Back in the Groove

I still can't believe the Holidays are over!  I am now back to work, so that also means my time at home has come to an end until next summer:(  I was so fortunate to have 5 months home with Bryn and 7 with Harper.  I do wish this country had more maternity leave, a year would be amazing!!!  I was really anxious about returning to work for a few reasons: #1 I am a control freak and dislike having a sub anytime, but to have one who is going to be starting out the school year and continuing all semester is a nightmare for me.  I also knew that the sub was not that great and had heard through the grapevine she was awkward and didn't have a nice personality and that she really struggled with my Spanish 1 Per 7 class.  #2 I didn't want to leave Bryn since she has had her struggles with allergies and she isn't the "easiest" baby in the world.  #3 We had to find new daycare, since Linda could only take Harper and not Bryn until later in the year.  Well we took a look at some daycares from references, but they just didn't seem to be a good fit.  Then we had one for a daycare right near my work.  We took the kids to check it out and we knew before we even left that it was THE place!:) 

"Tia Gracie" has been doing this for 20+ years and is only open TWTh (the days we need).  Her own kids went to the same primary and high school as I did.  She has a great, big yard where the kids play and plant food in the garden.  She then has them help her cook from the things that grow.  She cooks all her own food and baby food.  They go on long walks around the neighborhood in the mornings.  She speaks Spanish!  Harper went last week for the first time and had a blast picking oranges and making juice.  He couldn't wait to go back.  Some days Harper is the only kid there so he gets lots of one on one time:)  

My mom stayed with Bryn all last week as I transitioned back to work.  Bryn was fighting a little cold and could be teething.  She proved to be difficult as she did not want to take a bottle, but finally gave in as she was hungry.  Her napping was hit and miss and the swing was pulled back out!  She def is happier when she gets a good nap in:)  We just wish she would take 2 a day, at this age Harper took 3!!  We do almost everything the same with Bryn as we did with Harper, yet she is sooooo different.  Just chalk it up to diff babies and diff personalities:)  A big shout out to my mom who not only came everyday and watched Bryn, but prepped dinner for us each night and even did some cleaning and laundry!!  Thanks also to Grandma Donna and Grampsy Pat for extra hands during the week and to Grandpa Dave, who now comes with Nana on Mondays to help with both kids.

Well all in all it has been a pretty smooth transition back to work.  All my fears about the students being hard to manage, not being well trained, not knowing anything did not pan out, thank goodness.  In fact I have really great students and no problems with any of them, even the "notorious" Per 7 kids are great and do their work.  I think many of them were just anxious to have me back, so word to the wise (teachers): "Get and bad substitute teacher and your students will be begging for you to return!"

Harper loves his new "Tia Gracie" and looks forward to going everyday.  He gets to take his superman backpack, he looks so cute pretending to fly to the front door, I need to take a picture of it.  They have lots of fun there, especially playing in the backyard.  Bryn started yesterday and I was really nervous, but she did well.  She drank her bottles fine and took a long 2+ hr nap.  I did bring over an extra rock and play that Kaila let us borrow.  We will work on transitioning her to a pack and play as time goes on.

Bryn:
-still swaddled for sleep
-does not like to sleep in pack and play
-will sleep in rock and play and my bed
-takes one big nap in the day, usually over 2 hours, but fights any naps later in
  the day, which is too bad since she gets pretty fussy in the evenings
-loves her bouncer
-can sit up pretty well on your lap, has total head control
-can roll from tummy to back, but not back to tummy yet
-appears to be teeting, lots of drool and shoving her fingers in her mouth (it
  almost appears one of her bottom canines is coming in first, but who knows
-still has bloody stool from time to time, (her doctor says it is okay since she is
   thriving) there is not really a rhyme or reason,
   but I am always skeptical if I eat out, since I cannot 100% control the
   ingredients (therefore I don't eat out often)

Bath-time yoga

Bundled up for s'mores

Close up

Harper:
-a bundle of energy
-Spiderman is still his favorite toy
-now asks what certain words mean
-everytime he hears bad words like stupid or shutup on tv or radio, says "we
  don't say that"
-loves going to the park with his buddy Luke
-happy to help Bryn, likes to give her toys or binky if she is getting "fussy"
-One night I was trying to finish dinner and she was getting fussy, before 
   I could move Harper said "Don't worry Mom, I got this" and went over to calm
   Bryn down

S'mores night with our neighbors Cole and Baron

Flying like Superman while watching the movie with Dad (notice the Spiderman pjs)
 

