Back to Work

This was my first week back at work.  Boy, has it been rough!  Even though there were some tears (from me), it's nice to have Bobby watching the kiddies so I don't have to worry about them.  At first it was a little rough on everybody: Jimmy would scream and cry about taking a bottle, Anna acted defiant and bratty, and I was just exhausted and stressed.  I had a talk with Anna about her behavior (she seemed to think it was Bobby's fault that I had to go back to work), Bobby was persistent with trying to get Jimmy to eat, and I just tried to survive :)  But by today, Jimmy ate 2 bottles without a fight, Anna behaved herself fairly well, and I'm celebrating the weekend!  So it all worked out... so far!

Anna the Astronaut

Anna has a new obsession: space!  She started out with an interest, and it has grown into a passion!  We just watched Apollo 13 (well, not all of it, but the relevant parts), and Anna almost immediately wanted to watch it again!  It's pretty fun getting to watch movies that I really enjoy, but it makes bed time a bit tricky when we don't want to turn it off!  For my birthday Daddy took the day off and we went to the planetarium.  There was a lot of stuff there that was a little too grown-up for her (lots to read, historical artifacts, etc), but there was also a lot of hands-on space stuff that she absolutely loved!  Her favorite thing was this interactive show that we saw, where we got to basically zoom through space and see various starts, planets, moons, constellations, and even other galaxies!  She also liked this kids area that was very hands-on, and it had things to play with, a space ship that she got to "launch," and so on.  I think we might have to go back again sometime!  Preferably when there's not a snow storm...

Mr. Chatty and Some Jealousy...

Jimmy is now 8 weeks old and is more fun than ever!  He's begun finding his voice and can now makes all sorts of "ahh," "ooh," and "gheee" noises!  When he locks eyes with me and makes an excited, "Ahhh!" sound, it makes me the happiest mommy in the world!  He's a very strong boy too, and he has very good control of his head and neck.  If I prop him up with pillows, he can actually finish sitting up all by himself!

He's getting in some fairly consistent stretches of sleep at night, usually 3-4 hours at a time.  11:00-3:00 seems to be his best time.  Sometimes he can even make it close to 4:00!  So we're definitely making progress in the sleep department.  I find his independent streak to be quite baffling; I had no idea there were babies who sometimes just want "alone" time!  Jimmy is also a big fan of lights and ceiling fans; he will sit mesmerized just watching!  That's how he is with his Mickey mobile too.  He'll lie there quietly just watching the Mickeys spin around, and then when it stops, he starts to fuss until we get it moving again!  It's pretty funny.

Now it must have dawned on Anna that Jimmy is here to stay, because she is definitely showing some major jealousy.  She is acting very differently toward me (probably because I spend the most time with Jimmy), and no matter what she will always try and climb on the person who happens to be holding Jimmy.  She does NOT want him getting anyone's undivided attention!  I do my best to pay attention to both of them as much as I can, but of course it's not good enough for her.  I am shocked at how naughty Anna has been lately; tons of time-outs, treats being taken away, and when those stopped working we even wrapped her thumb so she couldn't suck it!  I miss my sweet little girl, and I really hope this is a short-lived phase!!