new routines

I am starting on my 2nd full week back at the office. Things actually went a lot smoother than I had anticipated, I am so happy for that! Mason has been doing so great adjusting. I really think that he knows "what happens next" in the mornings- like after we eat, get dressed and play for a while, he goes into his car seat, we go for a little drive, and then he goes to daycare. He does really good at daycare too-- he would rather sleep in his swing than his pack & play but that is just because I think he likes to keep an eye in on the action. Mom comes to pick him up at 4:30 each day and then he talks and talks the whole way home and even when we are home about how his day was! I always say this but he has the cutest personality! These pictures above are his 2-month pictures; we went and got his 3 month pictures taken yesterday- I am so excited for them to come in!!!

Tonight Daddy is coming home from work early and picking up little bear from daycare, so the two of them will have some time alone before I get home. Bobby is leaving for Bismark for 2 nights tomorrow (for work), so he wants to spend that extra time with him. It will be a little crazy I think getting both of us ready without dad's help.

I made it!!!

Well, I made it through my first day back at work. It actually went better than I thought. There were a lot of tears on Sunday, but today, I didn't cry at all, I was SOOO proud of myself! Mason was smiling away and talking to all of the other kids. I really think he had such a fun day he didn't have time to miss me. My thoughtful husband sent me flowers, the sweetest card, and wrote me a love-letter email to brighten my day. My best work-friend Jessica also sent me flowers; she is always so thoughtful!!

He must've been having fun because he didn't take a nap for poor Amanda ALL day (30 minutes was IT!) I felt so bad. Not only that but then he had an explosion through his diaper, through his clothes, through his blanket even. We have such a great great daycare mom -- she didn't mind Bobby calling at 10, me calling at noon, and then she called us at 2 and 4 just to keep us up to date on how Mason was doing. She even called me at home tonight to see how the rest of his night went. Mason is so lucky!

Today just completely WORE me out. At least I hope that is what it is. I got my hair done (no, no more red hair) and I was telling my hairstylist how I was craving the smell of Paul Mitchell Awapui shampoo. Is that even possible to crave a smell??? Anyways- and then she tells me "maybe you're pregnant again!" I told her I didnt think you could get pregnant when you're breastfeeding. She said "I sure did" AAAA! I'm was positive I'm not but now of course I am all paranoid. Then I have been looking at my stomach in the mirror but it is still big from having Mason, so that isn't helping either. Then I remember how tired I was when I was first pregnant with Mason and my mind just started going nuts.

Anyway- I am going to get ready for bed. Yes I am really that tired and going to bed at 9:15PM! (haven't done that since I was pregnant! aaaa!) I am going to finish reading my book that Bobby got me (no, not "Romancing your husband" :) ) and then get some shut eye for another day at the office tomorrow!

ramblings...

(fam picture from 3/23)

tomorrow is sunday. it is also the last day before I have go to back to work. Is it possible to have another round of "nesting" instincts before going back to work? I think I have it. (Bobby might argue differently, haha). Tonight I got so much done as soon as Mason went to bed. I organized all of his things for daycare (three times), got my work bag ready to go (twice), cleaned the fridge, cleaned the freezer, organized all of my frozen milk and organized by date, then cleaned the deep freeze in the garage, and did laundry. You would think I would be tired after all of that in less than 2 hours, but I am not! I can't sleep. I think I am having anxiety about going back to work. I really shouldn't, because I have been sooo incredibly lucky to get to have 12 weeks off to spend with me and my little bear but it has all flown by so fast; time to get into reality I guess! He is getting to be such a big boy! He slept in his crib last night- usually we were putting him in there to fall asleep and then when he wakes up for his 3am feeding, I would always just put him in his basinet, but not last night. He is getting too big for it for one thing. He has also been sleeping for about 5-6 hour stretch at night, getting up to eat at 3, then going back to sleep until 7:30.... which is AWESOME. (although now I probably jinxed it and he will be up every 3 hours tonight) I DO need to work on getting him to sleep on his own w/o having to be rocked, but I figured I would wait until next week to do that-- it is going to be too much change already for him (AND ME!) starting daycare on Monday. (yes, it is probably more ME that isn't ready for this change rather than Mason) I just have to keep remembering what my boss and friend Stacy told me "Amber, Mason's going to daycare is going to be much harder on you than it is on him." I'm sure she is right-- she has 3 kids and has done this before.

