Memorable Summer

Do you ever have a period of time that you know will stand out in your memory for years to come? I'm living it right now. It's pretty obvious why, I suppose. Being a working mom, I don't get the chance to be home all day, every day. My maternity leave is affording me just that chance and I'm lucky to have it fall in summer. With the new house and the great neighborhood and yard, we're having a great summer.... minus this week, with the insane desert like heat, of course. I do miss my work in some sort of perverted way. I guess you can't always have it all? But, I think knowing that I am going back in a month is making this time really count for me.

Because of my work, we have been able to keep Miriam on while I am home and I have to say, this has been the best thing ...ever. With her here to help me through the days, I've been able to either get away with Ethan for some 1:1 time or hole up in my bedroom with Ava for an afternoon of quality bonding time. I am even able to sneak in a few naps when Ava has kept me up during the evenings. I have to say, this maternity leave is leaps and bounds better than mine with Ethan. Given his preemie status, being a new mom and not having help made for a very tired, anxious Nicole. Not this time around. I am more confident in my parenting abilities and know that if Ava cries for a couple of minutes b/c she is not being held, I haven't scarred her for life. Ahhh, so much wisdom, yes? :)

So, me and the kids have spent our summer bonding. Ethan and I making frequent trips to the zoo. We are enjoying our backyard and the various swimming/wading pools and sprinklers and going for walks with Otis. It's not fair that men aren't offered more of a paternity leave...or one at all. With all of the drama leading up to Ava's birth, Jon had exhausted most of his vaca / sick time, so he never really got any real time off before going back to work. It's not right that he is not able to experience some of this as well. I'm trying to fit in enough for both of us...ha!

So, Ethan...man, surprising us every day. He's talking in sentences now...the things that he comes up with. He's recently learned left from right. Jon and I are still amazed by this and I am constantly asking him where his left ear is or right knee. It just doesn't get old for me. He also just recently decided that I am "mom", not mommy...what? Is he 12? Jon thinks it's funny and is trying to get him to call me Nic. augh.

With all this growing up comes the fight for independence, thus we are now often caught in a battle of wills. I never thought discipline would be my weakness, but I'm finding out...I'm not that good at it. hmmm. I feel like we're on some long extended holiday due to the fact that I get to spend this much time with him, so we make brownies and eat the batter or have ice cream in the middle of the day even though I know that it may ruin his lunch/dinner. I can't help myself, it feels like stolen time for us. In my defence, although weak as it may be, I am trying to get tougher though when he acts out. We've recently implemented time outs and they work surprisingly well on the little man.

Ava...she's just our chunky monkey. She is growing leaps and bounds. We have a drs appt for both the kids on Monday and we'll find out where she is. She was already at 7lbs right before mom and dad were here and that's been a month. I wouldn't be surprised if she isn't around 9 now. She breezed through her newborn clothes. I remember Ethan being in them for so long. I'll need to read back through the blog to see where he was at her age. We just got through a few days of some good night time sleeping! Last night being the best. She slept from 10pm - 4am. Hallelujah! I'm trying not to get too excited as I know she is young still and this probably won't become consistent for awhile. But, it was heavenly to get 5 1/2 hours of sleep uninterrupted. The only thing that I'm really worried about with the whole going back to work thing is her not sleeping well..thus me being a wreck. I do not work well with not enough sleep...I don't mean just professionally...for me, the act of living becomes a chore. I'm wired that way and my poor husband has to deal with the consequences ...I turn into a basket case. Anyway, early signs indicate that we'll be in pretty good shape come late August (crossing fingers now).

Ava has been a good baby so far over all. With her adjusted age, we weren't sure if her early calmness would be replaced by colic or just overall fussiness. But I think we've passed that crucial stage where this would have manifested itself. She does get a little fussy between 7-10pm in the evenings, but it goes away if you hold her. Ethan was like this, too, as I recall. It's a little bit of a juggling act as we're usually trying to have dinner and get Ethan off to bed when this all starts, so Jon and I have had to divide and conquer and the family dinner that we had become accustomed to with Ethan is now on hold until further notice.



Heading up to MN next weekend to stay with mom and dad. The Rosten's and Kuchynski's will be joining us for a couple of days. I'm so excited to see everyone!

Lastly, a nod out to the Nelson's, who welcomed their new baby daughter, Emelia, in late June! She is so adorable. Ava and Emelia were supposed to be 3 days apart so are close to the same size. I have a great picture of them, plus more of all of the kids, that we snapped over the 4th weekend that I'll upload soon. Stay tuned!