It is hard hard hard listening to your baby cry! It sounds ridiculous now, but during my pregnancy I believed that
my baby wasn't going to cry. Of course I knew that was silly, all babies cry, but when Craig would talk about his concerns that our next door neighbors would hear the crying I didn't share in them because I couldn't imagine my sweet, perfect baby annoying the neighbors with crying! I still believe my baby is sweet, and
almost perfect, but boy was I wrong about the crying! We planned on waiting until Gage was 3 months until we let him cry it out when putting him down to sleep. But last night when, once again, he was crying and thrashing in my arms right before falling asleep, the usual routine, we thought if he's going to cry anyway, why not let him do it in the pack n' play. (Oh yes, he has graduated from the bassinet to the pack n' play!) Well 30 tortuous minutes went by but his cries gradually became softer with breaks in between. Finally he was asleep! He did wake up about a half hour later but we were encouraged that we were on to something! Well today I decided to let him cry it out when I laid him down for a nap. This time after 10 minutes he was out, and he slept for about 40 minutes! That's 10 minutes longer than usual! Tonight it was just me, I didn't have Craig's hand to hold while I listened to my baby cry, but thankfully once again, it lasted for about 10 minutes and he was out, and is still out - over one hour later! Hallelujah! I'm glad to know that letting him cry hasn't been as rough as I thought it would be!
We have officially entered the world of parenthood, we now are the owners of a minivan! We have been researching them for awhile now and been talking to people who have them. "It is the only way to go," say other parents, so we decided to make life easier and trade my Ford Focus in. I am a very sentimental person, so I have to say I'm a little sad to see the Focus go! I have a lot of good memories associated with that car...
I purposely bought a stick shift back in 2003 so it would force me to learn how to drive one. Craig and I were just newly dating when I was going through the purchase of it. I have fond memories of a driving lesson he gave me in my mom's car, which was a stick at the time. I also remember driving to meet my dad for breakfast the day after I got the Focus. My sister and I were coming from opposite directions to meet him at Village Inn. We both got to the intersection in front of the restaurant at the same time where she was able to witness me stalling out right in the middle of the intersection! She was giving me an encouraging wave and I could just hear her saying, "You can do it Heid!" Oh those early days of driving it held such pressure! I would sweat like crazy when I had to stop on a hill! But soon I conquered it and was amazed at how quickly I became a natural. I consider it a glorious accomplishment and am thankful for the past 6 years that I've had it!
Part of our purpose in going to Des Moines was to also eat at the Cheesecake Factory, a very special treat for us! The last time we were there was on my birthday with a little one inside me. This time we had a little one join us! And he was awesome! All day, in fact, he was so good. He mostly slept. Once again Craig and I had a great time talking things over while at the Cheesecake Factory! Soon something exciting happened...I was eating a delicious chicken entree and halfway through I look down and nestled in the chicken was a piece of...something...I wasn't sure what! It was white and paper-like, definitely not edible. We notified our waitress and soon the manager came over with apologies and the news that the meal would be on them tonight! A new entree came out that we ended up taking home with us. Since it wasn't a band-aid or anything I wasn't too grossed out! It was one of those experiences to be grateful for to get the free meal! 
Aunt Holly is painting his feet for his footprints to go in the mini scrapbook!
I made another one for him a few Christmases ago to match the family room at our new house:
It was so adorable! They were as happy as can be laying next to each other, like it was the most natural thing in the world. There were 5 adults videoing, cooing, and taking pictures over them for about 20 minutes! Gage thought it was pretty funny!
Gage is 2 months old already! Two months of pregnancy goes by very slowly, but when the baby is here it's gone in a blink. He had his 2 month check up on Wednesday. He is in the 75th percentile for weight and length which I am happy about! Even though he was born so long (22 in) he must be averaging out. (Is averaging a word??) He had to get 3 pokes for his vaccinations. I was dreading it and told Craig he needed to be there for moral support. His reply was, "Well he'll have you there." And I said, "Not for Gage, for me!" It's not like we haven't heard him cry, loudly, that's for sure, but it is still tough when you know they are crying out in pain. It all went well though. Our boy is a trooper!
