:the blessings & well, the realizations of fear:

this has been an amazing week of firsts for chlo.

she started off with her hand raises when we say, "way up high!" this was actually taught to her a couple weeks ago by tia erin, but really came full circle this week.

then she started copying us when we'd shake our heads back and forth making weird sounds. surely, we thought, this is the cutest thing so far.

then she pulled out the clap from her newly refined baby repotoire. jared finally got her to do the infamous, soundless baby clap. for now it is the cutest thing.

and just as we were easing into the schedule, sleeping better and being more content, she learned to stand up in the crib. while cute, this skill carries along with it a double-edged sword. 2 days ago she was balls out, jumping, moving sideways, trying new stuff, taking a couple harmless tumbles to the mattress. yesterday, though, she learned fear. maybe she got a liitle bump on one of her falls; or maybe she simply realized that she didn't enjoy being out of control and falling. the latter is our assumption, which opens up a whole new realm for a child.

now, she will play, but if she is standing and wants to go down, she freaks because she knows the only way down is a tumble. tonight (the reason i'm up at 3am) she awoke crying and we figured it was just her normal thing. after a few minutes jared asked if she could be up. i thought no since it's dark; but sure enough, there she was, up on her little feet, desperate in the dark and needing help.

we still get some sleep, and i know the newness of it all will taper off, but for now we must embrace this new phase and love her through it.

God knows, we all need a little help sometimes.

shalom.