Settling In

I think we're all settling into the new routine with me being back at work.  I've been managing to stay caught up on my paperwork, so I can come home in the evening and not think about work.  Which is amazing.

Zachary seems to be falling into a nice schedule with sleep. He naps 2-3 times a day most days, and his first nap of the morning is almost always within 2 hours of waking up.  I started putting him in his crib for for his morning nap last weekend, and it's been working well.  When he starts to make his "I'm tired" fussy noises, I put him down in his crib, turn on the mobile and leave the room.  He's usually asleep within 5-10 minutes with minimal fuss.  Finn never did that.  Ever.  Over the holiday weekend, I started putting him in bed after Finn goes to sleep.  He used to stay awake for a while after Finn went to sleep, but the past week has being going to sleep around 8.  So rather than holding him while he sleeps (which I really would prefer to do!) I've been putting him in bed, usually drowsy rather than awake.  A few nights he's woken up around 10:30 to eat, and then I just go to sleep with him.  That's exactly what Finn used to do, and for those few months that this routine worked, I got SO much sleep.  I hope this trend continues.

He's just started to notice his hands, and I love watching him watch them.  "Oh, look at these!" his face seems to say every time he sees them.  I don't remember this with Finn, but when Finn was this age he had been diagnosed with cancer and had already had his surgery - what I remember most about this age with Finn was fear.  So I'm absolutely loving this time with Zachary.  He's making noises all the time, and Finn and I have started making up what we think he's saying.  Finn thinks it's hilarious, and us laughing makes Zachary laugh.  Lots of laughing in our house these days.

Of course, there's lots of Terrible Three Syndrome going on around here, too.  But I'm navigating my way through it, and owe a lot of that to Kristie suggesting I get the audiobook The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting (thank you so much for breaking your no comment tradition to suggest it, Kristie!) I'm going to review it sometime in the next few weeks, but for now, suffice it to say it really spoke to me, and has given me more tools in my parenting arsenal, while also making me feel more confident in how I parent.  But still. It really is amazing how someone can make me laugh one second and make me ready to send him off to military school the next.

I've also got a few cooking posts in the works, finally, and of course, this past week's pictures.  I might actually get crazy in the next few weeks and force myself to take more with my real camera.  I love the ability to grab a quick picture on the go with my phone, but I'm also missing a lot of opportunities to improve my technical skills with my SLR by grabbing my phone instead.

5/21/14: I just love this outfit - and this is the best picture I have of him in it

5/22/14: in his favorite spot to watch dinner preparation

5/22/14 part 2: 3 minutes later

5/23/14: sweet sleeping boy

5/24/14: love their identical facial expressions here

5/25/14: morning family time with the ipad

5/26/14: ready for a walk

5/27/14: it was so hard to get out of bed with these two still asleep