I can hardly believe that this time next week, Drew will be three months old. Still yet, in just over a month, Conner will turn three years old! Time flies by so quickly! But with Drew turning three months old, comes the inevitable: tomorrow is my first day back to work after twelve weeks at home with my boys. My maternity leave has been amazing. Not only have I got to watch a little boy come to life, but I got to have a two year old by my side to make it even more fun. As we watched the seasons change and the world come to life, we also had tons of time together as a family. Jason was off for four weeks (five if you include his surgery), we went on a wonderful vacation, we got to visit many family and friends and we truly just had a wonderful time. I can truly say that this time I feel very different about going back to work. See, some things (very important things) are a lot easier. One is that Miranda is watching both of the boys, so that makes me happy. She took such great care of Conner over the last three years that it is easy for me to introduce Drew to her family. We have been taking the boys to her house, sometimes alone and sometimes together, for a couple hours a week over the past five weeks or so. They both seem to be adjusting well! Another thing that is easier this go round is that I am more comfortable with knowing that I can balance my work and my family. I think the balance part will be more difficult with two children, but I know that I can do it. Thirdly, I am very happy with where I work and where I am at this point in my career. However, there are also many things that are going to be a lot more difficult. The most difficult will definitely be not having all of the time I had with my boys and with our family and friends. I loved taking walks, going to visit people, playing at the park and stopping for ice-cream. I loved reading books over and over all day long to Conner and laughing with him as we tried to teach Drew how to play "shooter guy". I love going in to get Drew up from his naps and seeing that huge smile and hearing his snorty laughs. I will miss doing this each and every time and each and every day. Another thing that is more difficult this time around is that I know, because I have done it before, how much my heart is going to hurt because I am going to miss them so much during the day. I remember going back to work with Conner and being in a meeting looking through my purse for my blackberry and pulling out pacifiers, burp cloths, wipes and desitin before I found the phone. I remember the tears welling up because I thought that was a sign that I shouldn't be working. So here I go down this path again. We will see where it takes us. For now, I am etching every last moment in my mind to get me through the days that are longer than I would like. As I watch Drew on the monitor sleeping and wait to hear Conner climb out of his bed, I am typing this with a smile on my face and a humongous lump in my throat. I am so thankful for all that God has blessed us with.
We went on our first family four-wheeling adventure to check Jason's deer feeder. Do you see Jason's shadow right behind him? I am sure he will have two shadows in the not too distant future! Drew fell asleep to the sound of the engine!
So this picture is blurry and the only one I got; for good reason! See, Conner went to Vacation Bible School for an entire week. He went with his friends Stone and Makayla. Well, they learned songs to preform and every night we would practice while Conner took his bath: and he did it: perfectly. "this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine" I mean perfectly, motions and words...UNTIL...he got in front of people. So , you can't see it here but Conner and Stone sat the entire time and didn't sing or do any of the motions. Oh well, it will be something to tease him about later!
Drew is getting so big! He is sitting up very well in his bumbo and would much rather sit and watch people than lie down on his playmat. He also found his hands, which he LOVES to chew, chew, chew on. I think he is teething already, but who knows. He also is babbling up a storm and loves it when people talk to him and smile at him. He is already a little flirt like his brother. He also rolled over for the first time this week. However, I do think it was on accident! He is such a little bundle of joy and such a happy baby these days!It is so hard to believe that he struggled that first day of life. As I look at the pictures below, I still can't believe how perfectly everything turned out! We are so blessed!
God is good!
As we in Indiana all know, it has been raining WAY TOO MUCH this year! However, this rainbow we saw made it all well worth it. It was so funny trying to explain to Conner that leprechauns and gold were at the end of the rainbow. Lets just say, he asked 'why' one hundred times and he is hoping to see another rainbow really soon!
Conner is a true water bug this summer. He is doing an awesome job swimming and trying out all of the water sports. And look at Drew, he is such a good sport...again, loves to sleep to the sound of the engine!
We have had so much fun recently! I can't wait to show you what we do the rest of the summer!