End of the Holidays, Starting Back to Work

The holidays are officially over and that is always a little sad in our house because we really enjoy all of the decorations, family and spirit and now that we have kids it is even better!  We spent Christmas Eve here with my parents and Erin's family for our annual paella dinner, luckily it is dairy and soy free!  Christmas morning was spent at Erin's for crepes, which are my favorite meal of the year, but alas this year I had to pass but that will make next year's soooo much better!  Christmas night was spent at my parents with my brother and his family.  We spent the night so we didn't have to worry about getting the kids back home early.  It was a very yummy dinner and nice to see everyone since they live in Monterey now.  The morning after Christmas things turned rough.  Harper threw up his milk right after drinking it:(  Then all day he complained about his tummy, he was checked by the doctor while Bryn was at her checkup and he was negative for the flu.  Later that afternoon, he ended up getting diarrea and that went on for about 2 days, lots of baths to help his sensitive behind.  That Fri we had dinner with Gramsy Pat and Grandma Donna since they had been in Virginia over Christmas.  That evening Brendan said he didn't feel well:(  By midnight he was violently ill to his stomach and of course it hit me about 4 hours later:(  It was like a repeat of the norovirus that we got last year at the EXACT same time!  Luckily this time we were home and it didn't spread to anyone else, not even Bryn-thank god! 

Superman photobomb!

Santa was a success!

All snuggled up for the Christmas Lights Parade

Pretty Bryn in Uncle Chris' arms while Auntie Stacie takes the pic

Hanging out in the Bumbo while I prep for Christmas Eve dinner

I start back at work on Jan 13th for the second semester.  I'm quite nervous and anxious as I will miss the kids terribly and Bryn will only be 5 months so that will be soooo hard.  We had to find a new place for them to go on TWTh since Linda already had an infant and cannot take more than 1 at a time.  We had some referrals and checked them out, but the last woman we met with was AMAZING!  Seriously couldn't think of anyone better.  She only takes kids TWTh, the days we need and only has 4-5 kids and has a huge yard, takes the kids on walks everyday around the golf course, has a garden that the kids help plant and then she has them cook with her the things from the garden!  She only makes all the food she serves.  Her kids went to Sacred Heart and San Joaquin, just like me:)  Her house is literally about 2 min from my work as well, so I will be super close and it won't be a long commute, like it usually is, since child care has always been pretty far from home and work for me:)  I will take Harper the first week by himself to get him adjusted and then start taking Bryn the second week.

I know that the first few weeks back will be a rough transition as my most of my students have never met me (some of my Spanish 3 kids have had me in Spanish 1 though) and have had a not so great sub for the first semester.  I will spend lots of time training them and getting them into my routine.  This is much like the beginning of any shcool year except they now all know each other and I don't know them.  Hopefully it is pretty smooth.  Several of my co-workers say my students are anxiously waiting my return, so that make me feel good:)

Bryn: 4 months
-15.3 lbs
-24.75 inches
-napping once in the morning and a big long nap at the same time as Harper's in the afternoon
-going to bed around 9, waking once for a feeding, wakes up around 8/830
-sleeping in her rock and play, haven't transitioned her to the pack and play yet
-swaddled for naps and sleep
-much happier and easier to deal with in the evenings
-doing better in her carseat on rides
-rolls from stomach to back
-really good head control
-sits up in bath seat
-loves the piano
-loves Harper, he always make her smile
-isn't fazed by the screaming Harper does
-giggles and laughs
-no spitting up
-lots of drooling

Harper: 32 months
-34 lbs
-naps from 1-4, sleeps from 9-8/830
-loves all superheros
-had a blast over Christmas
-learned Rudolph the Red Nosed reindeer
-plays with his friend Luke really well now
-loves the park
-loves his sister and helps get her things, calms her, puts her paci in
-talks from sun up to sun down
-will pee on the big boy toilet

Harpenese:
-Harper saw a pic of a dog with the grinch hat on and said "oh he's being the grunch"

-Bryn hit her face on mine and started to cry...to calm her I started to nurse her and Harper asked:
"Did she settle down? Is she going to cry again?"

-Harper said he's going to teach Bryn how to talk and she's not going to wear onesies anymore because she's going to be a big girl.

-I gave Harper a plate of pizza and after a minute he said "actually I need some ranch!"
-I was picking Harper up out of the crib and must have groaned because of his weight, he said "I'm heavy because I am growing"

-The other night Bryn started to get fussy in the piano and he told me "Mom, I got this" and went over and started to play with her to calm her down.