Day 17: one step at a time

Last night was a version of success. Brandon and I were both blessed to be really patient all evening and night and just talk through Hazel's fear with her. When she woke up and came down she wasn't hysterical like past nights, but intead we could give her a hug and talk her through what was going on and what her options were. She ended up going back to her room on her own, closing the door and going to sleep. In contrast to attempting to sleep in our bed the last two nights and throwing a royal fit if I tried to lie her on the bed we made for her on the floor next to me, going back to her room calmly on her own was HUGE. It was wonderful and she slept until 8:45, which used to be really normal. Crossing my fingers we can help her get over her fears, loss of binkie, and hopefully get in our own place soon so she can have a little more structure. Des slept OK last night and didn't need a bottle until 7am, which is better than 5am which has been common for the last 5 months.

Here is our happy girl at the McDonald's Playplace.

They went right after breakfast and Brandon is dieting with me, so I don't even know if they got anything, but I'm hoping getting a little extra energy out will help with sleeping today too.
Hazel with her cousins, Blythe and Ezra. It's been so sweet to see their relationship improve and get more grown up to enjoy make believe. Hazel is Lady Bug Girl today, if you aren't familiar with the Lady Bug Girl books, you should be. The books are clever and encourage active playing outside and a lot of imagination. Blythe owns a few of them and they have become some of Hazel's favorite bedtime books along with anything to do with Clifford which is sentimental to me. I think sketching Clifford is one of my youngest artistic memories.