I'm back.

I've purposely neglected this blog the last few weeks because a) I wanted to soak up every little bit of family time I had before going back to work, which happens to be tonight, b) I had parental and sibling visits galore, c) the house needed much attention after said visits, and d) why would I blog when my babies are growing up before my very eyes?!

So much to update on, but I really don't want to take up a ginormous chunk of time typing. All my babies (including the big one named Carl) are napping, so here is an update:

Vivienne

Glorious little Vivienne. What a dolly. She is such a night owl from 10 pm to midnight every night and is a champion eater. She has almost doubled her birth weight! She went from the 25th percentile at two weeks old to 75th at her one month appointment (she is now almost 11 lbs!). Following her big brother's lead :) I am just amazed at how fast she has grown- 6+ weeks already. Ahhh babies. I love her brown hair, her newborn grey eyes, her sweet puckery lips, and chubby little hammies. I could give her kisses all day.

Ezra

Oh my firstborn, what a handsome little man he has become. He is so smart and constantly amazes us. He is finally choosing to use words and has even used two word sentences! He knows his "please's" and "thank you's," purposely gets into trouble so that we chase him around the house, loves kiss attacks, loves to watch and chase the cottontail bunnies in our courtyard, and is very helpful around the house. He will throw tantrums here and there, but Carl and I have learned that his tantrums are more for us to learn patience and grow as parents than for Ezra to learn not to throw them. It's a phase that he will out grow soon enough. He is such a daddy's boy! Some of his favorite and inappropriate things Carl has taught him is to say "Eat it!", "Bite it", and "ca-ca" hahaha. What a boy.

Parents

tired. happy. sometimes edgy and borderline crazy (that one might just be me). Recovery has pretty much been amazing and miraculous this time. I even got mastitis twice- bleh! But even then, I have been able to physically do so much more than with Ezra. The body is amazing. Carl has been fantastically helpful. I think I would die from just being overwhelmed if he didn't help at all. He just about changes every diaper during the night while I groggily get out of bed to feed Vivienne and frequently makes me breakfast or lunch. sometimes even dinner haha.

 I go back to work tonight and I feel so bittersweet about it all. I am just so grateful that I will be going back on night shift so that I have the peace of mind that my family is sleeping (or eating) while I am away. Ezra will wake up in the morning as I come in through the doors. It will be as if I stepped out to get the mail or do the laundry. I am eager to get my skills back up and going and to continue to learn learn learn. I really love my job as a nurse.

one of my favorites of Viv and me. 3 weeks old

little girly

my boys

many more updates to come, for now, this will have to do :)

She works hard for her money.

I started work today and it wasn't too bad, somewhat boring. Mostly because we sat on our butts watching slideshows and videos, but still, not bad. I find that I get a lot of mixed reactions from people when they hear I'm working. It's either a "yay! so glad you can work where you want to!" or a "oh, I'm sorry. I would hate to be away from my kids that long. Is there anything you need?" I think the latter response is the more common one, but I know that it comes from good intentions. I agree, it is hard to choose to be away from Ezra, but I chose to go into a field that is more than a "back-up" degree. A nursing career does not have a very long shelf life when not working/volunteering/going to school. It requires experience not only to be useful, but to often keep a license active (I think many of my nurse friends and family who are also moms will really "get" what I mean). Nonetheless, I love that I'm a nurse and look forward to the experience I'll be gaining in the ER!

Carl and Ezra went to the allergy appointment and it was very uneventful and really not needed to be honest. Ezra didn't have to get poked (yay!) and the doctors basically just said to watch his allergy. Whyyyyy did the pediatrician have us go to an allergist for something this mild?! Ok. Anyway, the good news is that he will probably overcome his allergies (minus the amoxycillin allergy) in the next year or so. For now, we will be on the watch and continue to carry epi pens.

Glad to be home with the family this evening, back to the grind tomorrow!




Oh, and if it seems like I'm not as active on Facebook anymore, it's because I'm not. I deleted the app off my phone so I wouldn't be so tempted to check it so often. 2-3 min each check really adds up the hours of waste each week! I also deleted the pinterest app. I did sign up for instagram... but so far I'm only following my sister and her fiance haha. It's time to stop letting social networks take up too much time in my life!