Pray...duh

So over the last few weeks my 9 month old has taken to not sleeping very well.  Truthfully it has been more like 2 months, ever since our move to NC.  He may nap but only for an hour (two hours on a good day - yay!) and he rarely sleeps through the night.  However to his credit when he wakes at night, after nursing he will go back to sleep (unless he wakes after 5 am, which then he is simply awake).

  Now we don't remember this problem with our first son, albeit it was 6 years ago.  By this point in his life he was on formula, was in daycare during the day and slept great at night.  With our newest addition I was convicted on the need to nurse him as long as possible.  Working full-time and being a nursing mom is hard.  It takes commitment and consistency.  With my first baby, I did not make it a priority and my milk production dwindled after 4 months.  This time around I was determined to nurse as long as I could, at least to 12 months.  I had friends praying for me and I was committed to make it work.  And praise Lord my milk production is fabulous!

  I have read countless blogs and articles on how to create a good sleeper.  My husband and I have talked at length about the various schools of thoughts on creating a good sleeper.  Nurture, cry it out, switch to formula, etc.  It seems like everyone I talk to has a different opinion and is very willing to share what I need to do.

  After considering all of the different strategies I decided that I need to establish a nap-time / bed-time routine for him, to program his little brain to sleep.  So this past week I have worked hard at creating & sticking to a routine.  And he slept fairly good.  That is until Friday night.  The kid must have come with a weekend sensor.  The two days I can sleep in without the pressure of a pending workday looming...he was wide awake at 4am (Sat) & 5 am (Sun).  Not cool little man.

  Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who is willing to get up early if needed to relieve me.  Although because he works in the evenings so I try to let him sleep as much as possible.

  This afternoon while rocking little man (after 10+ minutes of screaming his little lungs out) I found myself praying and then subsequently in a time of confession.  After all of this reading, brainstorming & sleeplessness...I hadn't asked God what was best for Levi.  What?!?  How could I not have consulted the One who created him?  The One who knit Levi together in my womb.

  This was a HUGE awakening for me.  This longtime child of God and wife of a pastor is a little ashamed to say (type) it out-loud - I had not sought from the Lord what to do.  Needless to say, right there while rocking Levi to praise music and praying for guidance, he fell right to sleep.  I don't have a magic bed-time solution yet but I know the One who does! 

  So to all those well meaning advice givers...before speaking what I'm sure is a well meaning piece of advice to a mom of a baby, please stop, remember your baby-season of life and offer a hug before you offer advice.  Better yet...offer a big hug (skip the advice) and pray for her right then and there.  You may end up with a hot mess of a mom on your shoulder and likely a little drool from her quick power nap during your prayer, but you will be blessing her heart more than any piece of advice you could give.

Grandma Time

My mom made a quick trip up here to visit with her good friend, Barbara.  Although our time together was brief, it was nice to have her here to see our home and just be together.  We enjoyed a few great meal together, played cards and explored a few new places in Raleigh (the state Farmer's Market & the Natural History Museum).

What a blessing it was just to see her and spend time together.  Micah really enjoyed it and now we are counting down the weeks until we get to visit her in FL.

New Routines

Nate recently got a job at Olive Garden so now we are working on getting settled into a new routine of him working.  He has been working a lot as they are understaffed but he is enjoying it thoroughly.  Micah is still loving our new home and all the neighborhood kids that come along with it.  Just in our row of 4 townhomes we have four girls (ages 9, 7, 5, 4) and 8 boys (ages 7, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 7 months and another on the way <-not us).  That's 11 kids running around not including our little guys who you can tell wants badly to be out there running as well.

There is always a flurry of activity in and around our home.  Since all of our kids, mentioned above, are still young they aren't allowed to go much further than right outside our homes, all of the older kids in the neighborhood tend to gather at various times in front of our house as well. There's always something fun going on...water gun fights, nerf wars, chalk drawings, BeyBlade battles, basketball or a fun game of tag.
They have their moments where they need alone time in their respective houses but for the most part, they all do a wonderful job playing together and having fun.  

We still have three weeks of summer to enjoy.  So far we haven't taken any adventures but with Nate getting settled at O.G. we haven't had much time.  We did join the YMCA here so we have been enjoying all this Y has to offer.  It has some fabulous pools, so along with working out we are having a blast swimming.  Sometimes for exercise, sometimes in the kid splash pool (inside) or enjoying the summer heat in the family pool outside, with the big slide.  

