exhaustion....

So this was the 3rd week back to work for us...and it was only a 4 day week. I can't begin to describe the exhaustion...it just consumes me by Thursday and Friday. Next week, it will be exhaustion on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday since I have a 5 day work week ahead? Or will it snoooooowwwwwww?? *Praying*. And, what will Friday be like if it is a 5 day week? I'm so tired after day 4 now, what will day 5 be like? I guess I should tell you that on day 3 this week, I napped for 2 hours before getting bottles ready and going to bed... On day 4 of this week, I was showered and ready for bed before 10...and fell asleep within minutes of nursing Katherine... I don't even remember falling asleep...that's how tired I am.
And, I do OK for the first two days or so...and while I know I'm still taking great care of The Precious One, doing the "other" things just fall by the way-side... Getting her bottles ready for the next day takes me forever because I'm so tired...making dinner - ugh!...picking up the drinking glasses that are randomly scattered around my bedroom from bedtime water and morning OJ - we have a small kitchen in the bedroom at this point! Don't even look at the floor - it needs to be vacuumed...badly. Where's the kitchen table? Oh yah, it's under the pile of mail and newspapers...which I don't even get to look at any more... Dusting? Please feel free to leave us brief written messages in our dust blankets... :) Laundry? Watch out French Alps...we have some mountains of our own...
BUT, my toilet is clean *grin*...the dishes do get washed on most nights...and Ryan is just an amazing help with lots of things (which is why he refers to himself as my slave...hehe). The dogs are fed and walked several times daily...so they are still smiling...and we both go to work and the kids learn despite our fatigue... We still laugh and joke...and smile... We shower daily...and have clean clothes to wear... But, I think the most important thing is that Katherine is happy and thriving... So who cares about all the other things that silently irritate me... :)
It's just after 9 AM...and I think I am ready for a nap... :) Seriously...
:)

Giggling

Our first real experiences with Baby K giggling... It happens to be the day after 4 shots and one oral immunization... We were getting ready for a bath and realized that when we were taking off her Bugs Bunny band aids, she would giggle when we asked, "Do you like Bugs?" (as in Bugs Bunny) Her initial giggles were SO cute, but we didn't have the camera... Here is our attempt to reinact it!:) Not as good, but still cute! :) :)

Our first attempt just before the bath :) She's cute and give lots of smiles but doesn't giggle! :) Maybe it was because Beezer gave her a little scare!? :) hehe :)




A true giggle here...on our attempts after the bath! :)




And another video...not as giggly, but still cute! :)

Dancing Queen

Our little Dancing Queen...or what normal people would call a kicking baby! :)
Sorry for my high pitched script, but I promise the video will make you giggle. :)



Another dance...more breakdancing-ish, however. :) Enjoy :)

Thank you, heating coil Gods.......

As I'm sure you've read before, I am not liking the whole "parting with my baby for the day" situation... I really miss her during the day. It's hard to dwell on it when you're busy and trying to make it until 3:00 and dismissal, but the last several days just continue to solidify my feelings... When I'm with my baby, I'm so doggone happy and at peace... My soul just feels so fed and right... She's happy and smiling all the time...and so am I.

However...school still calls...for the next 90 days (no, really, I'm counting...)

We had, potentially, the best week of school...and we didn't even have any snow days... :) Well, I guess we didn't have a week of school...we were supposed to, but well...

Monday and Tuesday were normal days... Unfortunately for Little One, Monday wasn't a good day - lots of crying and just a genuine unhappiness. It was terrible before K left with Mrs. S - crying in the hall until around 9 that morning... She wouldn't eat much that day, and was just very fussy, etc. Tuesday was a little better, but still, she was a little off. I don't know if it was what I ate, after-shocks from the shots...or just another change in schedule to mix her little clock up again...poor baby...

But, I'm happy to say that school went pretty quickly on those days...and while the both nights were filled with a crying baby, at least I was with her...

Wednesday...she woke up super early (5 AM), ate, went right back to sleep...and I had to get her up at 7:15 to get her dressed so we could leave... But, she had a good day! :)
I, on the other hand, was "fumed" out of the school...

On Tuesday afternoon, a strange odor was floating around the 3rd grade hallway... We thought it was due to the changing of the air filters, but that just didn't seem right to me. When we came in on Wednesday, the odor was pretty bad. It was sort of like a chemical play dough smell...and after about 15 minutes, it really got to you. We were evacuated, three times...first outside for 25 minutes (it was like 15 degrees)...then into the gym, then to after school day care when the sheriff's office deemed the school unsafe, and then, we were bused over to the primary school. We ate and hung out with the kids until our early dismissal (which was planned). I was reunited with Baby K there around 12ish, and we were released to leave then (we didn't have to go back to the school on account of the smell other than to get our things and go...) and could also plan on staying home on Thursday due to airing out the rooms at school. So, I had another little mini-vacation here with my sweet girl...LOVED it... :)
On Friday, we had a professional day, so we still arose at the crack of dawn...got ready... As we were unloading the car at school (Baby K was going to hang with me for the day! :)), an announcement came over the speakers outside telling us to go home... Upon entering the building (for my report cards...they go out next week), I could tell that our friendly play dough smell hadn't disappeared...

