time-fillers

We found the greatest place the other day in Capitol Hill- it's called the Family Room. It's like an indoor playspace for kids. Basically, it's a big room with padded floors, tons of toys and tons of babies. It is without a doubt a HUGE germ factory but beggars can't be choosers and besides, it keeps the goose occupied for like, HOURS. A risk worth taking, in my beleaguered opinion.

We showed up with friends Candace and Kim, and Kim's adorable toddler, Miss Casey Elizabeth. Casey is at the age where she likes to give hugs, and it is just so sweet. She and Graydon get on like a house afire, and they both had an awesome time playing:

Later, we came home so that Graydon could play his new favorite game: reorganizing the refrigerator.

We let him play around for a few minutes, but we had to pull the plug on this attraction when he kept trying to climb INTO the fridge:

Oh, well, whatever keeps him occupied. This kid is not so easily entertained. If he wants to spend a few minutes chilling in the refrigerator, well then, be my guest. Pass the margarita mix, Graydon!

sicko

Well, I'm sick and old Blue Eyes here seems to have developed a wicked ear infection, complete with appetite loss, sleepless nights and pretty nasty diarrhea. It is total Casa de Grossness over here. I have heard that ear infections can go hand in hand with teething, and since Biggums Wiggums has two new front teeth, I am pretty sure his pearly whites are the cause of said infection. It's crazy, teething is barbaric enough without throwing ear/eye/nose infections into the mix. Poor kid. We are trying to get into see the doctor tomm, but it's a new doc, not sure how the process goes. Total ugh. Babies should just be born with all their teeth already, this process is too brutal.

splashdance

Bathtime just got a whole lot messier.

baby bonanza

Today was such fun! We went over to our friend Ben's house for a playdate.

Ben was a gracious host, letting Graydon and the twins Gianna and Vincent crawl around his house and play with his toys.

Vincent and Gianna (nicknamed Gigi, so freaking cute) are fifteen months and I can't wait until the goose is that age. They were so much fun.

Vincent has two top teeth and two bottom teeth and looks like the cutest chipmunk ever. He says thank you ("Dank ew") to everything, even as he was grabbing toys away from Ben and Grady. He's a polite thief :)

Gianna is so happy and sweet. She giggled and talked on her fake cell phone and is a totally adorable snuggle bunny.

Ben sat there placidly and soaked it all in. He's such a laid back baby! He's not crawling yet, but he does roll around at a very leisurely pace and gets where he needs to be. He is two weeks younger than Graydon but he outweighs him by a good five pounds! Everyone played nicely together, and at the end of our time together, Ben ever so subtlely let us know it was time for us to leave:

Such fun! The best part was, Graydon was so excited to be interacting with other babies that he came home and took his longest nap ever, over two hours! If only every day could be playdate day.

current mood: grateful for good friends, tall and small.

catch up

I'm trying to figure out how to post videos on this blog. We have a couple of videos that are fun, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to upload them. I am not what you would call computer savvy. In fact, it's a tribute to this webhost that I am able to blog at all.. if they hadn't spelled out the directions for me in VERY SIMPLE TERMS there's no way I would have figured it out on my own. thanks, blogger!

So, Monday I went back to work. I was cautiously optimistic, hoping that going back to work would be a nice change of pace, I would get to see alot of my coworker friends, I would enjoy using my brain and hanging out with adults. And the verdict is..... not so much. Work sucked. True, it was nice to see my friends. But WOW, that job is hard. When you work as a nurse on the ICU, you really have to show up and give a hundred percent, physically, emotionally, mentally. There's no phoning it in. Which is totally doable when it's your only job. But combined with sleep deprivation, stress over the baby's development, and the fact that I haven't had any downtime in 8 months, I was nowhere near 100 percent. I was probably closer to 30 percent, and that's being generous. So it was tough. One of my patients was circling the drain and the other spent the day vomiting into his neck brace and trying to climb out of bed. I bounced between the two like a ping pong ball. A brain-dead, overwhelmed ping pong ball. In between caring for them I tried to squeeze in pumping sessions, calls to check on the baby, and finally, lunch. No fun. I'm going to try and suck it up but I'm not sure I'm capable of managing two energy-sapping careers. Call me wussy, I know. Oh well.

As per daycare (aka my mother in law- thanks again!) it seems the baby didn't even know I was gone. Is that the thanks I get after 8 months of slaving away for him. Sheesh. But seriously, I am very grateful that he was well taken care of and enjoyed the day. I now realize that even when he's being a miserable cuss, it's still SO MUCH MORE FUN THAN WORK! If my one day back at work did anything, it made me totally appreciate my time at home with el bambino. No more complaining! Ok, well maybe a little. But WAY LESS.

current mood- home and happy

testing

i'm trying to see if i can post video. is this working?

heartbreak

Today is the last day of my maternity leave. And while I am extremely grateful and happy to have been able to stay at home so long with the little guy, I am just devastated at the thought of leaving him on Monday. I get physically ill just thinking about it. I know he'll be fine, I know he'll be well taken care of. But I also know that at some point on Monday, he is going to be looking around the house, searching for his mama, and for the first time I won't be there, and it just sucks.

Sigh.