sleep,

we actually got some last night after Bella successfully soothed herself to sleep. We were almost at the breaking point of exhaustion (so was Bella with dark circles under her eyes), finally we let her cry herself to sleep last night for bed and it only took 30 minutes. She slept wonderfully, waking for her bottles without screaming inconsolably, she went right back to sleep and if she didn't, we let her cry a bit and within a few minutes she was asleep. I like to call last night a breakthrough of sorts. We all got some sleep and when Arabella woke up this morning at 7 AM she looked so rested and happy and cheerful. What a relief. For the past two weeks the cold threw Bella in this terrible cycle of being so tired she couldn't sleep well or nap well, which just made her more tired and hard to console. My knees and ankles hurt from so much bouncing and rocking. I'm hoping last night is the start of a new healthy sleeping era in our house.

This morning Justin was in the mood to play with the girls (especially after a Hokie win against Marshall coupled with a good night's sleep).