The culprit...a broken heating coil that has a liquid in it... The liquid leaked, thus causing the terrible smell... And, on Friday morning, they discovered another leak... Seriously, what's the chance...? Yes, another day with my baby girl... :)

And a super long weekend since we have Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, too... Sweet.....too sweet...

And, now, with the very cold temperatures, I'm hoping for some *SNOW* so we can have some snow days, too... :) Maybe after a few days back... :)

But for now, Thank you heating coil Gods... :) May your wrath on WYES continue... :)

Two Month Check-up & S-H-O-T-S

Katherine had her 2 month (technically 2 month, 2 week and 3 day) check up on Friday. She did so well...a wonderful surprise since I was so so worried...
She measured at 23 3/4 inches...quite a growth spurt!!! She weighed 11 lbs., 9 oz.... She measures right in the 50%ile for everything, which is good to know... :) She's so "average" with her stats...but we know she's EXTRAORDINARY in every other way! :) hehe :)
She did spend the end of her check up getting 4 shots and one oral immunization... She cried pretty hard for the shots, but the nurse was fabulous...the shots only lasted around 20 seconds... When I picked her up, she quieted down pretty quickly... She had a dose of Tylenol there and another in the evening... She seems to have reacted well to the shots...her only real challenge is staying awake, it seems... She slept from 4:30 yesterday afternoon until around 8, ate, and then slept until around 6 this morning...straight through! She's a little fussy today, when she's awake, but she's spending most of the day sleeping again...
I'm glad she won't have a memory of those shots... :)

Her new achievements and favorite pasttimes...
~she loves to suck on her fist and hand
~she continues to smile a lot - especially when she has her hands and feet kissed... She still LOVES her changing table...
~she is looking around and paying attention to different things now - colors, pictures, etc.
~she seems to enjoy the colors/flashing of the TV
~she sleeps until around 4 AM after her 11 PM feeding...and with a quick reswaddling, she will drift back off to sleep, without feeding, until around 6
~we're getting close to a little giggle...we've heard small beginnings at various points
~during a diaper change, she enjoys just laying in just her diaper (before you snap her onesies and clothes back up) on the bed and kicks like no tomorrow :)
~baths are OK...she enjoys her time in the water, but she sure wishes it was warmer! :)
~she love to lay on the bed and look at "fanny" - our ceiling fan... :)
~she pets Beezer very gently (with Momma's guidance) and loves the feel of his fur...
~she "talks" in her coos and noises... There are times when she is seriously trying to communicate... :)
~she hates "tummy time," but we'll be working on getting her to push up with her arms in the next several weeks...

Here are some cute pictures from just before Christmas... :)

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas at home this year! We had my parents here for a few days, and then Ry's parents and sister came for a few days. We had a nice and calm holiday...not a lot of action or excitement... :)
Baby K got some cute items...some toys from us (caught a great sale on babycenter.com!) including some favorites: a glow seahorse, some cool blocks from Manhattan Toy, and a soft and cuddly Eeyore blanket. :) She got some books, too! From family, she got clothes, an ADORABLE Winnie the Pooh bank (in silver), some silver silverware (also Winnie the Pooh :)), a big bear from Grandpa Katz, diapers...and just a range of great items. :) We're looking forward to next year...maybe she'll be able to rip into some presents! :)
Here are some pictures of the festivities... :) Enjoy! :)

crying...missing...mourning...

I had to go back to work this week... While it wasn't as bad as I anticipated (there are a few reasons why), I still like being at home with Katherine more than I like being at work. I miss her like crazy when I'm at work, although I try not to think about it that much...
I didn't openly cry when she had to leave on Monday morning... I had done enough crying the week before... There's nothing like a grown woman sitting on the bathroom floor ripping 4 or 5 squares of toilet paper, blowing her nose, dabbing her eyes...and then doing the same thing over and over again for almost 2 hours. Yes, that was me... Sad...I know... I did get teary-eyed in the morning before we left the house. I have to get up at around 5:30 or 5:45...and I had everything ready to go by around 7:10, so I had some time to just hold and cuddle with K. That's when I got really sad... BUT, I didn't cry a lot b/c I knew I'd have to redo my make up and do a lot of explaining once I got to school... :)
So, why is it not as bad as I anticipated...? First, I'm a teacher, so there's NEVER a moment of dullness or a lull in the day... It's literally busy from the time I walk in the door until I see my baby's smiling face around 3 PM. I also have THE BEST sitter in the world. Mrs. S was the perfect choice, and we feel so incredibly blessed that she was willing to take Katherine into her own home and love her like she's her own baby. And, every day, Mrs. S says how much of a joy the day has been, and I know K loves her... So, while my heart hurts to leave her, at least I know she's being loved and cared for... :)

Nevertheless, that women's jail in California is looking pretty good right about now... I saw on Lock-Up (on MSNBC) that they have a "mothers" area for women who are incarcerated... Basically, the woman gives birth and is allowed to keep her baby with her until the baby is 12 months old. I don't know what happens after the baby gets to be 12 months (it goes to live w/ a family member, maybe?)... But, I'm still trying to figure out how me, a law abiding citizen, is still working and spending 7 hours a day away from my pride and joy...and a woman in jail can have her baby with her... Anyone up for robbing a bank with me??? :) Let me know, I'll make our plane reservations to CA and we'll be off in no time... :)