Micah excited after passing the Black Band Test.  

The black band allows him to go down the slide and swim in the deep end.  He's been learning how to swim laps with us in the inside, lap pool.  He's quite good & enjoying it.  (Likely because Levi can't be in there with us...so he gets good quality time.)

A home for my jewelry

As we continue to get settled in our new home, I keep finding new ways to organize things.  After scouring the internet for ways to organize my jewelry and looking through tools I already had at home, this is what I came up with.  Not all my jewelry will be on display just my everyday "fun" jewelry.  

Ikea bar & hooks for necklaces/bracelets with light pink tulle for earrings

It's hanging in our bedroom right under a mirror.  I love having it all displayed so I can see what I have.  The only downside is that it is hanging above a floor air vent.  I still need to find a home for my earring studs (nervous that if I drop them they'll be gone forever in the air vent).  For now everything that isn't hanging here will be either hanging in my closet jewelry organizer or my jewelry box.

Love that I have a little splash of girly in this house full of boys!

Two weeks in

We have been residents of NC for two weeks now.  Sometimes it feels just like a vacation but more and more this is feeling like home.  Everything has been unpacked and are house is feeling more like home every day.  Micah is thoroughly enjoying having friends all around - there is always someone to play with.  The townhouse to our right there is a 7 year old boy and the townhouse to our left, there is a 5 year old boy (as well as 7 & 9 year old girls).  I couldn't ask for better neighbors.

God has blessed us richly!   

We got Micah registered for school this week.  He got assigned a brand new school.  As of Monday, there were only 35 students registered for the entire school!  By the end of this school year they are hoping to have 100 students.  At first we weren't thrilled about the assignment, mainly because we didn't know about the school.  But now we are excited that we will have the opportunity to help create the culture of this new school.  Micah will get to be a part of creating school colors, a mascot and I'm sure much more.  What a great experience it will be.

Nate is taking one summer class that will begin in about two weeks.  Until then he is trying his best to enjoy the down time but it can be difficult as historically we have been on the go so much.  We are trying to not take for granted this down time.

I'm settling into a new work life.  Working from home full time has it's advantages and disadvantages.  Thankfully I am being productive and the boys know not to disturb me while I'm working.  However I am feeling a bit disconnected from my workgroup.  But overall it's been a wonderful experience.  And I get coffee and meals delivered to my desk - what service!

The weather has cooled off just a bit.  We had way too many days of record breaking heat - 100+ (over 110 with the heat index).  Thankfully we have had some rain which has cooled it down.  This is much more like what I thought it would be.  

That's all for now.  Be blessed and be a blessing!

Micah and our neighbor, Daniel (5), both lost the same tooth on the same day.

Micah with some new friends outside our townhouse

The view from my new office

Update from NC

It's been very hot here in NC since we arrived, over the weekend our high was 104 and this coming weekend appears to be just as hot. I thought we were escaping the heat by moving north. :) Thankfully the NC summers are much shorter than FL ones.

We are getting settled into our new home and I began work this week. Although it's work, it is nice to get into a routine again. The house is all unpacked and is feeling more like home everyday.

Micah is LOVING it here. The neighborhood is full of kids. What a nice change. He plays outside most of the day with occasional breaks inside to avoid the heat or to grab a snack. It has been a change for us to allow him to play outside without us being with him, but the older kids watch out for the younger ones and they stay right in front of our house (my rule until I feel more comfortable).


Levi is cutting four teeth at the moment (ouch) and Micah just lost his second tooth. Fun times in this Tyler house.

While our house is feeling more like home, we miss our family and friends. Our biggest prayer at the moment is to find our new church home and for community. Until then we are trying to enjoy our new slow paced life and remember it will soon be over once Nathan & Micah start school.

Move…19 days away

I forgot to post yesterday’s (Monday’s) Florida Fun activity.
Monday was a pretty typical “Florida Fun” event for us and one we will greatly miss. Playing in the pool! Micah and his buddy (and daddy too) had a blast swimming in our friend’s pool. The boys have been asking every day to visit the pool but between the rain and other things going on we haven’t had the time. Monday the planets aligned and we made it happen. The boys were in heaven!