Bobby was so sweet and bought me this book yesterday. I saw it on the Today show and instantly wanted it. I called him since he was in Fargo. He called me at Barnes & Noble and told me they didnt have it as it was a new release. I was bummed but figured I probably really didnt need another parenting/baby book- I have a whole shelf full of them. But when he came home, he had it all wrapped up for me as a present! I have already almost finished it. I like this book a lot, especially the 2nd section where it talks about making time for yourself, making time for you and your husband, going back to work... I will have it finished by tomorrow, I'm sure!! He also picked me up another book as a joke-- it is called "ROMANCING YOUR HUSBAND" haha-- maybe it is secretly a hint! Funny story that goes along with this book-- bobby got it at a garage sale for 25 cents, and when he bought it, the lady goes to him "yeah I dont know if this book is going to be helpful or not, my husband and I got divorced." haha! who says that about a book they are trying to sell???

Bobby & I are also talking about home improvements! That makes me excited! All of my hours watching HGTV while feeding Mason are hopefully going to pay off. The 4 main things I would like to do are:

• new countertops in our kitchen (I would like new cupboards too, but HOLY COWS they are expensive!!!) we are thinking granite look-alike
• new toilet upstairs (bobby would like a new vanity & put in double sinks too)
• paint our upstairs bedroom (because of the ceilings, it would be SO much easier to pay someone to do this)
• new curtains/blinds in kitchen, living room, dining room

If I really wanted to, I could think of more things I would LIKE, such as energy-efficient washer/drier, but there is nothing wrong with the ones we have right now.

Well, it is 11:30-- we have church in the morning and then I made myself another LIST of what I would like to accomplish tomorrow- including going through Mason's clothes AGAIN to sort out what fits/doesn't fit. It is already time to bring out the 6 month clothes!!! Yikes!

4 days left :(

^Mason automatically rolls right over whenever he's put on his tummy now-- it makes getting in enough tummy time a little more difficult!

This is my last week of maternity leave-- i am so sad! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Last night we met w/ Mason's daycare mom Amanda to go over paperwork-- that kind of made reality set in for me a little... I pictured me dropping him off 7:45 Monday morning. I think bobby is going to have to come with so I will leave her house to get to work! I am so thankful I have known Amanda for over 20 years (yikes! I never thought of that before!) so I know he is in great hands.

We have been trying to make the most of this beautiful weather... it was 59 degrees today! Mason & I went out for a walk around town -- he LOVES going for walks! These above pics are from Saturday when we went on our 1st "official family walk." I hope it continues to stay nice this entire week!

a busy week!

Wow my second-to-last week of maternity leave has just flown by! Another weekend is already here, I can't believe it. Bobby & I just got home from going out to eat, we had planned to go to church for Good Friday service, but when we got there, no one was there! I forgot that in Warren, they rotate where the Lent services are and we didnt want to look like fools going into church late. Oh well!!

Last Sunday was Mason's baptism, everything went very well. SO many of our friends came to celebrate the day with us... it meant sooooo much to us - we are so lucky to have such great friends. The only downfall about Sunday was I lost my phone. We STILL haven't found it - it is hiding somewhere in our house. I did go and get a new phone Wednesday.

Mason officially has his first ear infection. I brought him to the Dr. Tuesday because he STILL has an awful cold. Dr. Shelton looked in his right ear and said he had an ear infection. He has to take medicine, but he takes it like a champ!

This weekend we are off to Jamestown to Bobby's sister- it will be so nice to visit with them and for Mason to visit with his cousins!

baptism pics

my *spirited* baby

So today I took a quiz in my Baby Whisperer Book and it said that Mason is a *spirited* baby. I did this quiz when mason was just a week old (I think then he was a "textbook" or maybe even an "angel" baby) and it is so amazing how much is personality has formed already even though he is just 10 weeks old (tomorrow). I literally started to laugh out loud when I read the description because it seemed to fit him to a tee.

Spirited Baby: This is a baby who seems to emerge from the womb knowing what he likes and doesn't like, and he won't hesitate to let you know it. [Spirited babies] are very vocal.... he often screams for mom and dad when he gets up on the moring... he hates laying in his own pee or poop and says "change me!" by boisterously vocalizing his discomfort. He babbles a lot and loudly. His body language seems to be a bit jerky....

Then I read "he'll notice other babies before they notice him, and as soon as he's old enough to develop a good firm grasp, he'll grab their toys as well." Oh no! I hope Mason doesn't grow up to steal other kids' toys at daycare! And... that as soon as he can crawl he'll get into everything! We better start child-proofing the house now!

There are so many other sections of the book that perfectly describe him, especially that once you establish a routine for him, he seems to change his mind. That is what we are struggling with right now!!! I was so happy because we pretty much had his day 'scheduled' from 7am-about 3:30 pm, and then from 8PM onward, and then today, completely out of whack.

I can't believe I only have 2 more weeks of maternity leave-- the time has just FLOWN by -- it seems like it was just yesterday I was saying "oh no my maternity leave is 1/2 over" and that was already a month ago!!!