Lucy's Day 11, And So Forth.

The days have turned HOT for the moment... Like 90 degrees-hot, and HUMID. Wouldntcha guess, this same week is the week our air conditioning decided to poop out?

HOT. As if my ebbing/random hormones causing hot flashes and night sweats weren't enough... I get to melt from the outside in as well as the inside out. Awesome.

Noah knows how to beat the heat though--- see?

And he's taking out anyone in his path, including Grandma Vicki.... And YOU!!

Meanwhile, life goes on. Tomorrow is my last day of the 30 days of Lucy project--- her one-month-anniversary, if you can believe it. !!

This month has been fast, it has been slow.... it has been the best of times, the worst of times... etc. etc. Still, we're still standing!

(Not counting Lucy. As evidence, I present to you one of her post-minisession nap photos.... worn out by my manhandling, as usual... :))

So. Where are we? Day 11... that's right. Here is how Day 11 played out. I had the baby swaddled to get her to sleep. I got her fur nest ready for the image in my mind (a nekkie shot of her in a nest of fur, limbs strategically placed and the whole thing looking cozy...)....

I got the space heater on. I laid her down on the fur, ready to unswaddle her SLOOOWWWWWLY, so as to not wake her. Aaaand.....

Midway through the unswaddling process, she woke. Dontcha love that grumpy face? Like, "What the HECK, mama? I was ASLEEP. Why are you unwrapping me?!"

So I snapped a few. I was honestly too tired to fight with her. I wanted a nap of my own. I decided to make this a "good enough" day and not fight her for a formal pose or sleeping shot. Fine. So I took a few of her in her purple swaddle, awake. Just to get the day's photo accomplished.

Cute enough. But then.... she was being kinda chill, for once. So... I pushed my limits. I rushed and re-swaddled her in a cream swaddle... Jerry-rigged a headband from a fabric flower I had nearby... I thought, if she'll be pleasant, I'll get a few more "good enough" shots, just in prettier attire. I kept her binkie nearby to keep her good mood:

And I snapped a few more.... Of her awake, just to "get the shot" and be done. And right as I was wrapping up, getting ready to put the camera away....

The little stinker fell asleep.

So, unexpectedly, I got my "sleepy shot" after all... Not the nekkie one I planned, but definitely one that turned out better than I thought I was going to get when she woke up and I gave up. So.... Here are my favorite two from the end of that adventure. Sleepy Lucy, Day 11:

More days to come, of course... as they slowly get done. One more Official Day to take these images. You'd think I had a slam-bang finish planned, but.... I don't. Not really. Just gonna come up with a last minute set-up tomorrow like I've been doing every day, and just get them done. *shrug*

Meanwhile, life goes on.... we search for a center point to our days, and cheer when it feels like we're succeeding... And we cry a bit when things fall apart again. I celebrate:

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dishes loaded into the dishwasher

poop stains coming out of cute outfits

one-on-one cuddle time with Noah

the hugs Joe and I manage to share... MAYBE a smooch if we remember. 

even one little photo edited

or one piece of fabric cut out or stitched

picking up the living room at the end of the day

Lucy's good eating

emails sent or messages written

managing a healthy snack for Noah (and myself!)

putting on a bra at some point in the day

keeping the basics in stock (toilet paper, milk, etc.)

days where I don't cry from frustration/exhaustion

Lucy going to sleep without a fight

the new binkies

Noah's ability to entertain himself

80+ oz of water ingested a day

more than 2 hrs of sleep in one stretch

any contact with the outside world

sunny days

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And we get through.... we learn this new baby and this simpler life... and we sleep whenever we possibly can.

That is all.