Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Last week I took Haley to the doctor for her 2-month checkup. I cannot believe how old and big she’s getting! Her personality is really starting to emerge, as are her looks. I’m pretty much done wondering if she looks like my husband or me. Haley just looks like Haley!

Haley cooperated when the nurse took her height and weight. I was relieved when I heard the stats because I knew they were on target, and we’re still in that “is she getting enough milk?” phase. She did well during the doctor’s exam. The doctor said she was holding her head up like a 4 month old and is very strong. I’m so proud!

Then it came time for the shot! The doctor was smart not to tell me right when it was going in. It would have raised my anxiety level and perhaps Haley would have been able to pick up on it. She was lying there happily and I was by her head, holding her down lightly. I knew the needle went in because her face changed into a bright red complete panic, and she shrieked and cried. Luckily she calmed down soon after when I picked her up. For some reason, she screamed bloody murder in the waiting room on the way out, though.

The days following the doctor’s visit were a little dicey. Haley did not develop a fever like the doctor said was possible, thank goodness. But she was more fussy than usual and her thigh became a little swollen at the site of the injection. So she had her first experience with Children’s Tylenol. She seems to like the grape flavor more than the cherry flavor of her iron supplement. I was nervous to give her actual medication, but like most parenting firsts, it was completely fine. She seemed to be soothed and slept better.

The doctor said that most babies get upset when walking through the door after they turn 5 months old. That sounds pretty young to be so aware of what’s going on, but as I’m learning, infants are quite remarkable. It’s so nice to go to the doctor and hear that the baby is thriving. I hope it continues to be enjoyable for me, even when for Haley it may not be!

From Friday Mom  – Jaime:
I stumbled up to bed last night completely exhausted.  As I lay my head down on the pillow, I bolted upright at the realization that I still hadn’t put together a post about Andrew.  Since he was still up, I asked him what I should write about this week.

A heart, he said sleepily. And a triangle. Maybe a square. And a star. I’m not really sure how to work that one into a post…

I started my new job last week.  As far as first weeks go, I think it went pretty well.  It felt good to have somewhere to go, something to do, a purpose to my days beyond crossfit and yoga.  I didn’t even mind pulling on a suit again.

What did bother me was the commute.  I’m now working a solid 40 minutes away from home and that’s without traffic.  Hubby’s been doing this drive for years and I honestly don’t know how he’s done it because after ONE DAY I was pretty sick of it.

In order to get Andrew from day care on time, it means that one of us has to leave the office by 4:30.  Yes, we really need to leave ourselves a full 2 hours to get back down here.  Like I said, it’s crazy.  One night I got the brilliant idea in my head that one of us should go in early and leave early to get Andrew and the other should bring him into daycare and work late.  I pulled the early shift and it was just brutal having the alarm go off at 5. I clocked into work before 6:30. By the time I rolled out of the door at work at 4:30, I was beyond fried and all I wanted to do was go to bed.

Getting home that late and being that tired doesn’t leave much time for me to spend with Andrew.  (Or hubby.  Or give me much time for myself) And I feel guilty when work takes me away from spending quality time with my son. He’s on a major baseball kick and wants to go outside to practice hitting or have a catch every day.  Unless it’s raining, I love to go out and play ball with him.  But a couple days this week, it was all I could do to keep my eyes open once I got home and I had settled down on the couch…

We started looking for a house up north because, let’s face it, it’s insane trying to make things work this way.  We’ve been out twice with our realtor.  We saw a place today that we really liked. Hopefully we’ll still like it as much when we go back to see it again next week.  Keep your fingers crossed for us because it would be amazing to be done with the house hunting already and give us back the 2-4 hours a day we spend in the car driving back and forth from the office.  (My own fingers are crossed and I’m knocking on every piece of wood around me that I can find as I type this).

Have a great weekend everyone!

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Today is Jack’s 4^th birthday.  My “super-man” is flying through the house with excitement.  Unfortunately, mommy has a terrible sinus infection, so leaving the house for the day isn’t on the agenda.  Luckily, Jack understands his mommy is sick and is keeping himself entertained with his new birthday gifts.

Legos, water guns, cars, books, dinosaurs, and a new bike are some of his new birthday toys.  He was so excited to rip open the package and get to building, squirting, driving, reading and riding.  Jack as reached the age now where he is able to open a toy and get to work on it.  It’s nice that he is independent (most of the time) and able to stay occupied for a period of time.  Those twenty minutes are crucial when Tate needs attention and there are house chores to do.

Jack requested pizza for dinner and chocolate cake for dessert.  I couldn’t say no to that order.  We sang happy birthday and enjoyed our dessert.  Another year has come and gone.  I’m looking forward to the next year and what Jack will amaze us with next.  Happy Birthday, Jack!