We also had the chance to have dinner with some great friends! We will sure miss their company.

Countdown has begun...21 days left in FL

In 21 days our moving truck will be loaded and we will be heading to Wake Forest, North Carolina.  The next three weeks will zoom by so each day, we are going to aim to do something "Florida".

Today's "Florida" fun was completed by Micah.  Micah enjoyed a Rays baseball game with his friend Joshua.  The Rays beat the Orioles and the boys had a blast!  Thanks Brian & Tara!

Let the Countdown Begin

We have twenty-one days left as Florida residents.  Crazy to think about.

The next 21 days are going to race by so today I reflect.  Reflect on the wonderful friends we have made over the past few years, the great experiences we have had here and the memories that will last a life time. 

God brought Nate and I back to Florida six and a half years ago after Hurricane Katrina.  What ride the last six years have been.  We bought (and sold) our first home, both of our boys were born, we adopted a cute (sometimes annoying) puppy - Zoe and we had lots of parties with friends and family.  One thing I have enjoyed most in the last six years is the relationships.  We have loved living so close to family and having the joy of celebrating big life moments together - two weddings and two babies (so far)! 

Our home has continually been filled with fabulous friends - some we have laughed with, cried with, celebrated babies being born, mourned deaths - all who we remember.  It's impossible to recount all of the planned (and spontaneous) parties we have had...but some of the most memorable have to be Micah's 1st birthday party, Crawfish boil in the backyard and the boys throwing fireworks in the pond on some firework occasion (making my house shake) and roasting marshmallows in the backyard.

For the Tyler family - - life is defined first, by our relationship with the Lord but secondly by our relationships with people.  I hope the legacy we leave here is one of love, laughter and a contagious joy of the Lord.

Thank you to all of the wonderful friends we have lived life with over the last six and a half years.  Reflect with me...what has your favorite "Tyler memory" been?

Summer Time in FL = pool

We spent Friday evening in the pool with Memaw & Papa (Nate's parents). It was also Levi's first time in the pool. As with Micah, we wanted to get him used to the water soon and learn to go under water. So it was his turn to be initiated by daddy. Needless to say Levi was not too happy with Nate but after the third time under the water, he was somewhat used to it.

Micah, our little fish, had a blast and afterwards he spent the night with his Memaw & Papa. What a treat! Only 4 more weekends in FL...gotta take advantage of our time here while we can.

Creative Date Night

As I said previously, Nate and I have been enjoying painting lately. Last night we had a fabulous date night and went to Painting with a Twist. What a fun place!

- Thanks to Nate's parents for watching the boys while we took some time for ourselves. Only four more weeks of being by family...glad they could drop everything and come hang with the boys.

If you are married, devote some time to your spouse this coming week. Get a sitter, wear something nice and ENJOY each other. Laugh, hold hands, eat somewhere different (or your favorite spot) and have fun!
*If you can't afford a sitter, have a picnic in the living room or in the backyard after the kiddos are in bed. Or "baby swap" with another couple and give each other a date night.

Fun at the Trop

Today we were blessed by my company with Rays tickets. Not only tickets but parking, food
It was Micah & Levi's first MLB game. The game went to 11 innings (we only stayed for 9), but we listened to the Rays win it on the way home.

Learning to flex our creativity

Nate and I have enjoyed painting lately. Here are some of recent pieces. Enjoy!

Her children will rise up and call her blessed

For Mother's Day this year Nate and I wanted to make something for each of our mothers. This is a picture of the painting I made for my momma.

Oh the love

What a wonderful day! Today was Micah's first day back to school & Nate was off work...so I got to spend my day with the love of my life. It was fabulous. I can't believe how blessed I am to be married to my best friend. There is no better way to go through life.

Weekend Update

So, I'm going to be blogging over the next few weeks for the sake of Nate. That way if he gets a chance he can read it and be up to date on all that's going on at home with his family.
For those of you that stumble upon here, sorry for the boring updates.

Here's what we've been up to the past few days....

• Day 1, Thursday: We dropped Nate off at the airport then chilled at home the rest of the evening. I was preparing for our women's event, which was the following night, so I was busy cutting verses out and relaxing.
  
