Birthday and pre birth day

Hello 31. Today I felt young, energetic, full of life (quite literally and figuratively), and ready to flip a baby at my second appointment with the chiropractor. That is, until the chiropractor called to cancel my appointment due to strep throat. I begged him to just wear a surgical mask and to see me anyway, but then decided that I was grasping for straws. This baby isn't going anywhere. I took a deep breath and decided I had to let it go.

I went about my merry way - at times choking back tears and at others responding to birthday well wishes. At least I had dinner with the hubs to look forward to! Darra (or Dora as Sophie likes to call her) watched Soso and put her to bed while Bryan and I went out for sushi and icecream. Pregnancy cravings, anyone?

In case you have kept up and were wondering about my little 30 in 30 book project, I was a miserable failure. But I think it's only fair to consider that I started a little side sewing business, we moved out of state, went on a two-week vacation, oh and I got pregnant which requires lots of napping when chasing a toddler around. I probably read 10 of the 30 books in their entirety, started five others which are still on my nightstand, and I threw in four others for fun and for child-rearing.

So, to 31 and beyond, I'll never have to ask for a book recommendation when I find myself with some free time (ha! free time!).

Operation: O.N. (one nap)

Well, three days in and Operation: One Nap has been a screaming success. I tell you, there is some truth to my baby bible: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. There is also truth to a little old saying that God doesn't give you more than you can bear.

We have a good sleeper on our hands. She hasn't always been that way though. Just when I was seriously about to commit myself due to sleep deprivation, Sophie started napping. Then she started sleeping more at night. Between five and six months, she was sleeping a solid 12 to sometimes 14 hours straight. So, it's no surprise really that when she was ready to drop a nap, she simply dropped a nap.

Friends, three days in might still be the honeymoon phase; I'm totally aware. As I write about the good times, I'll also be honest about the not so good times. But if this is the last post on her One Nap adventure, then rest assured that we are all resting. Assured.

To address our recent hiatus from the blogosphere, we went to Maui for 10 days. There was an adjustment to that idea on the front side of the 10 days, and an adjustment to hugging our 23lb alarm clock on the back side of the 10 days. And, here we are, back to Musing on Motherhood with Sophie en Sophie. xo

30 in 30 (and then some)

By now you are on the edge of your seat for my 30 in 30 list; I know, I know. You'll notice there are more than 30. I'm ambitious. And behind...

So without further ado - and in no particular order - here are the selections complete with Title, Author, and the woman who suggested the book to me. Anyone willing to read along with me?

Good Morning, Merry Sunshine, Bob Greene (Nancy)

Sarah's Key, Tatiana De Rosnay (Kelly)

Running With Scissors, Augusten Burroughs (Aarica)

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (Marcia)

Feel the Fear... and Do It Anyway, Suan Jeffers (Theresa)
*and if I have time, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Blue Planet Run, Rick Smollen (Lisa)

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand (Lindy)
*and if I have time, Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner

The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren (Darra)
*and if I have time, The Love Dare, Stephen and Alex Kendrick

Promise Me: How a Sister's Love Launched the Global Movement to End Breast Cancer, Nancy G. Brinker (Kristin)

The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas (Christy)

Mother Teresa, No Greater Love, Thomas Moore (Margaret)

Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris (Amy)

The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman (Elizabeth)

The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho (Courtney)

Something Borrowed, Emily Griffin (Leslie)
*and if I have time, Something Blue

Tales of a Female Nomad, Rita Goldman Gelman (Allyson)

Catcher In The Rye, JD Salinger (Heidi)

The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls (Melanie)

Water For Elephants, Sara Gruen (Keri)

You Had Me At Woof, Julie Klam (Megan)

The Wedding, Nicholas Sparks (Carrie)

The Story of Edgar Sawtell, David Wroblewski (Rachel)

Hawaii, James A. Michener (Carol)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson (Jen)

It's Always Something, Gilda Radner(Kathy)
*and if I have time, Your One Year Old and Your Two Year Old, Louise Bates Ames

When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead (Megan)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larsson (Lea)
*and if I have time, The Girl Who Played With Fire

Committed, Elizabeth Gilbert (Penelope)

The Help, Kathryn Stockett (Beverly)

Little Bee, Chris Cleave (Allie)

The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch - my own selection.

