Some exciting events

K is sleeping much better at night. In the past week and a half, I think there have only been two nights when he didn't sleep for six to seven hours in a row, and on those nights I only had to get up to take care of him once. I didn't even have to rock him to sleep and carefully put him in the bassinet--I just wrapped him in a blanket and put him in while he was awake. I've really appreciated the uninterrupted sleep. It seems like he's starting to realize that when it's dark, it's time to sleep. I don't know if this will last, but I figure I will enjoy it while it does. I think overall he is feeling better because he's getting that quality sleep.

We taped some toys to a plastic hanger and hung them on the shade of the bassinet so that he would have something to look at. One of the toys had three keys on it, and we taped it so that one key was taped to the hanger and the other two hung down. This morning he was lying in the bassinet and reached up and tapped the keys--and then he tried a couple more times and managed to do it again and again. We were very excited, and I think he was too. It's so interesting to watch him moving his hands and figuring out how to get them to do what he wants. Sometimes he concentrates very hard on it and gets a very cute, determined look on his face.

The other event is that I received the decision about my residency--NCSU has given me in-state tuition status. I'm so glad because out-of-state tuition is incredibly expensive, which is why I only took eleven credits last year. Now that I can pay in-state tuition we will actually be able to afford my education. This is a really nice blessing. I was really upset last year that I wasn't going to be able to go to school full-time because I really wanted to get a lot of school out of the way, but I have a feeling that this past year has been a different kind of school for me and that I was supposed to learn other things that just can't be taught in a classroom. So even though I still have a ton of school left, I can look back on this year and feel that it wasn't wasted. I need to add how much I appreciate RT being supportive and comforting when I was so discouraged about it--he really helped me to see things with the proper perspective.