• Day 2, Friday: I worked from home. Micah was so wonderful. He let me work most of the day. We took breaks throughout the day to take Zoe for a walk, eat breakfast/lunch, put a puzzle together, talk, color, whatever little 3 year old boys need to do. I was semi-productive when it came to work. I got to talk to Nate for just a few minutes before his flight took off for Tokyo - yay!
  We headed up to the church to prepare for the women's event around 4:30. Micah was a wonderful kid, as usual, as we got ready helping with whatever we needed him to. Papa came to pick him up around 6, which left me an hour to finish up preparation for the event.
  God is so good. I was a little discouraged because only about 15 ladies attended our event. We had to think quick on our feet and scrap the game/activities we had planned because of the size of the group, but we still had a good time. In fact we had the opportunity to spend even more time connecting, so that was great. I spoke for about 15 minutes about the lies Satan tells us and how I combat them. Not sure how everyone else thought I did, but I think it was ok. I spoke and shared what God told me to....so it had to be great. :)
  
• Day 3, Saturday: My momma called, while I was still sleeping, to see what we were up to for the day. She ended up coming over and we hit up the yard sale at our church. Micah brought along his piggy bank and ended up finding a few great deals. Two games for $1.25 and a sidewalk chalk toy for free...can't beat that. Then we headed up to Walmart to search for a new vacuum, because ours doesn't work great. I couldn't decide...so I ended up buying 12 journals for $3 (they were only a quarter each, how could I pass that deal up?)
  We ate some decent Cuban food at a new restaurant then Micah and I relaxed most of the afternoon at home.
  Later in the evening we went over to Nate's parents house to figure out a new software program the church has purchased and eat some dinner. Nothing fancy, just a nice evening.
  
  I still hadn't heard from Nate - at this point I was going a little crazy. I did see online (gotta love technology) that his plane from Detroit to Tokyo had arrived safely as did his plane from Tokyo to Bangkok, Thailand. But I had yet to actually hear from him. (This is the longest communication gap we've ever had....and I didn'tlike it).
  
• Day 4, Sunday: We woke up and ate some eggs, shocker. We headed off to church without daddy - that was weird. An awesome thing happened during the first worship song. I was bummed that I still hadn't heard from Nate but nonetheless I was worshipping....then I got a text from my hubby!!! Again, gotta love technology. Even though the team was experiencing internet and phone issues, he was able to get on Twitter and update his status to send me a message. I felt like my heart exploded - in a good way. I knew with everything in me that he was safe (because my God is that good) but it was such a relief to finally receive communication from him.
  After church Micah and I hit up Walmart again, this time actually getting a vacuum (no more journals), then we spent some time vacuuming the house. Gross - I didn't realize how 1) dirty our floors were and 2) how awful our old vacuum was.
  For the last hour or so I've been trying to get our son to take a rest, unsuccessfully.

Missing my hubby like crazy. The house feels different without him here.

I am so blessed to have a husband who loves me but loves his Saviour more. What a great example he is to his family. Love you & miss you. Hopefully we'll get to talk soon.

Praying for Nate & the group he is traveling with (David, Norris, Todd, David, Keith & Drew). May they be blessed, safe and have a blast. The spiritual warfare is increasing as they are there - but GOD IS BIGGER. Be strong and courageous!

Listening

This past Sunday while at a leadership training at South Bay, God showed up. OK, I know that sounds a little silly...because God is omnipresent, always present....but I guess what I mean to say is I shut up and heard Him.
We were learning about listening prayer and responsive reading and what that looks like. This wasn't a totally new concept to me but apparently I had some things to learn.

We had a time where we got to practice this discipline on our own. I got away to a corner of the sanctuary and got on my face, expectantly waiting to hear from God...but not really prepared for what would come. As I read through Psalm 139:17-18, I practiced responsive reading (replying to God's statements, asking clarifying questions, etc) and waited for Him to respond.
Ps 139:17-18 "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!"
During our conversation I asked God several questions..."really, you think about me that much?" "What are your thoughts about me?" "What lie have I believed that causes me to doubt that?"

While I was expectant that He would speak, I was blown away when He did. He spoke right to my spirit and answered far beyond what I could imagine, revealing lies that I had believed and replaced them with His truth about me.

I think it is so cool that we serve such an awesome God who wants an intimate relationship with us. He desires to speak to us. How cool is that?

God has done great things for us

Be praying for my family. We have a lot of upcoming events and new ways we are getting involved in ministry...therefore we know the enemy is prowling.

