Shhh ... Baby is Sleeping

... in the Car

When I was little (much closer to Patrick's age and size ... and yes, I realize that was quite a while ago) my parent would to put me in the car and drive around to get me to sleep. It was apparently effective enough for them to mention it to us when we brought Patrick home.

This trick works ... Patrick falls into such a deep peaceful sleep, I really hate to turn the engine off some days.

... in the House

There are times when I wonder if the car wouldn't be a better option. We get him to sleep on our shoulder ... then make any attempt to place him in the crib and he is instantly awake. We get him to sleep between us ... and again, any attempt to lift him to carry him to the crib and he's awake.

This is not "sleepy eyes, smiling at me" awake ... this is I'm irritated and I need as many people to know as I can manage. For an amazingly pleasant child, he can crank out the decibels when he wants to.

We've tried letting him cry himself to sleep (before you comment about this, we've only been trying this for the last few weeks) ... I think it worked once, but I was half asleep so it could have been a pleasant dream. I'll have to ask Jen about it later.

I do have to say at this point that when he wakes during the night, there is actually some reason ... thirsty, need a diaper change, etc. And at times, he does wake up in the morning with a beautiful smile on ... this morning was actually one of those mornings. He started the day with cartoons, pretzels, and fruit juice!

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Getting Involved

This is the second night in a row that we were able to spend time and Grandma and Papap's ... Patrick enjoys it so much! We even had a rousing rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" with all five of us involved ... yes, Patrick is pitching in now. He runs from person to person, giving a bit to each one of us ... there is never a dull moment. Tonight, he repeated a new activity from last night. Last night, it was getting everyone involved in chasing him around the house ... tonight, we had this activity, but what we saw was that he wanted to play different games and wanted certain people involved. This is when he went to each person that needed to be involved and grabbed a finger, pulling them along. He even checked every now and then to make sure they were still following. Such an amazing child ... knows how to ensure that we sleep well.

Outside Play

Patrick loves to be outside. When he arrived home yesterday, I was just getting finished with some weeding ... he and Jen immediately jumped in to help. We dragged branches to the pile in the back yard. Then, I found Jen and Patrick getting ready for a bike ride. Wanting to spend time with my wife and son, I opted into the ride. We didn't go far, my back and legs were a bit sore at that point ... but we did get out together as a family. The bike seat we have is not the kind I remember as I grew up. Patrick's is pretty close to my seat, in fact my heels hit the lower part of his seat if I am not paying attention. Despite this, we have a lot of fun. He loves to look around and notices things ... at one point, Jen wandered off and he started calling to her until she headed back to what he considered a safe distance. He is also a boy and likes to play. He "high-fived" my back and spent a few minutes pulling my shirt out. I hope I never forget the head-butt...

Family Time with Shoes

Last night was cool. Patrick was in a playful mood ... dumping food and drinks all over the place, sneaking toys over the back of the couch (then getting upset when I passed them back to him), and climbing over everything. He also got a family game going ... with everyone ready for bed, he had us put his shoes on, then Papa and Mama had to put on their boots. It was all very funny and exciting ... mostly watching his intensity. Then, we had to follow him ... around and around we went. Through the kitchen, into the dining room, through the family room, past the front door and into the kitchen again ... over and over, around and around ... stomping our feet in some sort of family train! Every now and then, Jen or I would fall behind and invariably, Patrick would stop to make sure that we caught back up. We played other games, as well ... but we always seemed to head back to the train ... oh, and don't forget the shoes ...

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