Abby’s Saturday // Two Hundred And Forty-Five

Highlight of the Week

Spring is ever so slowly creeping up on us! We keep seeing little snippets of it here & there – it’s equally wonderful & terrible. Wonderful, because on the Spring-like days, we go outside & run around & soak up all the Vitamin D that we can. But it’s terrible, because on the non-Spring-like days, we’re still stuck inside & Braelynn has absolutely horrible cabin-fever.

Needless to say, I have become a weather-checking crazy-person and this week, when I saw that Wednesday was predicted to be a beautiful, sunny day, I suggested to my sister that we take our babies & go to Indian Lake Park. We could walk the track, let the kiddos play on the mini-playground – it would be wonderful. And it totally was. We spent 2 hours at the park & literally could have spent double that (that is, if Leander was on a longer feeding schedule – he still loves to nurse every 2 hours – the little piggy). It was an absolute glorious afternoon & I’m ready to do it again and again and again.

Yes, This Happened

• So, Leander has learned two new “skills” this week – I say “skills” (in quotation marks) because they aren’t exactly the best new habits (although he thinks they’re pretty funny). So, he now loves to laugh & “kick” himself out of his diaper when I’m changing him. He plants his chubby little feet, lifts his butt up, and scoots himself back, just as I’m trying to fasten his little diaper on. It’s hilarious, but only the first and second time, then it’s like, “Okay, com’on dude, this is no longer funny.” He’s used the same trick to figure out that he can now “move” around the floor. In other words, the play-mat that he used to lay on is now obsolete. Look out world – Leander is on the move! Oh, and his second “skill” is related to the first – if he is sitting on your lap, he has also figured out how to arch his back & slide right off. No, he’s never actually “slid” off, but if he’s tired of sitting, suddenly he’s making it extremely clear that he wants to move, and now. Ay yi yi, I’m already worried about what this all means for the future with him. He’s a mover like his Daddy – that’s for sure!
• Okay, but in actual, notable, exciting “skills” – Leander has really started to use his hands this week! He has figured out how to grab ahold of his toys, pick them up, and stick them right into his mouth. It’s actually quite hilarious to watch him steadily looking at a toy, flexing his hands & trying to figure out how to make the connections of moving his hands, opening them up, and grabbing that toy. He’s getting so smart!
• Can I just say, taking self-portraits is way harder than it looks. In an attempt to “get in more photos” (one of my goals for this year), I broke out the tripod & remote to try to take some self-portraits with me & the kiddos. It’s SO much harder than all those Mom-bloggers make it look – I guess I just need more practice.
• Braelynn loves her brother (obviously) and has taken to tickling him & then asking, “Is his mouth open?” Even though he lets out little giggles here & there, he still “laughs” by simply opening his mouth super wide & smiling. So, she has figured out that “mouth open” means “laughing” – so she is constantly on the prowl for how to get him to “open his mouth”.
• Yesterday was my sweet little niece Alethea’s 1st birthday!! And today is her birthday party!! It’s so crazy to realize that a whole year has passed since we all sat in the waiting room, playing Phase10, trying to unscramble the letters of her name, anxiously waiting for her to be born.
• Today is also my Mom’s birthday! So, happy birthday Mama!!
• Things I never thought I’d say: “Don’t chew on your sister’s underwear.” (said while I was folding laundry & Leander snagged a pair of Braelynn’s clean panties) Also: “Don’t eat the couch.” (with all this new sliding around, Leander has figured out how to get close to the couch & grab the “skirt” to munch on)

Feeling Blessed

Leander is just coming out of a streak of terrible sleeping at night. Almost all last week, he was waking up every hour (omigoodness, every hour). I was completely & utterly exhausted. I literally felt like a zombie. Thankfully, that growth spurt (or whatever it was) has come to an end, and we’ve been slowly getting back to 2-hour long stretches between wake-ups (never thought I’d be so thankful to sleep two straight hours) and last night, he slept for a three-hour stretch! Anyways, needless to say, I’ve just been so tired. It seems easy – just take a nap during the day while he takes a nap – well, that would be great, except I have this 4-year-old who has “Mom-sleeping-radar” and gets into the absolute worst things if I fall asleep during the day (even if I’ve pre-occupied her). So, I’ve just been drinking a lot of coffee & doing my best. Listen, it really hasn’t been as bad as it sounds – for the most part, we’ve been just fine (the Spring-like weather & getting outside really helps too).

Anyways, our cupboards were getting pretty bare and I really needed to get to the grocery store. However, I still haven’t been brave enough to take both kiddos & go to the grocery store by myself – I don’t know, for whatever reason, going to the grocery store & actually shopping for food just sounds like the most monumental task with a 4-year-old and a 3-month-old. So, it’s fine – I’ve just been going shopping in the evenings when I can leave the munchkins home with Derrick. However, we were down to “what are we going to scrape together for dinner tonight” status. So, Derrick volunteered to go to the grocery store on his way home from work.

If you’ve never had multiple little kids, or your little kids were always amazing sleepers, that might not seem like such a big deal to you. To me? It was like he volunteered to take on the entire world for me. I have never been so thankful for Derrick & all of his help – teamwork makes the dream work – and I’m so grateful to have Derrick on my team.