God is doing some amazing things around us & I know that if we let Him, He is going to do amazing things through us.

Just a quick recap of what's been happening in our lives and what is coming up....

1. Nate will be traveling to Myanmar (aka Burma), Cambodia, Vietnam & China to assist with training pastors in these countries exactly one month from today. We are still in need of support - about $4,000 still. Be praying for support, that God would prepare the way for this group of men, safe travels and open doors. Also, be praying for childcare while Nate is out of the country for 16 days. I will need to work and since Nate is our primary care giver for Micah, we are going to need childcare during the duration of his mission trip.
2. I have joined the Women's Leadership Team at South Bay Church and I am really excited about the opportunity Christ has given me to serve the ladies of our church. Pray for creativity, unity of mind and the desire for the women of SBC to connect to one another.
3. Nate has been asked to lead our small groups ministry at SBC. This is a huge undertaking and can only be successful by operating under Jesus. Pray that he will continue to seek God's direction for the ministry, for small group leaders to be raised up and for the people of South Bay to get excited about connecting to each other.

Contemplations

These are just some random thoughts...mainly for me. Some brought about by my friends/family and some brought up by reading through the Word.

- Love. Do I truly love? What does love look like?
- Am I living in the past (past accomplishments, responsibilities, ministries, duties, etc) or am I living for today? Living out the passion, gifts He's put inside of me?
- Am I being the part of the body God has designed me to be?
- How can I live an ordinary life when I serve an extraordinary God?
- Don't just live out of old encounters but expect new ones!
- Live in a way where the things of God invade into your everyday life.
- If you don't love...you fail. (ouch!)

Learning

The past few days I've been learning what a pastor is, what the Word says, etc.
I just listened to a great sermon by Mark Driscoll on 1 Peter 5 titled Humble Pastor. Good stuff.

It's been fun to dig into the Word to discover what God has to say on the matter (of what a pastor is) as well as a little study on Spiritual Gifts.

So....what's your thought on the matter?

What does a pastor look like to you? What is his job? What would you expect out of him?

Be Consumed With The Things of God!!!

Thanks to a good friend of mine, Lora, I have been listening to a new-to-me pastor/preacher...Ketih Daniel. He's an older guy, but man can he bring the word.

As I was listening to his sermon yesterday on Caleb one major theme stuck out to me & just have to share it.

Be Consumed With The Things of God!!!
- Forget allowing your attention to be diverted. Get consumed with what God has for you, what he's called you to....then DO IT.
"Here I am, send me."
- Ask of Him, then receive what He tells/gives you.
- Read, study, memorize scripture. (Keith Daniel is in his 60s and because he asked of God, God has given him the ability to memorize chunks of scripture with ease)

God wants us to be consumed with HIM, His word, and His love. So much so that it's all that comes out of you.


So...that's my new goal. Forget getting consumed with silly drama, "church", work, social life, etc.....I'm praying that GOD will be all that consumes me.
- My conversations ARE going to change.
- My thoughts are going to change.
- The way I spend my time is going to change.

I want GOD to be all that comes out of me. Who cares if I "sound churchy" or whatever.
"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." - Well, I'm 'saying so'.

July 4th Celebration

Yesterday was a very productive morning. Nate tackled the yard work(not fun) while Micah and I shopped for things for the party. Walmart was crazy busy. After a bit of resting and cleaning the house, Micah and I went swimming in the rain. I haven't done that in a long time...it was fun.

Kali's mom, Kathy, and her cousin, Mya, came over early last night to talk with Kali on Skype while Brittney and I had to make another trip to the store because I ran out of icing for my cake (which was awesome!).



Chocolate cake with cream cheese icing topped with strawberries and blueberries. yum-o








Nate made dinner for everyone. To me, it was the epitome of an American meal...chicken, mac & cheese, baked beans and collard greens. The food was AMAZING!!!



(Everyone sitting around enjoying the meal)


After dinner...it was firework time. The boys had a grand old time blowing stuff up while the girls and the kiddos played with sparklers and chatted.








All in all it was a great 4th of July, even though two of my girl friends couldn't be here because they are out of the USA.
- - Praying for you girls...can't wait to see you soon.

Back to blogging

I've never been all that faithful with this thing...but I'm going to try again.

