zamara Meets Santa

Hello Everyone! We have so much going on and so much to share. Zamara is now crawling. We have tried to catch it on video, but that is like trying to get the Lock Ness Monster on video! We will keep trying, though. Keep checking in over the next week and hopefully we can post a video.

We also took Zamara to get pictures with Santa last week. She loved Santa! She was not scared of him at all. She just sat there and giggled at him the whole time. Of course, everyone at the "North Pole" was in love with her--probably because she was one of the only babies that didn't cry on Santa's lap...well that and she looked adorable in her Christmas dress (Thank you Gilder family for the gift!).

We have been busy with work and church. Craig has been working hard on our annual Christmas production. It will be over this week, so Craig's schedule should open up a little bit after that. Oh wait, then we have Christmas Eve services to plan...well, I guess it is just a busy time of year.

We are having a babysitter watch Zamara this Friday night so Craig and I can go out on a "date". It is the only the 2nd time we have allowed someone else to put her to bed since she arrived home in August. I can't believe we haven't been out on a date in almost 4 months! We are very excited to have a few hours with one another. We know Zamara will be fine. Like most new parents, it has just taken some time to feel comfortable allowing others to watch her.

blessings,

Laura

Zamara has learned how to clap

Zamara recently learned how to clap.  Last week we would have to show her how to clap before she would do it  on her own.  Now she can clap when we ask her to.  So check out this short little video clip...

Season's Greetings!

Season's Greetings.....What does that mean anyway?  That phrase just annoys me.  What ever happened to Merry Christmas and Happy Thanksgiving?  Season's Greetings is like someone saying "regards" to you.  Who says that?  

Ok, boy, I just got so excited there.  

My younger sister and parents were here for Thanksgiving over the past few days.  All of them have left over the last 24 hours so I thought I would go ahead and talk trash about them now that they are gone....Ok, here it goes....My little sister---man, could she be any more perfect?  She is like the most amazing person I have ever known.  I have no idea what happened to her but she is one of the nicest, kindest and most godly people I have ever known.  Seriously, if you haven't met her your life is not complete.  

And then there's my parents.  They really love their family.  They always make an effort to see us (even before we got them a beautiful granddaughter!).  I really appreciate all the times they have come down to see us in Flagstaff.  I am sure their trips will become even more frequent now that Zamara is here.  Posted above this are a few pics of our time together.  I think, at times, Grandma and I were having a competition for who could take the most pix.  I'm pretty sure I won...

Oh, I almost forgot.  We ate a whole bunch of M&M's brand chocolate candies.  And we ate at a restaurant named "Wendy's" but did not have a milkshake named a "Frosty".   (You had to be there)

Wow, this is getting long.  The most important part of this post is that I finally got a picture of Zamara's "poo face".  This has been like getting a picture of the Loch Ness monster but I finally got it.   Her eyes watering up, a constipated smile look.  It's hard to describe.  I am guessing you will be able to pick out the pic I am referring to.  That will be our little game for this post.  Pick out the pic  from the ones above that is Zamara's "poo face".  Hint:  It's the first picture.

Season's Greetings!  

Craig, Laura and Zamara

Stuff and things

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to post a few recent pix for you all. One is of Zamara wearing a sweater that my daughter's mother's sister's husband's mother made. It's very cute and has the cutest buttons ever. Each button is a sheep and there are little strings that look like sheep legs hanging from each button. The other pix are of our trip to Sedona today with Laura's sister Andrea. We've had a great time with Andrea. We'll miss her. Next up is my family coming for Thanksgiving. My mom, dad and both sisters will be here. It should be a whole big barrel of fun! After that we travel to Oregon to visit Laura's family.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Bill!

 

Nighttime sleep issues

Hello everyone!  We have been very busy.  I begin work in 1 week.  I can't believe my 3 month maternity leave is coming to an end.  

Zamara has been working on cutting her 2 front teeth the last couple weeks. That has put her in quite a cranky mood lately.  She is the most cranky in the middle of the night.  Last night was one of the worst for us.  She woke up at 1:45am and kept us up and down until 4:30am crying.  We tried everything, Ibuprofen, diaper change, rocking her to sleep, singing, a small bottle, etc...nothing worked! At 4:30 Craig and I both decided to just let her "cry it out".  We closed her bedroom door, closed our door, turned off the baby monitor, put in earplugs, and went back to sleep!  We turned on the monitor briefly at 5:15am and all was quiet. We didn't turn on the monitor again until 7:30am.   She was awake and crying just slightly.  I went in and she seemed like the usual old Zamara. Smiling and happy (although a little extra tired all day) So I am guessing she slept for at least part of the time we had the monitor off.  

All of this may not seem like a big deal, but this was the FIRST time we have let her cry it out before.  To be honest, I cried a little bit last night too.  It was hard to just let her cry!  People have been encouraging us to do this when she doesn't want to sleep at night.  Up to this point, we just haven't been ready to do it yet.  Since she was adopted we worried that she really didn't know if we were going to come back or not.  At this point, though, she has bonded very well with us and I don't think we need to worry about that issue so much.  

Friends and family have encouraged us all day.  After Craig went into work today I went over to our friend Brian and Debbie's house for breakfast.  I told them the whole saga from the night before.  They were so encouraging that we did the right thing.  I cried a little bit before breakfast at their house too!

Hopefully tonight will be a good night.  If not, I feel like I may have a little more confidence to allow her to cry herself back to sleep.  

Well that is what has been going on lately.  Not too exciting for most people, but it has been a big deal to us.  

I hope everyone had a good halloween. We will be posting some more pictures soon.

Blessings,

Laura