September 1, 2009
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Eventful Weekend
We had a blast this past weekend!
Friday afternoon, we took Jack (and Derek) to Kid Concepts, this indoor play place just a mile or so down the road from us. It was a really hot day, so I think all the parents in our town had the same idea -- the place was packed! Jack played happily with the Thomas train table, the ball pit, the play kitchen, the swings, the slides ... he was all over the place. Derek ate and slept peacefully. Johnny and I sat and enjoyed the air conditioning. A win-win for everyone.
It was amazing to me to watch Jack running around like, well, like a regular human being, and to remember that only two years ago, he slept through outings in the same infant car seat that Derek uses now. Crazy! Saturday, Donna, Scott, Madi and Joshua came to see us. We haven't gotten together in way too long. This was their first time at our house, and we all had a great time. Joshua is only five days older than Derek and is completely adorable (just like his parents
). We ate, chatted and just hung out.Me and Donna
Joshua and Derek -- best friends already!
Derek looks like he's jealous of Joshua's monkey toy
Just chillin'
By the way, Derek's awesome "dress-up" shirt is courtesy of Amy and Han!
Sunday afternoon, we drove south to celebrate Victoria's birthday. Chris grilled up some yummy burgers, Jack and his cousin Maddy played together (well, more accurately, played next to each other), and Derek split the time between eating and sleeping. He did look around for a little while and seemed to really like being held by his Uncle Chris!
Looks like Maddy and Jack are talking to each other here. Jack is lucky to have a cousin who's only four months younger than he is ... they'll be great buddies when they get older!
Not a great picture, but I love how both kids are laughing
The cousins work out a strategy for playing with the balls
Johnny and Maddy
I swear I uploaded some adorable pictures of Chris holding Derek, but Xanga seems to have lost them! Grr.
We have a busy week ahead, too. Today is actually my first day "back" at work (which just means I'm sitting in the "office corner" of our den at home), so I'm a bit nervous. So far I don't have a project yet, but I'm sure that will change! Tomorrow afternoon, Jack starts the fall session at My Gym, so that will be a fun activity for the two of us to do together each week. And Thursday, I'm going to the first playgroup of a Meetup.com moms group that I joined. The other moms all have two-year-olds and new babies. Should be fun! Then, this Saturday, Johnny and I are taking Jack and Derek to spend the night in San Diego. We'll be staying in a suite with a bedroom and living room, and we're borrowing a crib from the hotel. Jack can sleep on the pull-out bed in the living room, and we'll set up Derek's crib in there, too. Bright and early on Sunday morning, we'll hit the San Diego Zoo right when it opens, and drive back up during Jack's mid-day nap. I know Jack will love the zoo, especially the Elephant Odyssey. It's not much, but it will be a manageable first family vacation with both children!
Oh, and this is neither here nor there, but I just have to share that last night, Derek slept for 11 hours straight! He went down at 7 p.m., and didn't wake up until 6 a.m. I was totally freaked out when I woke up (on my own, not by his cries) and looked over at the clock. I was convinced something had happened to him. Jack didn't sleep for that long until about 12 weeks old, and I already thought that was excellent (Derek turned 8 weeks old this past Sunday). Crazy! I'm sure there won't be a repeat performance for a while. He's been sleeping for eight hours pretty consistently, waking up to eat, and going to sleep again. I have a feeling he'll do that for a while longer before going back to 11 to 12 hours at a stretch. But still, I enjoyed my night of sleep! (The rock-hard boobs were not fun to wake up to, though!)
Anyway, now that I've babbled all about myself (well, it IS my blog!), what's everyone doing for Labor Day weekend?
Comments (7)
Hello, just stopping by. You have an adorable family!
wow, sleep through the night this early, huh.. that's goodd! did u wake him up to feed him if he slept that long??? Jasmine slept for 5 hours straight w/o feeding and i don't know whether or not i should wake her up for feeding...
I'd really like to know how you manage working from home with the two boys. Do you get any help throughout the day from anyone or is it just you? We still have plans to move back to CA as soon as Bill gets one of several jobs that are supposedly opening up any day now... and when that happens, I'll be staying home with them and working, keeping my current job for as long as they'll let me. I wonder how you balance it all when the kids need something.
@luvlyac - No, I never wake a sleeping baby! That's great that Jasmine slept for 5 hours straight. Unless your doctor is concerned about her weight, I personally wouldn't wake her. She'll wake up to eat when she's hungry.
@glorycato - Well, before Derek was born, it was just me at home with him, working. Now, I have help -- my mom's been living with us and will do so until Derek is about 10 months old, so that I can continue to work from home without paying someone to help. The thought is that next spring, Jack will start preschool and be out of the house 3 mornings a week, and Derek will be about the same age that Jack was when I started working from home, and it'll be manageable for me again. I'm sure both boys will still need my attention while I'm working, but at that point at least I'll know that no one needs to be fed right away -- in other words their needs can wait, most of the time, for me to send an urgent work email or wrap up a phone call if need be.
That being said, I do only work up to 20 hours a week. If I were working full-time, I'd consider hiring someone to help out at least a couple of days (or mornings) a week, so I had a dedicated chunk of time for work. Also, I'm not sure how I'd do it with three kids, even part-time. Then again Lucas and Holden are in school, right? But then you have Ash at home. I'd seriously consider hiring someone so you have dedicated "office hours." Otherwise you'll find yourself working a lot of evenings and weekends. That's what I do often. Last night I worked until 11 p.m. b/c I couldn't sit down to do my writing until about 9 p.m.
Oh, and this is all assuming you don't have to be in front of your computer at specific times! If you do have to be "on" during the day, then I would say you deifnitely need some help with the kiddos. Just my two cents though!
@bevconeal - Yeah I'm still not sure if it will be fulltime or parttime. Holden will be in school though. Luc probably won't be in preschool since it's covered by the state in FL, but not in CA. Lots of stuff to consider. Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it!!
@glorycato - No problem! I'm happy to provide input anytime
I can't believe preschool is covered by the state in FL! That's awesome. I wish it were covered in CA. Jack will be going next fall.
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