Is she always this happy?

"Is she always this happy?" Heard that lots of times over the last year. I also feel like I've spent a lot of time this past year apologizing to friends and family. One last major "I'm sorry" going out to all of you now, and then I hope you understand where I'm coming from after reading this. I think Dr. Weissbluth was on to something when he started his ped practice, raised four kids and wrote this book:

I am VERY protective of Sophie's sleep schedule. So I'm sorry for the missed playdates, rescheduled or unscheduled events, being late, leaving early... but baby girl is going to nap, and she is going to go to bed when she is ready, and if I have any control over the situation (which, I do, as the mom), she's going to do both of these activities in a crib.

Since about 7 weeks old, Sophie stopped sleeping on the go. Her car seat used to work like a dream, and then one day, it didn't any longer. On our recent drive to/from Kentucky (8hours) she slept for a whopping 20 minutes each way. Her normal naps are about 4 hours every day.

Her brain is developing at such a rapid pace and outside of love, affection and nourishment, the amount and the quality of sleep is vital to her growth. I'm very protective over this - and in my opinion, for good reason. I may not always be a stay at home mom, and we may add another peanut or two to the Barber brood. So, I realize that I won't always be able to control Sophie's or our other childrens' sleep patterns.... but for now I can. And I will.

30 in 30

My 30th birthday is right around the corner. I've recruited some really really special women in my life to help me come up with a reading list for part of my birthday challenge (first mentioned here if you haven't been keeping up). I am going to attempt to read 30 books to celebrate my 30th year and I'm really excited. here is a list of some of my future evening companions:

Good Morning, Merry Sunshine by Bob Greene, Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, Water For Elephants, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Feel the Fear... and Do It Anyway... I know some of you wanted the full list and once it's compiled, I will share!

Bryan came home recently with my early birthday gift and I've put it to work already. The Canon Rebel T2i with a 18-135mm lens (came recommended by two of our favorite photographers, John Bentham and The Dottens (woop woop!)) has been shutter-bugging all around this house the last few weeks. As soon as I get the software and the photos downloaded just watch out - you thought I took a lot of pictures before?!

Picking out the camera was no easy fete. I went from once photo-excellent to more recently: housewife who wants a fancy camera to take pictures of birthday parties and pets. Sad face. I couldn't exactly explain to the sales guy who I used to be; how I used to get paid to take great pictures. Oh well, gives me more to prove ;)

30 is going to be lovely, I can feel it.

Packages!

What can Brown do for you?

Standing at the kitchen sink washing bottles (this could really be the beginning to any story, I spend half my waking hours in this activity), I saw Brown round the corner. I toweled off my hands and ran to the door to see what Brown was brining us! This was part out of excitement and part because Maddox and Cooper flip out when normal people come to the door... so they'll definitely be flipping out over a man dressed in brown and carrying a big (read: scary) box. Yaya sent us all a new book! For Bryan, a cooking magazine. For Amy, a yoga book. And for the littlest, the newest Hallmark recordable book, "All The Ways I Love You." Thanks, Yaya! Sophie loves a book that will read itself :) Grandmothers are here to love, to spoil, and to teach. Below are some of the fun things Yaya has done with her favorite grandbaby.

Another delivery I was super excited about this week was our first Absolute Organics. I was not disappointed! Y'all, seriously, sign up if you live in Charlotte. If you are going to buy from the farmer's market, you are better off with AO. This stuff is certified USDA organic, and 75% of what I got was local. The farmer's market here trucks their stuff in from all over creation and none of it is certified organic (you might as well be buying it from Harris Teeter complete with chemicals and all that stuff...).

Yaya teaching Sophie a very important lesson - how to take Daddy's
credit card and pay for dinner and drinks!

Yaya helping Sophie to experience her toes in the pool for the first time!

Yaya taking Sophie to church.

Yaya lets Sophie bounce on the kitchen counter!

Yaya giving Sophie her first sweet taste of Dunkin' Donuts (her Daddy's fave)!