I found my jewelry!

After almost a month and a half of looking and worrying....I found my rings! Before leaving for Guatemala, I hid my diamond rings. So well, that when I returned home I couldn't remember where I hid them. I didn't write the hiding place down or tell anyone where I hid them, so it has taken a lot of searching in remote places to find them! After cleaning out all of Diego's closet, the entire guest bedroom, our closet and dresser, and the china hutch, my instincts led me to the cabinet above the refridgerator. Yup! Behind our stashes of water in case of a hurricane or emergency, I found my little white jewelry box! Yay! Boy, do they need to be polished!

Diego is enjoying his new toys - a fun pop up tent that he climbs through and plays underneath and a darling, incredibly soft monkey (from his grandpa Bob and grandma Karen). It's so cute to watch him cuddle with Mono Loco (the monkey's name for now).

Feeling under the weather today.... 

Diego and Daddy are sick

This past five days Diego caught a virus and has had fevers, cough, sore throat and congestion. He's on his way to feeling better, but daddy caught the virus from Diego. So we have one sick house!

Yesterday Diego figured out how to put small colored blocks into his Mail Box with special sized holes for the blocks. It was amazing to watch how his little brain worked out the problem. I think this is one of the most enjoyable things about staying home with Diego....watching him learn as he plays and witnessing even the most subtle changes in his behavior and skills.

Last night Christian and I watched our favorite new show's premiere - LOST. It was so scarey for me!!! I wouldn't turn off the light in the TV room or walk to the bedroom without Christian. But I LOVE the show! The other new show we love is My Name is Earl. Seriously funny - and surprisingly off color for NBC. Jason Lee is great.

We are going to meet up with Auntie Leslie today at Estes Park in Chapel Hill and then go shop for fresh veggies and broccoli juice (for Diego) at Whole Foods. Tomorrow we have an appointment at a daycare center....I have to work on Oct. 3-4 and need a safe and nice place for Diego. This place is rated 5 stars (highest in NC) and they offer drop-in daycare when they have the space, so I think this will work for most of the times I need child care, which at this point is not very often. I'm also looking for someone who could help out in the house, so we've put out some requests to the Duke resident community for help. I might put some ads in the local college newspapers. What I need is "Grandma Ruth." She was our wonderful babysitter who was more like a grandmother to us. She would stay with us for up to a week even when we were little and mom and dad went on vacation. She and her husband were like family....that's what I would like for Diego.

Sleep Training?

After three months of sleeping with Diego by my side, I finally decided for the both of us it would be a better night's sleep if he slept in his crib and for the whole night! With the support of my two girlfriends that I met in Guatemala, Christian and I let Diego cry it out! 90 minutes for a nap that never happened, then 60 minutes that night. He fell asleep and stayed asleep except for a short wake up and 20 minute diaper change/cry it out again. The next night he cried 50 minutes....the next 40 minutes...and both nights slept all the way through until morning. We are amazed and happy and thankful for sleep! I still cringe for the entire falling asleep process (currently happening as I write), but I know now that he will eventually sleep and that it is the best thing for him to learn how to go to sleep on his own. I still wake up out of habit and am constantly amazed when I can't hear a thing from the monitor until 6 am!!

Today Diego ran a fever most of the day, so he slept a lot, and got very, very tired around 5 PM....so I put him to bed and we'll see what happens. I wasn't feeling super hot either, so we had a slow day at home. All in all, things are going really well, especially now that Diego is learning how to sleep.

Moms with their boys! This is Barbara, Lauren's good friend from San Diego and her son Hayden (who is one month younger than Diego, but quite a bit bigger!). We were at a house party of our colleague's and who showed up? Bonnie Rait! She didn't sing, but I did say hi to her! 

Flying to California for my first trip across the US! 

Diego's first trip to San Diego! I'm here with mom's friends Lori and Debra!