Ups and downs

Our friends Dan, Amanda and their baby Gracie left yesterday night back to Alaska, and I must say, we are all sad to see them go. It was a nice mix to have a bunch of folks floating around, and Gracie was such a cheerful little girl, it was hard not to smile when you saw her.
Liam might be the only one who was a little glad at the extra space. He had been sleeping in our closet and had to police all his pirate toys pretty heavily to keep Gracie from ingesting a Playland spear or musket. Even so, he asked where they were when we got home last night, and this morning, too, and said he was sad they were gone. Pretty successful for the first foray into sharing a condo — I think we will definitely pitch it to friends next year, too.

As for Thea, she continues to have good days and bad days. A couple days ago, she spent most of the day either cooing or sleeping, with only one bout of screaming at the end of the day. But yesterday, she woke up in a funk, and essentially nursed every 15 minutes for the whole day, rarely slept, and howled whenever her favorite human pacifier wasn’t in close proximity. By the end of it, I finally gave up on a late family dinner and pulled the plug before the food was served, which I’m sure wasn’t well received, but all of us were exhausted and needed beds, soft lights and chocolate. OK, Thea didn’t need the chocolate, but once again, what’s good for Momma is good for her.
Today, I ventured to the library, a four-block walk from our condo. Thea hollered the whole way, dispelling my theory that the stroller mellowed her out. There was a six-month-old baby at the library, happily buzzing around looking at books while Thea insisted on nursing and spitting up all over me pretty much continuously. By the time we got back, I was done – all I want to do is stare at the wall and mumble to myself. She’s only got two days left until she’s six weeks. Hope she realizes her howling days are numbered. Please, please, please.