Friday, February 20, 2009

Back to the daily grind...

Well, I officially started working again this week...I have been working at home since about 4 weeks after delivery, but I started back in the office this week. I was really nervous about it but everything has gone very smoothly. I went to visit the daycare again to fill out paperwork last week and after visiting again, I was 100% confident in my decision with the place I had chosen. If I have to leave my precious baby girl somewhere, I am happy to leave her here. I really like the people, it is clean, affordable, and I am looking at it as an investment in her future...much like I would if it were private school or even college. I know it is early to be thinking that way but that is what makes it all OK for me.

Devin has done really well her first week in daycare. She has been exhausted but happy as a lark all week when she gets home. She is starting to go to sleep a little earlier each day and is sleeping longer at night. I am typically only waking up once to feed her each night which is fabulous. I know not to get too excited b/c this can change at any time but I am going to be happy while it is happening!

Work has been going well for me too. Fortunately, it is tax season and my favorite part of my job. Unfortunately it requires more than the standard 40 hours a week. I am lucky b/c I can work at home on the weekends which means I can spend a little more time with Devin on the weekends while she is home and awake. I missed her so much each day this week while I was at work. It feels like she got 10 times bigger over the week and is no longer a tiny infant baby but an little baby girl.

Her little personality is just blossoming! She smiles very regularly now which everyone is enjoying to the fullest. I finally convinced my mom this week to not hold her and to let her lay on the bed and play with her. When she holds her she just goes to sleep. On the bed my mom and my dad both got to witness her smiling and talking. Daddy must have really enjoyed it b/c when I came over again today he told me to bring her in his room and while I was in the other room putting her bag down I heard him arfing and making silly noises at her. She thought is was humorous enough to give him a lot of smiles....still didn't get a laugh out of her. I can't ever seem to catch a smile on camera though!

Speaking of laughs, I am doing anything and everything that I can that I think she might find funny to get a laugh out of her. She has had two small laughs after a bath many weeks ago but nothing recently. I can hardly wait for her to start laughing regularly!

Last weekend my cousin came in town and we started going through my aunt's garage. Man, you can actually enter the house through the garage now. It is strange every time you see someone come through the garage door rather than the front door. The garage was a huge mess but we got it cleaned and organized and found a ton of treasures from our childhood which was so much fun! Alison and I both got really excited about some of the items we came across. I can't believe Bird saved ALL of that stuff! She must have saved everything Alison and Clay every had!

Ok, enough rambling...onto the pictures!

My little valentine! I think my mom may have been right, her hair looks like it is turning red to me now.

From February 09


From February 09


The thing I miss most about working at home.
From February 09


From February 09


From February 09



A wonderful surprise from both of my valentines! :)
From February 09

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

8 weeks...no way!

I tell you what, this baby is growing up way too fast for me. I am not sure I like the speed at which all of this goes. I will say that each new day brings more new fun discoveries which we are all enjoying immensely.

Things are going well in the Morris household. I started working from home a few weeks ago, with a week break in between when my aunt passed away, and it is going pretty well. Devin goes back to the pediatrician next week and starts going to daycare the week after. I am not looking forward to not spending my entire day with her while I work, but I am convincing myself (because I have no other choice) that it will be good for both of us.

Everyone asks me if I will be taking her to work with me. I am so incredibly fortunate to have a boss that would let me do this. The problem is that I would most likely get even less accomplished there than I do at home where I have all of her stuff...plus, in the office I can't walk around nursing her with no regard for anyone else. I may be eating my words in a few weeks when I have to leave my precious baby girl with someone other than myself, but I have to be realistic about the next few months ahead of me and how busy they will be. I have been fortunate enough to be able to stay home with Devin until she is almost 10 weeks old though. I couldn't ask for a better situation. I think about all the moms who return to work at 6 weeks and I am still not sure I am fit for work at 10 weeks. More on that one later though.

So I have become more and more brave about venturing out on my own. Kortnee went out one day with me and Devin when she was only 2 weeks old. Thank god for Kortnee b/c I was still in a total baby daze and could barely function. She held everything together for me on that little outing and laughed about how silly I acted. I am sure she was just so glad to get out of the house for a few hours that she would do anything! Then my cousin went out with me when she was about 4 weeks old. We took the stroller in one store and Devin proceeded to fall apart. I handled it all just fine but it was nice to know there was someone there to help me if I needed it and helped to confirm that I could indeed handle being on my own. So since then we have been out quite a bit. I have found that I prefer to wear her in my Moby wrap if there will be no weird lifting like getting water at the store. I always get a lot of comments about her and how cute it is etc etc. Even men comment on how I am wearing her and how neat the wrap is. She even went for my weekly grocery shopping this past weekend with me b/c Chris was working diligently on his most fabulous ribs for the Super Bowl which needed his full attention.

We have started meeting people for lunch and Chris and I have even gone out to dinner with her a few times. Life seems like it is all falling into place with a very loose routine. Last week Devin and I went to a Mommy and Me Nia class that we both really enjoyed. I got some exercise while she got a GREAT nap!

As for being fit for returning to work...last weekend Chris and I got dressed up and ready for a party we were invited to. We drove all the way there only to discover that there were no other cars, and we were at least 30 minutes later than the start time. I looked at my email on my phone only to discover that it was the next weekend! OOOPPPSS! Chris was a great sport and just laughed about it but it was so unlike me to make such a mistake!

OK, enough of the rambling...on to the pictures!

Here is a video from today. It is way longer than I want but I don't know how to shorten them. We just discovered an extra button on Devin's mirror today and she really liked it as you can see...she coos and smiles as it plays in the beginning. Then Izzy joins in which is distracting.


Here she is in the moby wrap:
From January 09


From February 09


And her newest accomplishment is sitting in the Bumbo and having a taste of her elephant!

From February 09


From February 09


And happy to see daddy!

From February 09


From February 09