Lord of the Dance...

should be David's new nickname. He has perfected a bopping-bouncing-swaying move that seems to calm Peter down, even when he's at his maddest. I can't quite get it right (even after David's careful instruction), so Peter usually ends up mad at me during his nightly fussing, unless I'm feeding him. Kim was kind enough to lend us baby Michael's swing to see if that would help, but Peter (so far) hasn't been too enthralled. He seems to prefer more of an up-and-down bouncing motion rather than back and forth, or even side to side. I do think David enjoys being the one with "the touch" for calming Peter down. :). It's also good exercise, and Peter is an excellent personal trainer, because as soon as you slow down or stop bouncing (and Peter does like it pretty fast), he starts squawking and we're spurred on. Most nights we probably do a couple of hours of this dance, so at least we're getting our workout in!

I suppose you could call Peter colicky -- since from what I understand, his fussing every night for the same time period is classic colic. This week I'm going to try and find something called "Gripe Water" which apparently has natural stuff like chamomile, ginger, etc. that's supposed to make babies' tummies feel better. I've heard great things about it, so maybe that will help. I really can't complain, though, because his colic is very predictable, and it's only 4 hours or so (thank goodness it's not all day!), and he usually conks out by midnight. I think the hardest part for me is having to work so hard at soothing Peter *right* after Jack and Thomas get in bed. Many nights I don't get a break from the big boys' antics and the baby boy's antics. And the physical tiredness from walking and bouncing him, plus getting to bed a little later than I'd like makes me pretty darn tired the next day. And being tired makes it harder for me to be patient and cheerful for Jack and Thomas. I know all of this is good for me, and it's very good practice at being loving and patient with my family when I'm feeling tired and like there's not enough of me to go around. I'm being asked to die to myself a little more, and that's not easy, but it is good. And I am very happy.

We had a serious buyer come out and look at my little white car today!! He made us a great offer, pending a good smog check tomorrow. So if you can spare a prayer that this sale goes through smoothly, we'd appreciate it.