Family,
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| Who loves the weekend alone with daddy? THIS GIRL...oh, wait... |
vents of the past week - a 7 day stretch that was fantastic in so many ways.
So a bit of background - JT is currently out of the country, finally getting that much needed and even more deserved visit to London (as well as Lisbon, Chester, a beach in Portugal, and a TBD destination :-)). We chatted for an hour last night, and I am SO THRILLED to hear that she's having an absolute blast and loving every second. She's going non-stop and making it count - way to go, Muffin Puffin!!!
We dropped Jenny at the airport on Monday night about 5:45-6ish. K was in the backseat (obviously), and she couldn't understand why mommy and daddy weren't taking her out of the car seat when we arrived at the departures area (and consequently started crying, which didn't help anything). JT was definitely sad (Munchkin, your mommy was having a really tough time wrapping her head around the fact that shed as going to be gone for 10 days and wouldn't get to see you, as coming into this she'd only been away from you for a grand total of 3 nights), and the tears were definitely brimming (but she did a tremendous job of holding it all together). However, I am pleased to report that, within 10 minutes, both girls were in a much better place. I was singing the Primrose infant CD full blast to K (which elicited a much need smile), and JT sat down at Carolina Brewery for a beer (IPA, baby!).
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| Daddy and sneetch saying bye to mommy before she boards the plane. |
The next couple of days were a blur, but JT's mom was a rock star. She fed her 5 times a day, took her for a morning walk, and played with her non-stop. Bob (Grandpa) came over on Tuesday and Thursday to play with K as well, and they had a lot of fun throwing the ball around (K is becoming quite adept at picking up the ball - even though she still can't palm it like she wants - walking with it, and then throwing it. Grandpa says he's going to teach her how to throw softball - we'll see what Aunt Pattie says about that :-)). Jan introduced K to a few new foods, including cinnamon spiced apples. K really enjoyed them warm. Cold, however, she just tossed them instantly on the floor.
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| "Oh, the stress of running this household without mommy around..." |
One positive comment to add is that K can now SELF-FEED WITH A POUCH! This was big news (Friday was the first time I'd ever seen it), as it gives her another measure of independence and will help making eating on the go a bit easier). You can tell that she loves them - she went through 2.5 of them last night at dinner! She still wants you to squeeze the first time, and YES - she still squirts some of it onto the tray, but she definitely understands the concept and is doing it. She does NOT, however, understand the concept of "one bite at a time" or "chew your food." Case in point: I gave her half a hot dog bun (from GC and Melissa's place) on Sunday, and she started taking MAMMOTH bites of that puppy, filling her mouth to the brim and laughing the entire time (but not making a single chewing motion). Finally she had to rip some of it back out of her mouth (and instantly throw it on the floor, of course), but I was laughing enough that I couldn't bring myself to chastise her. :-)
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| "You underestimate the sneakiness..." |
Nanny also taught K how to give kisses, and it is SO CUTE to watch them blow each other kisses (and
just make the noise). And as for walking, she will still reach for our hand, but it's clear that she's doing it more out of habit (or for a little initial assistance) than anything else. She will use my finger to pull up, but after the second or third step she's already let go and is walking. I'd say I've got one more week of her reaching before those days are gone forever - insert sniffle here.
The other amazing thing is that, when she's ready for bed, she doesn't scream or fuss. Instead she simply proactively closes whatever book you are reading her, points to her crib, and says, "nah nah" ("night, night"). That is right, sports fans, this girl ASKS to go to bed - AMAZING! This is when I started to finally get on board the whole "you have the one in a basquillion child," as I've never s
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| Nanny is down for the count! |
In terms of sleep, it has been a bit trickier lately, as K is starting to wake up earlier, no matter what time she goes down. We're still putting her down about 7 (although 3 times in the last week saw her in bed later than that), but she's typically waking up between 6-6:30 anymore. The one exception was Friday, when she woke up at 4:40! I heard some babbling on the monitor and looked over to see my daughter STANDING in her crib. Realistically that means she'd been awake for about 20 minutes, and sure enough she was starving when I went in there. Consequently, I have STUFFED THAT CHILD TO THE GILLS the last 2 nights. And while it's hasn't returned us to 7 AM, we have at least seen a 6 on the dial when she's started making noise.
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| "Don't go, Nanny!" |
JT's mom left about 3:30 on Friday (she let me get a final run in, which was HUGE), and then it was daddy daycare! I was a little nervous (with memories of Asheville on the brain), but honestly it's been SO much easier this go-around (minus the part where Jan had been gone 20 minutes and I suddenly noticed silence in the house while I was washing dishes. YES - someone had taken that opportunity to surreptitiously sneak up the stairs...little stinker). I think it's like anything else - once you get used to it and know what to expect, it's much easier to plan and deal with the shocks should anything go off-
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| K helping with some laundry... |
K woke up at 6:06, and I was very happy that she did eat some in the morning. We then got our 5K walk in, after which time we rolled over to Aldi to get K some new fruits (as she was NOT eating the old stuff). It was at this point I experienced a new first for me - Sammy's first time arriving at a grocery store BEFORE IT OPENED. We had 11 minutes to kill, so we milled around the parking lot - where K tried to eat some asphalt. :-)
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| K and Marlowe locked in a death match on Connect Four...good thing neither can actually reach the top of the board... |
enough, K woke up on her own about 11:40 (perfect timing yet again), and we hopped in the car and made the drive to the Music Factory.
The next 2.5 hours were just wonderful. VA, Tina, and Cami were all there (along with some of the kids and the 2 spouses), and we had a BLAST chatting about life, drinking good beer, and eating some delish food. K ate for pretty much the whole time. She had a huge lunch, and then she had 2 separate snacking periods. She was introduced to watermelon, which she COULD NOT STOP EATING. THANK YOU TINA for buying that fruit bowl (and thank you Marlowe for not wanting any of it :-)).
We headed home about 3 PM, at which point I put K down for a nap around 3:30. That gave me time to tidy the house a bit, unpack, and then repack, as I woke K up at 4:30 for the next activity - POOL TIME, BABY!!!!! And yes, to those of you reading this, I'm conscious that it sounds like I'm dragging my daughter all over creation. While there is some truth to that, part of it was ensuring she got enough outside time, as
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| Beer - it makes for happy parents and exhausted, NOT so happy children. |
We arrived about 4:45 and were in the water by 5, which is a good thing considering that 25 minutes later thunder was reported in the area and the pool was cleared. K was having a blast (Angie and
Gavin were there, and Gavin was GREAT - held K's hand the whole time and played with her), but oddly enough she was good with leaving (WHEW). I think she was just exhausted from the entire day, and she also wasn't overheated since the day was overcast. Muffin - you would have FROZEN in that water - Angie refused to go in. :-)
After a much needed bath (which will be the case tonight as well), K was down about 7:40, after which time I made dinner and Skyped with Wife Muffin and Yazz. Bedtime was about 10 AM, as I knew K would be up early (she didn't disappoint, but at least it was 6:30 before I heard her). Today has been a 5K so far and some time at the park (K loved playing on the slides - still wet from last night's rain), where K fell over and face planted after she'd walked the width of the grassy area - there's a nice little red mark and thin scratch on her face, but she seems none the worse for wear. The afternoon will be lunch (trying tomato soup again), followed by a Walmart run and the pool, and then concluding with dinner, a bath, and the arrival of Grammie! The work week is going to be crazy I fear, so it will be SO NICE to have someone here at the house with K.Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print. Chat next week!
Love,
Sam and (sitting at De Hem's right now, clad in Orange and having a Mardesous Blonde) Jenny
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