School Pictures

Photos courtesy of a very talented mom at Will's school.
She captured him perfectly!

Radio Silence

Hello, out there! We're alive. Just busy. Here's life in six short snippets...

1. Will loves his preschool. He tells me all the time about his friends and his teacher and what they had for snack that day. Melts my heart. However, he also says his best friend at school is Lucy, but there is no Lucy. So I'm not sure if we've entered imaginary friend territory, or if he's decided our friends' dog is his best friend. Stay tuned.
2. People keep commending me for doing EBF (exclusive breastfeeding) with Charlotte for the first six months. I think breast milk is awesome, and I'm thrilled that we hit that milestone. But the truth is, it wasn't a conscious choice so much as I forgot she could start food already. The plight of the second child.
3. I freaking love my new job. Wait, did I ever tell you that I got a new job? I started a new position at our local public four-year university in September. I'm 20 hours a week on a nine month contract, which has been about perfect balance for me. I've learned that I'm not well-suited to being at home full-time, but I don't want to be away from the kids five days a week either. So I'm working three days a week and I'll have my summers off. Awesome!
4. We hired a cleaning person last month. Best money ever spent. I had no idea where to start, but we found her on recommendation from a friend. She visits every other week and does an amazing job. It's so great to have someone come in to do the big stuff (floors, sinks, toilets, etc), so we can spend less time cleaning and more time hanging out as a family. On her first day here, she took out the vacuum and Will exclaimed, "What's that?!?" Nice. In sum, why we have a cleaning lady.
5. I started doing yoga two mornings a week with a friend. It's really early (like waking up at 5:30 AM to be to the studio by 6:00 AM), but so worth it. The days I do yoga are so good. I'm more present, more patient, more positive. Although it's early, there's something so calming about being up before anyone else. Like the world in the sub-6:00 AM darkness exists only for me. Before the kids are awake, before we're scrambling to get ready, even before I've had my first cup of coffee. I get to do something just for me. It's like I'm sweeping away the cobwebs and shining myself up for the day. Om.
6. We recently debated Charley vs. Charlie for Charlotte's nickname. I adore the spelling Charley, but Ben figures she'll just have to explain how to spell it her whole life. So Charlie it is.

I forgot how hard it is to blog when I'm working! My new goal is once a week, but we'll see...

Back To School

Will on the First Day of Preschool: Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Ink

Sisters

Guess who got a tattoo?!?

The idea came to me a few weeks ago as I was cleaning out my bedroom closet. I found a note from my dad, which was signed with his customary "Who Loves Ya" (he's said this to my sister and I since we were little girls). I snapped a photo of the note and sent a text to my sister... "This would make an awesome tattoo."

She was on board immediately, and we decided to get it done when she was in town for Charlotte's baptism. So this past Saturday, we grabbed our guys and headed to the tattoo parlor. Our tattoo artist was awesome. He made a transfer of the note in my dad's handwriting and went to work. I was super nervous, but it wasn't bad at all. Granted, it was a fairly simple tat. But two natural child births have probably skewed my pain threshold.  :)

It's still a bit surreal to see something permanently written on my arm, but I absolutely love it. It makes me smile every time I see it. I love that I share this piece of me with my sister, and I love that we were able to do something to honor our dad.

Cross that one off the list!

Four Months Old

Charlotte Louise (August 2013)

Dear Charlotte,

Sweet girl, what a big month it's been! Shortly after my last post you began sleeping through the night. At three months old. It was glorious.

It was also relatively short-lived (about 8 consecutive days), but it was awesome. You are quite young to be sleeping through the night on a consistent basis, so I took it as a beautiful (and restful) gift.

Even when you're not sleeping through the night, you're a relatively good sleeper. Daddy gives you a bottle before he goes to bed (around 11:00 PM) and then you usually only wake up once in the middle of the night to nurse. You eat very quickly and go right back to sleep (up for about 25 minutes max). Part of me really enjoys our middle of the night cuddles, and I know that extra feeding helps keep my milk supply up. So it's totally worth it, even if I need an extra cup of coffee in the morning.

In the past month you also started rolling from your belly to your back. It seemed to really startle you at first, but now you roll with a purpose, giving me a triumphant smile when you succeed. You still dislike tummy time when you're tired or close to nap time, but for the most part, you don't mind being on your stomach. You hold your head up high and look around the room for your brother, who remains your absolute favorite person.

You've started reaching for and batting at toys. You are almost able to grab them, but your coordination needs a little work yet. Still, it's awesome to see you interact with your surroundings a bit more. I can't believe how fast you're growing!

Bedtime continues to be a hard time of day for you. We've found that you get very upset if we try and put you to bed before you're ready. You regularly scream at Daddy when he puts you to bed alone. While you're a little fussy for me, I can usually keep you content until you're drowsy enough to fall asleep. Before bedtime, we spend a lot of time walking around the house or watching Will play. You also like to go outside... something about the fresh air seems to soothe you.

You continue to nurse like a champ, although we're encountering some new nursing troubles now that you're more active and alert. You recently whipped your head around while you were latched, creating a gnarly crack on my nipple (ouch!). It hurts a bit to nurse you on that side right now, but we're pushing through it.

Your absolute favorite activity right now is standing. Not by yourself of course, but standing on someone's lap while they support you under your arms. You lock your legs and hold yourself up forever. You love to look out and take in your surroundings while you do it. You're quite alert and interested in the world around you.

You are such a sweet, smiley girl. You love to look at people and make eye contact. You gave us your first giggles in the past month, and your smiles absolutely light up the room (and our lives).

We love you so much, baby bug.

Love,

Mama

Three

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sweet Boy

School Supplies

The best part of having a preschool-age child? School supply shopping!

One box is never enough!

I loved school supply shopping when I was a kid. The ritual of going to the store with my mom and picking out my new items was often the highlight of my summer.

Back-to-school shopping felt like such a major event, as if those new supplies were going to set the tone for the entire school year. I'd give serious consideration to whether I should get notebooks that were regular or college-ruled, debate the merits of pens with purple ink vs. pens with black ink, and agonize over which Trapper-Keeper to buy. I even loved supply shopping as a grad student (albeit with far fewer Lisa Frank folders). There's still something incredibly intoxicating about pulling out a brand new notebook or writing deadlines in a never-before-used planner.

(Writing that, I'm acutely aware of what a super-nerd I am.)

So granted, I was really amped up to buy supplies for Will, but he had a great time too. He was so proud to be picking out his own items, and he's really, really excited to go to school in a few weeks.

For this year, Will's school supply list included...

• Child-safe scissors
• Two white glue sticks
• Small box of crayons
• Two #2 pencils
• Large pink eraser
• Medium-size pencil box
• Folder
• Kleenex box

And here's what he chose...

Will's 2013-2014 school supplies

I could just die from the cuteness.

By the way...

I totally jinxed it.

But it was a solid 8 days of all-night slumber.

Plus, it's a promise that I will indeed sleep again.

Not now and not consistently. But someday.

I'll take it.