Cherries & Burkeface

Hola Friends - Just a quick pop-in to share with you the ridiculously cute outfit I put on the kid today. Snapped this picture with my phone & e-mailed it to the Grandmas this morning because I cannot get OVER how much I love this dress on her. Also, though you can't really see it clearly here, Iris has a little plastic red barrette in her hair, holding back the comb-over. So nice to see her face now.

Though I know this won't mean much to like, half of you out there, other half, please take note: Is this not the most Burke-y face you've ever seen on her?

Ed. to add: Cleaned up the photo a bit & reposted. couldn't handle the quality before.

gasp.

Iris slept through the night.

The Answer is 42

"How many roads must a man walk down? "

Okay, that was unnecessary, but funny to me, so please go with it. Vogon poetry couldn't tear me from this now. Heh.

So I know that I delivered your six monthiversary letter right on time, complete with photos bursting with preciousness, but you'll have to understand sooner or later that I don't need a birthday to embarrass you with my smoochy love, and I'm certainly crap at photo taking.

.

.

.

.

.

Hey! Iris!

I love you.

I wanted to post some epically heart-warming thing on your birthday, but, well - you remember your birthday, right? The jigging quarterbacks? The subsequent amoxicillin? Yeah, that sucked, especially for you.

I just want you to know that your Dad and I couldn't be more delighted with you. It's not possible to be more so. On the night of your birthday party, in fact, we solicited Jennifer and James to explain to us whether or not the delight ever ends, what with their children being like seven and twenty seven (what? James Thomas is a grown-up now, right? Har). As we suspected, it doesn't, of course. It does that morphy changy thing that ends in us googling over every single thing you ever do forever. Promise not to disown us for thinking your first hangover is funny, and I'll promise not to disown you for getting your first hangover.

Inevitable future dumb decisions aside, I will tell you this: you are so smart. You can say something like twenty words. When we're getting ready for bed, we walk to the bathroom and you say, "bruh! bruh! bruh!" When you see Lando you say, "Dawh!" When you see me, you grab the middle of my face and say, "Noha!" It means 'nose;' I don't judge. When you see Dad, you grab his beard and say, "HAIR!" That's one that you got right away. Awesome job, kiddo. You can sign for 'more' and I know you can walk, but you're too afraid to let go yet. It's okay. Letting go is scary.

Dad and I strive to hold you up, but not coddle you. We hope that you'll be savvy, but not wary. Don't be naive, but please don't be jaded. You already shine with so much kindness and wonder. Don't try to deny it; I've seen you pet the cats nicely when you think we're not looking. Listen, your parents can be paranoid over-protective crazies at times, but please don't let that deter you from discovery. You are the best of us, and we could not be more proud of you.

Happy Birthday, Iris Luella.

Hey Innernets

I think we got some birthday pics - honestly I haven't looked at the camera yet. ALSO - I plan to get some professional (olan millllsssss!) one-year shots done, but Iris has a big ol' rash all over her nose/chin area from being sick recently, and apparently she head butted something pointy yesterday at school and speared her lip. We're waiting for all that business to heal a bit more before I schedule the appointment.

HOWEVER. This is not why I am posting today. Today, I am asking for advice.

Iris goes to sleep between 6:oopm - 7:30pm. Usually on the earlier side of that range. There is nothing to be done about that. If you try to keep her awake, she falls asleep sitting up, and collapses on the spot. This will be the kid who falls asleep in her dinner someday, I am sure of it.

So, she wakes up once around 10pm - 12am, which is when we usually bring her from her crib to sleep in our bed. Sometimes she can be tricked back to sleep in her crib at that point (since she's been sick it's been increasingly difficult to get her back to sleep at this time, but I have faith that things will return to normal soon). Basically though, a non-sick Iris can be cajoled back to sleep with back pats and quiet voices in the 10pm - 12am time range.

At 3:00am. Iris wakes up like, hard. Every day. She is loud and boisterous and usually completely flooding out of her diaper. She wants a bottle, and she wants to SHOUT. She dances on our faces, and pulls on the curtains, and waits till we fall asleep again so that she can pour her bottle out on her stuffed monkey. Sometimes, after an hour or two of shaking down the house, she will fall back to sleep when one of us tucks her into our sides and demands that she quiet down and close her eyes. It doesn't usually work, but sometimes the timing Gods smile upon us and she sleeps for another hour or two. Again, this is very rare. Most of the time, if she is going to sleep more, it will happen about five minutes before the alarm goes off. Magical.

Does anyone have any advice at all as to what we should to about the 3:00am wakehard? You can tell me to make her cry it out, but I am telling you that there is not a corner of the house remote enough to get us away from the sound, so that's really not an option (see? Not a push over; not a softie; just really like my sleep enough to not have it interrupted by sounds of dying baby). Besides, if this problem isn't solved by the time I get more vacation time, Iris is in for some serious baby boot camp sleep training. This request for advice is my attempt to solve the problem amicably, before I bust out the big ear plugs and send Kyle away for a few days. You know, so I can break her tiny little spirit with no witnesses. (insert maniacal laughter here.)