I survived...

I should say our family survived my return to work. It was a long week, but it got a little easier each day. Here's a brief recap...

Monday - I did my best at work and didn't call my mom until after 1230pm - but had pretty much counted the minutes until that moment came. And then, 430pm couldn't come soon enough for me to head out the door and get home. Joe worked late so my mom hung around a little longer to help get through dinner, bath and then bed. It was a true blessing to have her helping hands a little longer...

Tuesday - The morning came earlier than normal because Mark was up at 445am and didn't really want to go back to sleep. So this was going to be a long day as I had to close at the hospital - oh well!! I was WIPED OUT by the time I got home. Joe worked a little later in the evening and Matthew was going to Nanny's for dinner. So, it ended up that we all arrived home at the same time - which caused a bit of chaos (in my mind). But we worked through it and I fell into bed around 9pm.

Wednesday - Mark was better and slept until about 6am when Oma came (my mom - aka day care). So, I was able to get on the treadmill in the morning and then get him before I got in the shower. Day went quicker - didn't call as often...waited for mom. She is now napping when Mark naps because it's a long day with him (the one who doesn't sleep). 430pm came quick and I was ready to be home...

Thursday - An even shorter day it seemed - and we are starting to settle into a routine (if you can have anything like that in your life before the kids are like...18). I got worked by the trainer right after work and Joe was working late so Oma stayed a little longer to help. It was great! We shared some chicken enchiladas after I got home...then bath, bottle and bed (at least we tried for bed - it took a while).

Friday - Came and went uneventfully. TGIF!!! And Oma agrees - it's been a long time since she has worked and she puts in long hours...but she is a God send and I truly don't know how I would be doing it without her. The day passed quickly and the family was all in the house by 5pm. Great dinner and quiet evening. Mark was put in his crib at 845pm and asleep by a little after 9pm...so was I!

And, our exercise ball has found a new purpose - Mark likes to be bounced to sleep! Yep, that's right. We now have an exercise ball in his room and we bounce up and down on it with him in our arms to get him resting and then down he goes in the crib...amazing! It doesn't work every time, but I feel like I am getting some exercise while trying it!

I will post some pictures later that my mom took this week - he is laughing, talking, and smiling more than ever! I am just glad she gets to share in these moments with him if I can't.

Return to Work

Yep - tomorrow is my first day back to work. Not sure how it will go, though I know Mark is in some of the most capable hands with my mother.

Stay tuned - I will post later this coming week to let you know how it goes!

The Baptism...and shots

Well, we baptized Mark on Sunday - how beautiful and fun! It was a wonderful ceremony/Mass at the Cathedral and Fr. Rob did a fantastic job. I will be posting a video shortly but there are a few pictures below. Mark had a VERY long day and didn't nap too well, so he was fairly exhausted by bed time...so was I. So, he went to sleep - and slept 8 hours - WOO HOO!!! However, it hasn't happened again. But he is sleeping at least 6 hours in one stretch at night. If we could just get him to sleep a little more during the day - HA!

Then, Tuesday, he had is 2-month well visit...and shots. 4 of them. ouch! My mom went with me since she will be my day care for a while. It wasn't fun, but he did well and didn't actually cry for that long afterwards. He was fairly fussy for a couple days, but that's to be expected. He is pretty much back to normal...not sleeping during the day, laughing, coo-ing, all the fun baby stuff that happens at 10 weeks. He weighed in at 11 lbs, 8 oz, was 23" long and has a head about 15-3/4" around. The doctor said he is in the 50th %ile for his age for everything - so just an average kid! We like average...

Here are some pictures we took at bath time last night...Matthew had fun keeping him distracted and making him laugh!

The Baptism of Mark

Well, we knew we would be baptizing Mark this coming Sunday when our friend Fr. Rob Clements told us he would do it. It is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and he said he likes to choose a family he knows to baptize their child on this particular Sunday. As most of you know, Joe produces the live TV Mass from the Cathedral every Sunday...so take 1 - ONE - guess what time and which Mass we will be baptizing Mark at? Yep, and I am not all that thrilled...still have that baby weight. However, we are loving the fact that Fr. Rob has asked us to do this - he actually is doing it as payback to Joe for putting his face on TV every week - gotta love that!

The gown Mark is wearing in the picture below is almost 100 years old - from Joe's family. Matthew, Joe, his father and his grandmother were all baptized in it. So, it's pretty old and very special for us.

If you are home on Sunday, 1/11 at around 9am MST, join us on Channel 45 if you live in Arizona (KUTP) or online at http://www.catholictvmass.com/ - or, just pray for us in your hearts! We are excited to bring Mark into this wonderful and beautiful faith we live...

2009

Well, it's day 3 of 2009 and I haven't done too much yet this year - HA! Still working through having an infant in the house...after 7 years it doesn't all come running back to you. Our Christmas was good - some pictures below. Somewhat relaxing...and fun to see Matthew open his gifts! We got some time on the Wii to play the new games. Enjoyed family time with both sides. Joe has had some time off over New Year's so I am getting very spoiled having him around all the time...Monday will be a rough day.

Matthew has one week left of break - WOO HOO!! I go back to work in a couple weeks, so that's going to be another transition for us. Life is getting there...just have to remember to take one day at a time.

Oh, and a resolution? To lose the rest of the baby weight (and then some) over the course of the next 12 months...we shall see how that goes. Stay tuned...

Star Wars: Clone Wars (for the Wii)