Just the Happs

I haven't done a post that just sort of tells you about life lately in awhile. So, here it is.

First off, and most importantly, THIS little guy right here?



He's letting us SLEEP!! We took one week and sleep trained the shit out of him (lots of tears, all around) but he's FINALLY SLEEPING. It's like a Mother's Day miracle. Last night he only woke once between the hours of 7:30 pm and 6:30 am and he didn't even nurse at that time. Just a quick diaper change and he was out again! Engorgement aside, it was glorious! It's been about 2 nights of this behavior and I feel like a whole new woman.

So, our tricks? I completely stopped nursing him before sleep times. NO more nap or bedtime nursing. He gets nursed about 30 min before it's time to go to sleep. That seems to have stopped the needing to nurse to sleep association that he had hardcore. The second big thing was Ritchie and I not sleeping in the room with him. We spent 5 days on the couch and have just recently brought our mattress into the living room. While it seems extreme, we don't have a 3rd bedroom for him and until we're certain he's a solid sleeper we want to keep him out of Max's room. So.. for now we'll sleep in the living room. It's rather lovely to have a space to ourselves again, even if it's not our bedroom. Plus, the kitchen's RIGHT there for midnight snacking.

In other news, I performed with my high school dance team last week for an alumni surprise performance for my coach.



I had THE best time seeing some old friends and dancing again. I almost passed out from nerves, but overall it was a huge success. Max kept saying he wanted to see it again!



Just a super cute picture of Max with his all time favorite almond butter. If you haven't tried almond butter yet - DO IT.



I did two photo sessions this week. One you already saw, my sister in law's maternity session. The other was my dad, his wife, Mary and their doggies. Chole, the lab, is getting up there in age and they wanted to make sure to have photos done altogether before she's no longer with them.

Wouldn't it have been nice if I didn't totally ruin all the photos by having my ISO up to 3200 in perfect lighting? Grainy, hot mess they are. We're going to go out and try again soon.

On the photography note, I've been pondering actually starting a business. I have two thoughts about this. One is all full of gusto and confidence; like, I could actually DO THIS! Maybe this is my next move, a way to bring in some income, fulfill a passion AND be home with the kids! The second thought is, there is NO WAY I'm good enough to actually have paying clients and what if I screw it up and what if people hate my work and blah, blah, blah. I hate that my mind can get in my way of pursuing something I want. So, for now I'm in limbo. I'm enjoying practicing on family and friends. I'm hoping to attend Blue Lily's Go Pro workshop in 2013 sometime and take it from there.

Oh, and Max is almost potty trained! I have no pictures of that, but here's a cute one of him.



I had a fabulous Mother's Day and I hope you all did, too! With all this sleep, I'm ready to start a new week!