month 5

Hi Month 5!!! Time is flying by, and each month so much changes that I'm just trying to keep up.  It's pretty beautiful to witness this little boy discover the world.  In this season of my life, playing and snuggling and laughing with Pier trumps doing the dishes or folding the laundry.   He's teaching me daily to live in the present and to be present to him and those around me.  He continues to show me love in its rawest form, and I'm slowly learning to make each moment with him count.

Is it a universal mom thing that you think your child is the cutest child in the world?!?  When Pier looks up at me with those eyes my heart melts.

One of Pier's favorite activities is reading with mama and daddy.  We love books around here!  A few of Pier's go-to reads include Goodnight Moon, Where is Baby's Belly Button, and Moo, Baa, La, La, La. 

He gets kinda frustrated though because all he wants to do is eat the pages....

Ah, November you were a KILLER. Jesus definitely used this month to bring me closer to Him...

Brad's rotations change every month, and the month of November was nuts.  He was working up to 19 hour shifts AND gone the entire night.  I basically saw my husband a total of 30 minutes a day, which is no fun for all involved.  The night shifts, plus a postpartum depression diagnosis, plus Pier waking up in 45 minute intervals at nighttime = 24/7 survival mode. 

Because of all these crazy things, we had a very special guest come to stay at the Fossier house -- Grandma Annie! My Mother in Law flew up from Louisiana to come and help out with Pier while Dr. Brad was working nights this month.  It was such a gift.  You have no idea how much my soul needed her help and her company!  She is totally the baby whisperer and we had so much fun spending time together for a week.  We even went apple picking!!!!!!

Well, it looks like we have a thumb sucker on our hands! It is SO stinking cute.  I don't even care about the future ortho bills because it's helping him self soothe (and therefore actually sleep).  Pier has been quite anti-sleep since birth.  We would devote probably 30-40 minutes of effort trying to put him to sleep, and then if we tried to put him down anywhere he would wake up.  To Pier, every surface that is not mama or daddy is basically hot lava.  It's FUN (but I do love those baby snuggles though).

We are one of those families that co-sleep because honestly it is the only way we can get Pier to sleep at night.  NOW I am happy to report that this month he has officially been sleeping in his crib (kinda) !!!! So far it's only for naps (he naps for 30 minutes, every two hours during the day) and maybe for an hour or two during his first sleep stretch at nighttime. 

The past 3 months or so he has been waking up every hour each night, this month it was even 45 minutes.  My parents thought I was being dramatic, but then they stayed over Thanksgiving and saw it first hand.  Is there a patron saint of baby sleep? No? I vote there probably should be.

Speaking of my parents, they came to visit during Thanksgiving!!!! It made my heart so happy! My brother even drove up from Kansas (he's a FOCUS missionary at Benedictine) so we had the whole fam in to celebrate.  I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the first time, and baby Pier had a blast laughing with his grandparents and Uncle Jeremy.  We miss them so much already!

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Nothing makes me happier than this sweet baby smile.  I love that little five month old...Month 6 is going to be extra fun because it's our first Christmas together!  I'm already discovering everything is more magical when you have a child to share it with :)