Ghetto Fabulous, Sorta...

This has been a seriously amusing week. I'll start with an update on Sleep Watch '08. Wyatt is now definitely a child who sleeps through the night. He now sleeps anywhere from 8-10 hours in a block. (The pic is actually of Wyatt after he fell aseep while playing, but it fit the sleep theme, so go with it, okay?) My husband has been telling people about how he suddenly has his wife back. It's true. I didn't even realize just how much my energy and mood was still being affected by the daily broken sleep until I started getting normal, full nights again. All of a sudden, things that have felt overwhelming and difficult since Wyatt was born (like cooking meals that actually require recipes and running more than one errand at a time with the baby in tow) seem totally doable. Sleep. Dude, it's a powerful thing.

While we're on the subject of my adorable little monster, I'll switch to a topic that's less about celebration and more about imperfection. The term is "original sin" when a baby starts to show his flawed humanity - when flashes of rebellion, manipulation and general pissed-off-ness start to replace basic survival reasons to cry. Wyatt turned 3 months old on Tuesday, and he definitely turned that corner. He gets impatient, even when he knows he's about to be fed, and screams to get his way faster. It's no longer "I'm hungry; feed me mama." It's "Speed it up, woman! The prince does not wait for his meal!" My son has learned how to be a brat. Tsk tsk. To his credit, he's also learned other social behaviors like smiling and laughing. And there's a lot more of that than the bratty fits, so I'm not suggesting I have an evil child. I'm just saying, you know, he's learning way too early that there's a system to be worked...

Onward to other things: I got new 20" Denali wheels and a new Denali grill for my Yukon! Needless to say, I don't actually have the Denali model. But the Yukon I have is the fully loaded, nicest non-Denali you can buy. Pretty much, the only differences are the wheels and the grill. Do you see where I'm going here? I basically just upgraded my vehicle for a fraction of the cost of buying it that way, without getting all flashy and ghetto. (No offense to the ghetto-fabulous owners of spinners and super-bling rhinestone grills, but that wasn't quite the look I was going for in the mommy-mobile.) It looks pretty stinkin' good, I think. I haven't gotten a picture of the new grill yet, so I'll have to get back to ya on that, but you can see the new wheels, which are pretty awesome. I also realize that a good percentage of the people I know read this blog could care less about the diameter of wheels, the shine of rims, or the line of a grill on a car. But I've always been a car nut, so I have to be true to my motor-trend reading heritage... :)

I also got paid on one of my latest freelance jobs. There's nothing like a check in your mailbox to brighten up your week. So basically, all of this is just to say that it's been a good week. Whaaat, whaaat.

Sleep Watch '08

We're currently in the midst of Sleep Watch '08. The star of our saga? Mr. Wyatt William Kuhns. Yep, we have ourselves a little experiment going here in the Kuhns household. We're testing out a baby sleep remedy recommended by countless aunts, grandmothers and friends, but not recommended by BabyCenter.com and other official baby care resources. Oh, the controversy... Two nights ago, we tried giving Wyatt a bottle at bedtime with a little rice cereal in the mix. I misread the measuring spoon and only gave him a teaspoon of the good stuff instead of a tablespoon. Wyatt gave us an 8 hour block. Success! Last night, I rectified the measuring spoon fiasco and used a tablespoon instead. (Drum roll please...) Wyatt gave us a 9 hour stretch! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, our son went from 10pm to 7am between feedings. Ah, sweet slumber! So, that's 2 nights in a row that the controversial rice cereal has worked its secret magic. Take that, oh baby elite... My little dude likes it old school.

This past weekend, the munchkin went on a couple road trips. Saturday, we spent some quality time in Visalia. It was 108 degrees. Whoop whoop, Summertime. Thank you, Jesus, for air conditioning. We got to see lots of family and friends, which was a treat. Wyatt also met (in his sleep) my Papa, his great-grandpa who's in the hospital. We love you, Papa. Then, on Sunday, we went down to LA. Ryan was showing our sailboat to potential buyers (please buy that sucker, oh maritime enthusiasts of Marina del Rey) and I got to hang out with T and Riley. We also went down to Torrance to visit the Ludwig clan, which was a welcome surprise! Wyatt was the most excited about Riley, I think. He did, after all, get his first kiss from a girl.

Here, as usual, are a few more pics of my handsome kid. He'll be 3 months old on July 1st, but he's about the size of Riley who is more than twice his age! (7 months old.) Yeah, my husband and I both come from some hardy stock...