Back to Work Again...

August 22, 2012

I know I was really lucky compared to most working Moms.  I took almost exactly 4 months off of work when I had Olivia - all paid.  Nice, right?  Despite that, when the morning of August 22nd rolled around, I found myself desperately wishing that I would have added another week or 2 of the PTO that I lose every year onto the end of my maternity leave.

Alas, it was time for me to return to work.  I struggled to find the perfect outfit for her to wear on her first day of school, as I'm sure I will for so many years until she decides that she wants to pick out her own first day outfits.  I love all of the sweet girl outfits, but I must admit I find the sheer magnitude of options to be a little overwhemling.  Don't get me wrong, it is still fun to have a little baby girl and to buy her buy frilly dresses and bows, but I do get ever so slightly stressed out picking out those clothes.  On top of that, you can't send a 4-month-old to daycare in anything too fancy, because, if you do it will come home covered in poop or spit up.  Guaranteed.  Anyway, this is what I came up with for my little girl to wear to her first day of school ever - at exactly 3 months, 3 weeks and one day old. Wow, that sounds so little as I type it.

 

Here's the one we took with the nice camera:

And here's the one I took with my phone - I couldn't decide which one I liked better.

Hugs from big brother, all dressed up for splash day at daycare...

I'm not sure if this first day was easier or harder than it was with Jack. I don't think I shed quite as many tears, but I think I had more dread of actually going back to work, because I knew how hard it would be, especially when busy season rolled around yet again in a few months.  I had some big decisions ahead of me in the not-too-distant future, but we'll save that for later.

Livi settled into her first day at daycare quite nicely.  With both of my kids, I think that first day was much harder on me than it was on them.  Everyone proclaimed how much she looked like Jack, which is funny, because I really don't see it most of the time.  Jack was the proud big brother, showing his little sister to all of his classmates and telling anyone in the school who would listen that this was sister.  It is so hard to believe that when we moved to Frisco and Jack started at Kids r Kids, he was just a couple of months older than Livi on the day she started.   Time marches on, sometimes I just wish it would march a little slower!

Savoring Every Moment

August, 2012

On August 1st, Olivia turned 3 months old. Maternity leave had just flown by, and as much as I know I'm not cut out to be a stay at home mom, I was not relishing the idea of dropping my baby girl off at daycare and heading back to work, so I really tried to savor every moment and every cuddle in those last few weeks of maternity leave.

Here is her three month photo:

I can't say that it looks too different from her 2-month picture - maybe she has a little more hair. :)  Anyway, there was no 3-month doctor visit, so I have no stats to report, but Miss Olivia was eating well, happy and growing - what more can I ask for? 

Olivia did reach one very important milestone this month - she rolled over from her stomach to her back!  I did manage to get a video of the occasion, but Tommy told me it looked more like I set her on her stomach them nudged her until she toppled over.  Looking back 10 months later, he's more correct than I'd like to admit, but I maintain she really was rolling over. :)  Yay Olivia!!

I love her bright eyes in this picture!  They have since changed from that steel gray/blue color to more of a hazel color, but they are as big as ever and beautiful!

In an effort to get as much as I possibly could out of my last few days of maternity leave, I kept Jack out of daycare on the Friday before I started back to work and met Brandi, Ryan, Lincoln, Nana and Papa at a really cool splash park in Trophy Club.  It was huge, with so many fun things to climb on, slide down and get sprayed by, like this super cool boat:

And this cannon and island:

Miss Olivia got hot really fast and spent most of the day covered up in Jack's giant t-shirt, but we did manage to get a few pictures of her in her cute swimsuit before it got covered up - I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so I just added both!

Jack and cousin Lincoln had all kinds of fun spraying each other (and the parents) with water cannons, sliding, and generally being little boys.

For some reason, sitting on these water spouts was a favorite activity for both :) :

I was really proud of Jack for being brave enough to try the big slide.  The first few times, he wanted Mommy's help:

but then decided that he could do it by himself with Lincoln.

This may be the only girl grandchild for Nana, so she knows she needs to enjoy the dress up!  Not sure what Livi thinks about it, though...

Papa got in his cuddle time, too!

This is my very last post of maternity leave (boo hoo!).  Stay tuned as I begin a new chapter as a working mother of 2.  Wish me luck!