Mom, Mama, Drew and Jack

Mom, Mama, Drew and Jack
the adventures of 2 boys and their moms

Saturday, February 26, 2011

It's Over

My Maternity Leave is over.  I go back to work on Monday.  It has been so wonderful to spend every day just hanging out with Drew, but the reality is that the bills have to be paid and I am just about out of sick time!  I have been so fortunate to have a full 4 months off with him when most people only get 6 - 8 weeks.  I also have been paid the entire time due to sick time that I have banked over the past 12 years at my job.  We were lucky - really lucky!

Drew will be spending his days with my cousin's wife and we couldn't be happier about it.  It is so nice to know that he will be well taken care of and he can be with family instead of strangers.  Again, we are so fortunate to have that option available to us.

On the plus side, there are only 7 work weeks until we have a week off in April and then there are 9 weeks until summer vacation.  Plus I still have 2 1/2 personal days that I can use.  The joys of being a teacher!

I'm sure Monday morning will be hard, but I get to look forward to the end of the day when I pick up my charming Little Man.  It will all be ok!

We are blessed!

Friday, February 25, 2011

{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.
A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Big Boy

Here's how we know our son is getting to be a Big Boy:

*He plays with toys - really plays and interacts - he gets how things work!

*We now tell his age in months instead of weeks.

*We put Drew in his crib for the first time last night and he slept all night - 8:30P to 7:15 AM.  We did have to get up and "plug" his paci a few times, but he went right back to sleep.

*He talks to us all the time.

*He has a real personality and is so fun and interactive.

*He is growing like a weed.

We are still so over the moon in love with our Little Man - even though he is getting to be such a Big Boy!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Vacation

We just got back from a fun filled vacation in Florida! We wanted to escape the cold of NH and get some sunshine! My mom joined us and Drew LOVED having his Nana along for the trip. MJ went home 2 days earlier than us because she had to work, and my Mom and I took Drew to meet lots of his aunts, uncles, and cousins who live in Florida. It was a great week, and once again, Drew was such a trooper and has an amazingly wonderful personality!

We enjoyed a character breakfast:


Hanging out in the beautiful weather:



Trying on mouse ears:



and visiting with family:


It was such a great trip!

I am now on countdown as I go back to work on the 28th. I have been so fortunate to be able to spend this much time off with our Little Man, but I am dreading not being able to spend my days with him. The perk though is that we have April vacation in 7 weeks and then it is only 9 weeks until summer vacation when we get to spend every day with our awesome son!
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Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day certainly brings on a whole new meaning in our lives now that we have Drew. We had our IUI on Valentine's Day of 2010 and that was "the one" that gave us our sweet boy. What a difference a year makes!






Happy Valentine's Day from all of us!
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Friday, February 11, 2011

{This Moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.
A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Just Say No To Naps

What Drew was doing instead of napping yesterday:



He went all day with only 2 20 min cat naps.  I kept telling him it's a good thing he's cute!  Little Man just isn't a fan of naps...

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Three Months

Drew -

You are three months old - three whole months - 1/4 of a year.  We're not sure how time has gone by so quickly, and you continue to amaze us each and every day!

You have grown in leaps and bounds this month both physically, but especially socially.  It seems like every few days you were mastering a new skill.  You have really found your voice!  You jibber jabber and coo all of the time.  We have so much fun having "conversations" with you!  You especially like talking to yourself in the mirror - it is hilarious to watch.  You also love talking to the little dogs that are on your car seat straps.  We can hear you talking away to them in the car.  Your smile will brighten a room and when you smile at us, we just melt!

You also love to play a lot more.  Some of your favorite toys are rattles, toys that can be pulled and "vibrate" up, and anything that plays music.  You have a farm toy that absolutely cracks you up.  You especially love when it plays the pig and chicken sounds.  You do a lot more deliberate reaching with your hands and can begin to grasp objects.  You are still trying to suck your thumb, but you don't quite have the coordination for it yet!

We have started a bedtime routine with you this month and you thrive on that routine.  It includes bath, pj's and lotion, nurse, and bed.  You absolutely love your bath and you love to kick your legs and splash around.  You really go to bed quite easily with this routine and you have been sleeping much longer.  We have you in bed between 8:30 and 9 and you don't wake up until 5:00 or later.  That part has been heaven for your Mama!

This month, Mom, Mama and Nana started back up with our monthly Stamping Club and that meant that you got to spend the evening with your Opa babysitting you.  Your Opa was quite excited to have time with you and we were excited to go out and be crafty.  This will be a monthly event and I'm sure as you get older you will look forward to spending this time with your Opa each month.

You still wore 0 - 3 month clothing for this entire month, but we had to "retire" some of your pants because they were just too short.  You are so long and lean!  We moved you to Size 2 diapers about halfway through the month.  You didn't have a doctor's appointment this month to get your official stats, but we figure you are about 12 pounds now.

You really do light up our lives and we can't seem to remember what life was like without you.  You make us laugh and take time to enjoy the simple things in life.  You bring so much joy into our lives!

We love you with all our hearts, Little Man!

Love,
Mom and Mama

Friday, February 4, 2011

{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.
A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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Thursday, February 3, 2011

Mom, Mama, and Drew

Now that we have our little family, I decided it was time for a change to the blog.  Never mind the fact that we are minus one dog, so it really is no longer a correct title!  Before November, this was a TTC blog, now it is a blog following our adventures with our Little Man!   So, a new year, new family, and a new title.....here we go!!

Oh, and a cute picture from bath time the other night!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

About Sleep

We really have been very fortunate in the sleep department. Other than the first few weeks of Drew's life, we really have not been terribly sleep deprived. At the beginning, Drew woke up every 2 1/2 to 3 hours to eat. It was definitely exhausting! By the time he was a month old, he was sleeping in better stretches of about 4 hours. By the time he was 7 - 8 weeks old he was only waking up about once a night. We would put him to bed around 10, he'd wake at 3:30 ish, then back to sleep until 7:30 or so.

A few weeks ago, we started to really implement a bedtime routing of bath, nurse, bed. We started this routine around 8 PM so that he was asleep and in bed before 9. This pushed his feeding time up to about 2:30 or 3, but that was fine.

About 2 weeks ago, I woke up at 4:45 AM and panicked - I hadn't heard from the Little Man in hours and he was asleep by 8:30 the night before. I quickly checked and of course he was breathing just fine - just sleeping away. he woke up about 15 minutes later to eat. This happened again the next night and I was thrilled. Night #3 came and he was back to his 3:30 wake time, so I figured those long nights were just a fluke! Night #4 came and he slept until 6AM!!! Ever since then, he has slept until 6 or 6:30 every morning and even once until 7AM!!!

We are so thrilled that our 12 week old is sleeping so well! If we could just get a solid nap schedule figured out - everything would be perfect! A full night's sleep sure makes for 2 happy Moms! It has also been nice to get him down to bed before 9 because then we have some time together to just hang out or get things done around the house!
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