Sleep Training: Take Two

For the past five days, we have been doing some sleep training at our house with Carina, otherwise known as "cry it out".  I have been putting this off for awhile and feeling like it was harder this time around because Carina is my baby.  Luckily this trusty blog serves as my memory and after looking back, we did sleep training for Samantha at this exact same time in her life and it turns out it was hard on me then too. 

I started sleeping in the basement on Saturday but I could still hear her cries and went to her after about 5-10 minutes the first few nights.  The third night as I was going to her, she stopped crying and went back to sleep and last night she slept through the night.  I tell you, as painful as it is to let her cry, it totally works and it works quickly.  

Carina has also for the most part weaned me.  Unlike Samantha who I nursed until she was 14 months old, this little lady is too busy to be bothered with breastfeeding.  I still nurse her in the mornings (and was in the middle of the night feedings) when she is sleepy.  But, if she has energy she has no interest in taking the time to eat.  With my pumping schedule and travel I've been doing with work, I should be relieved but I'm still not quite ready.  I am coming to terms with the idea that Carina is my last baby and it really makes all the transitions sad to me.  I think I'll try to keep it up for one more month.   

Mollina?

From the time Carina was born, my mom has been calling her Davina because of her striking resemblance to her Daddy.  When he is holding her, it is clear that she is his, especially when they are both smiling and you can take in their matching, adorable dimples.  But, it wasn't until my mother in law was digging up pictures of Molly for her baby shower that we saw how similar Carina looks to her Tia Molly.  You be the judge.

Adoration

Aunt Patty came to town this weekend and brought Samantha's favorite cousin, Riley, with her. Riley is a year older than Samantha and Sammy just adores her.  On Friday night Samantha had her first sleepover when Riley spent the night at our house.  We could hear them talking away until they finally fell asleep and then they were back chatting to each other early the next morning.  We went to Anderson Farms where they rode on ponies, ran through mazes, fed goats, looked at animals and rode a train. They had the best time together. Sadly, Riley had to go home yesterday and when Samantha woke up from her nap she asked if we could go get Riley at the airport.   You can see how much they love each other in this photo, for more pictures you can go here.  Thanks Aunt Pat for coming for such a special weekend.  I loved to see them making memories.

Dinner Club

Three years ago, I came up with the idea to create a dinner club.  Really I decided to do it when our friend from high school, Nick Quatrochi,  moved back to Boulder with his wife Danielle.  I wanted them to meet some new people, have fun with old friends and get comfortable being in Boulder.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not much of a cook.  However, both Dave and I love to socialize and of course we love to eat.  We have many friends who enjoy both eating good food and creating masterpieces with their meals.

Dinner club was created with 6 couples and our single, most eligible bachelor in Boulder, Josh.   Each is assigned a month where they host dinner for everyone.  It is definitely not a small feat to throw a complete dinner party for 13 people.  And, as the years have passed the meals have become more extravagant, the company has become more lively and we have more fun every time we meet.  As we kicked off year three I decided to feature each dinner club on my blog so you can see the delicious food we are eating, the beautiful table settings and decor people create and the enjoyment that ensues. First up, Josh.

Josh hosted this past weekend on a beautiful, fall evening with a decadent Italian style feast including delicious pork ribs and the most amazing cheescake I have ever eaten.  Our guest of honor was Chris Oatey who is a close friend from college who happened to be in town for work and joined us for dinner. 

Menu:
Apps included cheese, crackers, prosciutto, almonds and chopped liver that Josh made.
Salad – arugula, cherry tomatoes and shaved parmesan
Vegetables – roasted baby broccoli and braised leeks
Main Course – slow braised Tuscan style pork ribs in a tomato and red wine base over polenta
Dessert – “Dodo’s” Cheesecake – Josh's great grandmother’s cheesecake, topped with raspberries

Now, if you know of any single, fun, good looking, intelligent women who would be proud to be Josh's guest at our next dinner club, please send them his way!