Seeking God

Over the next few weeks, Nate & I will be seeking God for what's next in our life. If during the next few weeks you think about us, please pray for us.

Things to pray for:

• that we would seek the heart of God for the next step in our journey
• our family intimacy would increase
• our relationships with our Father would become sweeter than ever
• physical, spiritual & emotional health

What a ham!

Just got Micah's new school pictures. These are the first pictures, posed, that have turned out good since he was a baby.

Exhausted

Today was a truly exhausting day. I am so ready for Nate to come rescue me from work so we can grab a quiet dinner together before heading home to prepare for our high school small group tonight.

Can't wait.

Fabulous Weekend

This weekend was absolutely amazing! Not just the weather but everything about it. God blesses His people - it's true.

As I was sitting at work on Friday, I felt a stirring in my heart. I felt as if He was telling me to "get my house in order". Not like "get in order or else", but just take care of what I've been entrusted with. So I did just that. I listened.

On my way home, I was actually excited about the idea of cleaning my house. How weird?
I got home, I opened all the windows & got to work. Wow! I had a blast listening to music and getting my house in order. Little did I know the blessing that would come from simply being obedient.

When my boys came home a few hours later we were able to hang around and not have to worry about tiding up for our friends that were coming over later that evening.
On Saturday, we got up and headed out for a fabulous family day. It was glorious! I didn't have to think twice about doing laundry, dishes, cleaning - it was freeing. Sunday was much of the same. We played outside all morning, the weather was gorgeous, and went to church. Then a group of friends came over & what freedom came when I didn't have to freak out about if our house was presentable.

Sometimes I tend to feel righteous about having to keep my home in order. That's sounds so bizarre, but stay with me a moment. At times I feel as though it's not fair that I have to worry about keeping the home in order & my husband gets to have all the fun. He gets to be the fun one who plays ball in the yard while I'm scrubbing the toilets. Honestly I'm not sure he ever even thinks about the toilet, except when he's on it. :o) Like God punishes me by placing me in my role. How dare I? What a joy it is to know He trusts me enough to put such a weight on my shoulders. I don't have to be SuperMom (not sure I would look good in that outfit anyway) and I don't have to be like "so & so's wife", but I get to bless my family by keeping my house in order. My actions directly effect the mood in our home. When my husband is able to come home to a clean home it brings peace. Why wouldn't I want to make him feel that way everyday?

It's because I'm selfish. I want someone to do that for me. It's a heart issue. Once I get my heart right & realize God has placed me in the position of a homemaker (like it or not), peace comes. Of course I fight it with all that's in me - - because "it's not fair!" Oh man, let me just think about all the things that aren't fair. Truly, I don't deserve anything but God graciously gives me everything I have. He is faithful to provide as I humbly seek Him.

Wow!

Family Pictures

Our good friend, Paige Kirby, was gracious enough to snap some family pictures for us last weekend. Here are just a few of the pics she took.
The rest are on my Facebook page. Check 'em out...

Saturday fun

This morning Micah & I went to have breakfast with my mom & help her around the house. On our way to breakfast with my mom, we passed by the Temple Terrace Fire Dept, who was having an open house & knew we had to stop by after breakfast. What a great decision. We had so much fun! Micah got to climb all over a couple of fire trucks, see a couple of local bands, make crafts, eat his first sno cone - it was great. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. I'm so thankful we were able to stop in. Much better than helping mom clean around the house.

For some reason this morning (totally God), I was prompted to grab my camera before leaving the house. I went picture happy. Here are just a couple of the many pictures I took.

New Bed

My little boy is growing up. Last night Nate put together Micah's new (big boy) bed. It's a bed we have been wanting from Ikea but couldn't justify spending the money. We found the same bed on craigslist for almost 1/4 of the price & we couldn't pass it up. Nate, Micah & Nate's mom, Marsha, went to New Port Richey on Monday to pick it up (what an adventure that turned into).

Last night Nate worked feverishly to get this bed together. I think he was more excited than Micah. He never had a bunk bed growing up so he was stoked to be able to provide one for Micah. Nate finished assembling bed around 9pm last night & the fun began. Micah had so much fun exploring and learning how to climb the stairs! It took him forever to calm down & go to sleep, but thankfully he slept through the night (I was worried about him getting down in the middle of the night half awake) and got down successfully this morning.