I must admit that we've been EXTREMELY lucky. Our little girl sleeps through the night about 95% of the time. We know that once she's got her thumb in her mouth, and she's turned to the side, that she's out...see you in the morning little girl.

Last night/this morning we were not that lucky. Something seemed to bother her, we just didn't know what. Maybe she needed food. Nope...that wasn't it. Maybe she needed a new diaper. Nope...that wasn't it. She was fine in our arms, seemed to get drowsy, but as soon as her head hit the matress...BOOM, eyes were wide open and the crying began the second you left the room. For two hours we played this game. We tried to let her cry it out (TORTURE for mom and dad), but she would get so worked up that she would never put herself back down. Finally, at 1 a.m. she was asleep. I took nearly 5 minutes to leave her room once I figured out she was asleep because I did not want to take a misstep and hit something or cause a tiny noise that would make her wake back up again.

I can't complain, 95% of the time bedtime and sleeping are a breeze; however, since we haven't done a two hour, middle of the night, stint like this since about the first month, it seemed like torture. So, in honor of Tabitha's "Sleepless in Minneapolis" night, here are some very cute pictures of her actually sleeping. There's something so peaceful and beautiful about a sleeping baby....

I started and restarted this post several times trying to think of how to put these pictures into words. Now, I think that I've decided that I will just let the pictures speak themselves. Have fun enjoying all of Tabitha's fun faces.

Sitting Part 2

On December 4 I put up a post about how close Tabitha was to sitting. Well, after a weekend of hard work, she now sits on her own. She has mastered that sense of balance and now she can stay upright for long periods (up to about 30 minutes) before tipping over. She loves sitting up so much now!

It's hard to tell in this picture, but she is not leaning against the pillows or anything, she's just upright on the couch. Yay Tabitha!

Christmas

How fun to celebrate our daughter's first Christmas last month. Despite a slight cold, she seemed to have a great time. Of course she didn't understand it at all, but she loved all of her new presents, which she got a lot of! Good thing she got a toy box to put them all in. Here are some pictures of Christmas!

I create my posts from the pictures that I have available. While there are 250+ pictures sitting on the camera, they are not ready yet per James (oh wait...I am getting some right now!). He individually goes through and edits the pictures and then gives me the best ones. Yes, it's a process, therefore, we are usually several months behind. So, in light of that, here are some of my favorite pictures from Thanksgiving (only two months behind!).

Fred

What more can I say....this picture tells the story of a day in the life of Fred the cat.

It's a rough life...I know, but someone's got to do it.

Naptime

This was shot awhile ago (note...if you look out the window you do not see snow). But I do think it's super cute as it's family naptime.

Tabitha's in her crib and Fred's on his perch. My two favorite children!

Father-daughter bond

There's something about a daddy and his little girl...

Do you think she has him wrapped around her little finger? You bet so!!

A Bowl Full of Mush

Tabitha has the book "Goodnight Moon". And for those of you who have never read it, there's a line in there about "a comb, a brush, and a bowl full of mush". Well, Tabitha has officially entered the bowl full of mush stage for dinner these days.

On December 30, since we both had a day off, we decided to take the plunge and give Tabitha her first solids. Our doctor said it was okay at about 4 months, but we decided to wait until she was closer to five months...why rush (or maybe should we say, why rush the horrible diapers that come along with solids). We didn't know what to expect, but like all good parents we had the video camera and the camera out to mark this special occasion.

While I can hardly consider rice cereal well blended with milk a solid, it is, so that is what we started with. The first bite ellicit little reaction from her. She was moving that tongue, and just trying to take it all in. We had just planned to give her a few bites to start with, but as we continued on she just wanted more and more. Soon she was grabbing for the spoon and getting her head as close to the bowl as she could. It was like it was the best stuff in the world (I can testify though that it was quite bland) And...amazingly 75% of it got into her mouth and into her tummy. So, when day 2 came for feeding, we didn't know if she would have the same reaction. You read that they could like it one day and hate it another. However, day 2 got the same reaction.

All I can say is that this girl loves her food, and is more and more like her daddy all of the time!

The better pictures are to come, this is one from the other night (taken with my phone as I am trying to feed her...talk about multi-tasking). Look at her eyes though...she's so excited about it!

This fabulous shot brought to you by "The Baby Whisperer Photography". (Note: It only took about 150 photos to get everyone looking at the camera and smiling!).

3 generations

Spa Day

One of our baby gifts for Tabitha was a cute little robe. We haven't used it much, but it's so adorable that daddy decided it was spa day for the Durbin girls. With James' budding photographic eye he was able to capture several shots of us girls.

First Snow!

In mid-November we received a lot of snow for our first snowfall. Of course, with the first snowfall of the year, it was also Tabitha's first snowfall ever. Even though it was kind of cold out we decided that this was much too big of an event for her to miss out on. So, we bundled her up in her snowsuit and went outside to capture several shots. Tabitha didn't really care that much about it--there was a lack of smiles, but on the flip side there was also no tears.

One day we hope that she loves the snow. We have big ambitions that in two years she'll be skiing with us. But until then, we'll just have some fun playing in the snow.

Halloweeen

I am a bit late getting this post up, but Tabitha had the opportunity this year to participate in Halloween. She could have cared less about it, and it really was all for mom and dad (like I think most of the first year's events are). We had a cute little blanket and hat that resembled a ladybug for her, which we were able to get multiple uses out of.

First, on the Thursday before Halloween, daycare (which she had just started) had a little Halloween parade. Again, for the parents, but the kids seemed to enjoy it too. Tabitha didn't have the chance to get the blanket on, but she did look awfully cute in just the hat.

On Friday, she got to wear her new onesie that grandma got her. It says "Daddy's under my spell". James response to that was "Of courseI'm under her spell...her name's Tabitha, isn't it?" (Of course the reference to Bewitched).



On Saturday, Amma Maternity (a FABULOUS place where we did all of our prenatal classes at) had a Halloween photo opportunity.

Finally, on Halloween day, Tabitha went trick or treating. We went really early and just to a few neighbors' houses, but she seemed to have a good time. While she didn't really know what was going on, hopefully she'll come to love these pictures later on.

Happy New Year!

2010 was a fabulous year! From some great things happening at work to having a beautiful daughter enter our life, it's going to be hard to top this past year. But, I am sure that 2011 will bring many memorable moments like 2010 did.

While it's going to be hard to watch Tabitha grow up, I am looking forward to some of her milestones to come. She is close to sitting by herself, which I believe will bring her great joy...as she HATES being on her back. She'll tolerate it in the morning, but by afternoon she just wants to sit up and watch the world around her. Soon she'll be crawling, standing, walking, and talking. 2011 is going to be so much fun. I better keep the baby book close by to record all of the milestones. In the meantime though, check back here often for updates, as I resolve to post more entries and James resolves to get me photos sooner so you don't have to read about Tabitha's Halloween in January :)

Happy New Year!