Sleeping in the Rain

Actually, I wasn't sleeping through the rain this morning. I woke up to a loud clap of thunder about 6:30 and lay in bed for quite some time listening to the thunder and downpour. Typically rain like that relaxes me enough that I can sleep through it at any time, but even as tired as I was this morning, it actually kept me awake. Fortunately Patrick and Matt never knew it had happened. I finally started to doze off again when it stopped about an hour later. That's when Patrick decided he was hungry and woke up--naturally. I was awake for a total of about two hours this morning. I was at least able to go back to sleep after feeding Patrick and still ended up getting enough sleep. The rain also signalled a front making its way through the area, and it was kind enough to blow away whatever pollen triggered my allergy attack last night. I was quite miserable for a few hours with all the sneezing, runny nose, and sinus headache. This was the first allergy attack--or any non-pregnancy-related illness--I've had in about a year and a half, other than the expected attacks in Dallas. I'm glad it didn't last any longer than it did, but I guess it's not a big deal considering how long it's been since the last one.

Patrick is taking more steps towards his independence, at least in the area of eating. I mentioned yesterday that he tried grabbing his spoon to feed himself. Since then he has tried to do the same thing with his bottle and sippy cup. He did a good job with his bottle, especially since it was one of the big ones that still seems much too large for him. He was holding it completely on his own for a few seconds. He hasn't managed to actually hold his sippy cup that he gets after each meal of solids yet, but he has started reaching for it like he wants to. He's still working on coordinating how to drink from it, so he's not quite ready to add the extra complication of holding it too quite yet.

And finally, here's one picture for today. This is what I found when I snuck in last night to give Patrick his medicine:
I never knew Gloworm could double as a pillow! It's especially funny because if he moves his head just a little, he will make Gloworm sing and his face light up. Right now, Gloworm is in desperate need of new batteries, so when he sings, he sounds drunk. And really, who doesn't want to wake up to a drunk, singing Gloworm in bed with them?