Monday night we had our Henderson Mother’s Day dinner at Ruth’s Chris.  Sloan came along with all the adults.  It was the first time we’ve ever taken her out to dinner with us where she did not behave herself.  The poor thing lost her mind 45 minutes into our dinner – which meant Zach and I took our steaks and sides to go and ate them later at our house.  As soon as we got home and we fed Sloan her oatmeal cereal, she was back in her groove.  She is smarter than I realize some times… Since Sloan has officially hit her 6 month mark, we decided to do a little bit of “sleep training”.  I say that wryly because Sloan has always been a good sleeper, until she hit 5 months.  Since then, she has decided to wake up 2, 3, and one night even 12 times.  I decided I wanted to see how she would react to me letting her cry it out.  I have never let Sloan cry for longer than a few seconds her entire life, so the thought of her screaming her guts out all night was already breaking my heart.  But, I had to do something.  12 times a night is not a matter of hunger, it’s a social thing.  Somebody just wanted to see her mom every 20-30 minutes that night.  So, we went for it.

13 minutes.  She cried for 13 minutes, and to be honest, she wasn’t even crying that entire time.  She would cry for a few minutes – look at the door and wait for me to come in – then cry – then look at the door.  When the 13 minutes were done and over, she went completely silent and fell fast asleep, for over 8 hours.  I couldn’t believe it.  If I would have done this a month ago I could have been sleeping [like a baby] for the last 4 weeks!  The second night of “sleep training” she cried for 2 minutes – then slept another 8.5 hours.  All my anxiety of endless nights of crying it out dissolved in two measly days.
It’s amazing how much happier she is in the morning now that she is getting more sleep.  Instead of crying to be fed, she does full-on productions when the sun comes up.  Singing to herself [and her hands] and waving her arms and legs all around her crib.  I can’t help but crack up when I hear her start up.

Tuesday Zach came home from work and had an activity all planned for Sloan.  She was going to skateboarding for her first time.  Since her legs are a little too short for her bouncer to actually touch the ground, he decided to stick a skateboard underneath her.  It made her tiny little mind explode.  She was squawking in delight for over 30 minutes…

We also had Sloan’s 6 month pictures this week.  Even though it was right smack dab in the middle of nap time, she handled them like a champ.  I can’t wait to see how they turn out.  I only snapped one iPhone pic the entire time – I was busy spotting her considering she is crushing this whole sitting-up thing.  She was exhausted afterwards.  Sitting up for an hour can really take it out of you…
It’s been hilarious to watch Sloan discover new things.  She has recently become infatuated with her reflection in the mirror and finally reacts to my iPhone when I try to take photos of us together.  Another night-time activity she has mastered is rolling over in her crib.  It scares me half to death, but she thinks it is amazing.
Tuesday night I decided to surprise Zach with a very early Fathers’ Day gift.  His friends had all left for Mexico for a guys trip and I decided last minute to buy him a ticket to join them.  He was totally shocked and I was so excited I could surprise him with something [because I am horrible at keeping surprises].

Wednesday I had Activity Days.  We made “healthy” green smoothies and talked about the Word of Wisdom.  I had myself a few good laughs during our discussion about what the girls deem a ‘healthy lifestyle’.  Also, hardly any of them knew the ins and outs of the Word of Wisdom, but almost all of them new a long list of illegal drugs.  At least the public school systems isn’t failing them.  Thank you, D.A.R.E…Wednesday night [because Zach was heading out of town last minute] my parents picked Sloan and I up and we drove up to Bear Lake.  My parents had some things they needed to do up at our cabin, so we decided to tag along.  We got in late, but it didn’t seem to phase Sloan.  We got her to bed and my parents and I stayed up way too late eating chips and dip.

The next morning Sloan was up bright and early, and we all decided to get up and going.  My dad had some work he had to do, which required the tractor, and Sloan and I observed all the manual labor from afar.  We were zero help.  She went down for an afternoon nap and I helped my parents in the yard while she slept.

When Sloan woke up she was elated to be outside.  She could have stared at the lake for hours.

The evening rolled around and these two party animals were out as soon as they sat down.  Sloan and I went on a walk and let grandma and grandpa sleep.

Meanwhile, in Mexico…

We got back from Bear Lake late Friday night and Sloan and I hit the sack early.

Saturday we made our way down to Lehi for a family friend’s shower.  Sloan and I spent the rest of Saturday afterwards doing absolutely nothing.  The weather was gloomy so we cuddled, ordered pizza, and watched a movie.  Girl’s Night.  I’m starting her young.

Sunday after church Sloan and I laid low, had a little FaceTime with Zach, and ate dinner just the two of us.  It was one of the simplest weekends I’ve had in a while.  It wasn’t fancy or filled with to-do’s.  It was just us, in our little routine.  Sometimes simple is refreshing.  We missed Zach, and can’t wait to have him back soon, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing about the past few days.