Wow is a key word that runs through my brain these days. Drew turned 12 weeks old yesterday. He is smiling and giggling and is a ball of joy. He is the sweetest little guy and we love him so much. He eats every three hours, naps 2-4 times a day, and sleeps through the night, from around 10-ll pm to 6-8 am. Don't tell me I'm lucky, I worked hard to get that boy on an eating/sleeping schedule! It was not easy! : ) He loves his pacifier and I'm sure it will be hard to take away from him, unlike it was with Carter. He is also a VERY BIG HEALTHY BOY! At his last check-up, at 10 and a half weeks old, he weighed 14 lbs. 8 oz. (89%), was 25 1/4 inches (96%), and his head was 41 1/2 cm (73%). I love how big, tall, and healthy he is. Except my back hurts most days from holding him so much. But, that will all change if I continue to exercise and tighten up all my muscles and ligaments that got so loose during pregnancy. It's amazing how much your body changes during pregnancy.
My maternity leave ends on January 1 and I head back to work full time on the 2nd. I will have had over 13 weeks off with my sweet boys. I am lucky, blessed, and thankful to say the least. My in-laws will watch little Drew five days a week and Carter two days a week; Carter goes to all day preschool/daycare the other three days. Again, we are so lucky to have in-laws that are simply amazing. I have the best family and friends!
Not sure I realized how hard two kids would be. Wow! My hat goes off to all the stay at home mom and dad's, grandparents, child care providers, and single parents. It is A LOT of work. I think we are starting to figure out how to have two kids now that Drew is 12 weeks. Those first few months with a new baby are so sweet, yet so hard. And, I feel like I'm constantly ignoring Carter to tend to the baby. But, I try very hard to play with him and do fun activities. Again, I am thankful for all that I have, but am just being honest here. I thought I had a lot of patience, but not so much it seems. I feel like I'm constantly telling Carter no no no, and he does it back as well. Guess we both have some growing to do. : ) It seems like he's a little rough with Drew (until I watch other 3 years olds with their infant siblings and realize Carter is pretty gentle and calm), but I know he just wants to play with his little bro so badly. Wait just a little longer Carter and you guys will be chasing each other around everywhere!
Carter is such a great big brother. He seriously loves Drew so so so so much and wants to be around him all the time. He always wants to stay home from preschool (so he says the night before and morning of) to stay home with us, even though he really loves preschool, and two days a week seems to be a good fit for him and us. He has a really good friend at school, Jaxon. He loves playing with Jaxon and I love knowing he has a buddy at school. Carter is learning a ton and can identify all the letters in the alphabet so we are starting to work on forming words to read. I think he is a smarty. And, I just have to remember this moment. He is REALLY into Christmas and Santa this year, which watching him as a parent brings my heart such joy. He asked me yesterday on the way home from school if I could take him to the North Pole to visit Santa. How cute, right? He hasn't sat on Santa's lap yet; he's a bit hesitant to do that, which is fine with me. But, he's made two lists, one at home and one at school, and asks everyday if today is Christmas. Love him.
Carter painting a pumpkin he picked at a local pumpkin patch in October.
Jason loves being a Nurse Practitioner at the Portneuf Brain and Spine Center. And, I think he is really good at it. He does a lot of surgeries, which is SO COOL, and then sees patients, prescribes RX, etc. etc. What a great opportunity. We hope it lasts and that he learns from the Docs and gains a ton of knowledge he can use to expand his career.
In other news, Carter was Spiderman for Halloween and Drew was Captain America. I went trick or treating with Carter's preschool class around campus and what fun it was! We went to the Hogle Zoo in November for a "Carter Day" and had the best time. Carter started his first swim lessons in November. We are thrilled he loves the lessons, and after two months, he is really improving and pretty comfortable in the water. I love the water and have always been a strong swimmer so I want my kids to feel comfortable and safe in the water as well. He'll start his third month of lessons in January and we'll continue them as long as he wants to go. Carter and I did the holiday craft night/potluck at his preschool last week and had a blast making ornaments together. Carter got his first cavity (no surprise since he has a sweet tooth like his Dad and we were horrible about brushing in the morning) and had a stainless steel cap put on his back molar just the other day and was a champ about it. Lastly, Carter learned to ski a few weeks ago at Grand Targhee. We put him in a private lesson for an hour and then Jason skied a few runs with him. He did great. He didn't love it, but he seemed to like it ok. He LOVED getting hot chocolate in the lodge afterwards. What kid doesn't? Drew and I watched from the sidelines. I can't wait to watch him again and ski with him. I think it will take many more tries before he loves it. Luckily, he loves playing in the snow! Jason said it was pretty much the best day of his life. That is so sweet.
Well, many more pics to come, but this is all for now.
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