Maternity Leave

Being off from work and home with the family is awesome. Sadie is now 5 weeks old but each week that passes reminds me that I am closer to going back to work. Having 3 months off is great but more is better right? (according to the AT&T commercials anyway). Some days are tough when we are running on minimal amounts of sleep or when we are trying to figure out how to manage both girls alone especially if both happen to be pooping or needing to eat the same time. If Wes comes home and I am exhausted, he will remind me  that "it wont be like this for long" (he sings the Darius Rucker song) and then that almost brings me to tears thinking about the girls aging!  Click below if you dont know the song (aka, Mom)

Anyway, even if it is challenging sometimes, it is far more rewarding. Hence during the day Sadie is usually in one of our arms or strapped on me in the Baby Bjorn. As I wrote two years ago about Leighton in "Spoiling Her?" babies do not keep :) Leighton is still sweet to Sadie but has increasingly needed more attention from me. So each day I make sure to do one activity with Leighton by myself such as go get ice cream, take a walk or run an errand to the store. I think this has helped as it was breaking my heart to hear her say "Mommy, I want you" or "Mommy, give Sadie to Daddy"

Pictures from some of our Mommy/Daughter dates....

Getting Gelato! 

Shopping at Joann Fabrics for an upcoming project

But have no fear... I dont think she is getting neglected. It is just an adjustment for her to not get instant gratification from Wes and I.

wading pool with Daniel, Jackson and Lydia

playing baker or cookie party... cant remember which one she was instructing us on here

weekly gymnastic class

an attempt to see if she was ready to sit through movies.. we chose Little Mermaid. She lasted about 45 min while she was eating popcorn :) 

Climbing at parks during a Parent's Morning Out service day our Missional Community put together

And a little Sadie update... she is just cruising along. Working on her tummy time isnt always fun.

Leighton doesn't ask to hold her often but loves it when she does. She is very gentle. Sadie and I have made it back to church for the last 2 weeks which was good. I had missed it and everyone! 

 We attempted a family trip to beach. That was too ambitious and required carrying too much stuff for little reward with a 3 and 1/2 week old.

 Leighton is sweet when she wants to play with her or show her toys and can forget she is just a month when she signs Sadie up to play doctor office :)

 Sadie's first birthday party outing was for Daniel MacMillian. She is the swing/wrap thing here. That only lasted for 1st week of life as now she prefers Bjorn probably because she got to big for swing... the girl weighs over 10 lbs! I am not used to having to clean in between fat rolls as Leighton was a String Bean

 Well have a happy week and hope you enjoyed an update. Mostly just a lot of family time going on here and I am soaking it up!