What's Up With the Martins?: The Christmas Post...finally!

Ready for Solids???

We are home from a very nice Christmas week with family in Salt Lake. It is getting to the point in Michelle's development where something new and remarkable seems to happen every day. Each day she gets stronger, grabs more, interacts more, eats more...which brings me to the fact that we started experimenting with a rice cereal/ breast milk concoction. The biggest cue to her readiness for solids came one night when we went out for Chinese food and she grabbed a fortune cookie and shoved it in her mouth. The wrapper was on. She seems to be doing well with the rice cereal but unfortunately it didn't mean a better night's sleep. If you think all these milestones meant a restful week, you are shamefully mistaken. From the get go, Michelle decided she was NOT going to have anything to do with the portable crib at night. During the day, no problem, bring on the pack n play. "I will nap 'till the cows come home, but lay me down in that thing after the sun goes down and I WILL SCREAM like there's no tomorrow!" That is, of course, unless she was in bed with us, taking advantage of the of the all-you-can-eat buffet at the all night diner we call "Boob Cafe". There was no fooling this kid that she was NOT at home despite our best efforts to keep her on the usual sleep routine. And no, starting solids did not help. Not one bit!
So night after night, we suffered serious sleep deprivation. This was not serious enough however to keep us from taking advantage of baby-mongering Grandparents. Barry skied three days and I skied two. Cory and I skied together at Snowbird on Tuesday morning and hit the spa at the Cliff lodge in the afternoon. Barry and I even skied together on Christmas day. Yes, I also sing my songs of praise to the all mighty breast pump that made this all possible!
Christmas always brings out a little crazy, but for the most part, we left Salt Lake today already missing our family, the mountains and feel more determined than ever to get our asses back there where we belong! It will be a very interesting year.