oh hey

We're alive. Better than that even, getting by pretty well. We've got a big software rollout at work this week that has us going a little crazy, so sorry I haven't written. It's times like these - you're going to think I'm nuts - that I thank my lucky stars I work with my husband, who might just be the brightest guy I know. It doesn't always happen, but it's usually the case, that when the chips are down we really come together as a team. It is so nice to be working on this incredibly challenging and sometimes infuriating project and have Arwen for my partner in crime. After a long, hard day at "the office" he knows just what kind of day I've had. And there's this reassuring feeling that like all things in our life, we're in this together.

Ok enough mushy talk. Honestly that should be illegal after 14 1/2 years together.

So Roan's doing a little better this week, starting to return to her normal self. She still has some turbo cranky moments, and she's not terribly predictable but the beginnings of a pattern are starting to emerge. She's transitioning from napping every 3 hours or so to just one nap in the morning and one in the afternoon, followed by a long (10 + hour) sleep at night. I'm not complaining!

We do have a couple of wrinkles to iron out though. Somehow she mysteriously "unlearned" how to fall asleep at naptime. She had been so good, to the point where she would yawn, I'd lay her down still wide eyed, and she'd happily relax, coo to herself and gradually drift off to sleep. Now it's practically a wrestling match getting her down. But we'll get back on track, one step at a time.

The other minor issue I'm working on with her is the fact that she keeps wanting to nurse forever and ever and ever. I talked to the pediatrician's nurse and we both think that what was a growth spurt has degenerated into nursing for comfort. The child is quite clearly not starving. So I've instituted a tough love policy (not that tough actually). I'll only nurse her for 10-15 minutes after she appears to have fallen asleep at the breast, rather than letting her go on for 45 to an hour.

So today was a very exciting day. Our new nanny came for a trial run, along with my friend Molly's daughter Audrey, who is nanny sharing with us. I was a little nervous how it would go. There are times I feel so drained after just watching Roan all day I was wondering how she'd manage with two. But I guess for me I'm watching her and trying to work. If I was just focused on her it would be a smidge easier. But still. I was very impressed with how Lindsay handled herself. There were only a couple of spells where both girls were screaming at the top of their lungs, and she seemed totally upbeat even by the end of the day. And I found that even after a relatively stressful day of working I was so glad to have little Roan back to myself by day's end.

Tomorrow's another big day. We'll be dropping Roan off at Molly's house. It'll be hard going all day without seeing her. It actually seems a little cruel to us both, but I think it's another important milestone.

More pictures soon!