Updates

So Wren was 3 weeks old yesterday - cannot believe she's so old already! We had an appointment at the Breastfeeding Center yesterday to check her weight gain and she's doing well. She's now 8 pounds, 13 ounces so in the past week, she's gained an ounce a day but it's a little less than that if you look at her 2-week gain. Either way, I'm producing plenty and she's getting a good deal of it. She's still a sleepy little girl and a lazy little eater though so between the two of those traits, her middle of the night feeds are not so easy (especially with a tired mama!). I find myself surfing the internet on my phone at 2am to stay awake so that I can keep her awake and nursing. Oh well, like I said she's doing well. Here's a copy of the birth announcement I created, using her photo from her amazing photographer, Dawn, at http://www.owlsistersphotography.com/. If you check out their facebook page, you can see a few other really cute ones - and even one that showcases her dimple she inherited from her handsome father!

Evan is lucky enough to be able to take some time off work too, so we've really enjoyed getting to know Wren over these last few weeks. Wren and her Daddy are actually both taking a nap on the couch - she's cuddled in the Moby Wrap on him and he's providing a bit of white noise for her. :) And Oakes is enjoying his time at "school" still - I had originally thought we'd go down to sending him only 2 or 3 days a week, but he does very well with a schedule and I feel like I'm a better/more refreshed mama to him when he gets home in the afternoon than I am when I'm chasing him around the house all day with all of his "terrible two" drama he gets in to. He is still doing excellent with his potty training and his teacher even asked us the other day what our secret was to this as he's had the easiest time transitioning. Of course, Evan told her honestly that we didn't have much to do with it, it was his Oma's determination when she saw that Oakes was obviously ready for it. While Evan and I weren't quite sure we were ready to tackle and newborn and potty training at the same time, it's been pretty easy so far and not having to buy diapers or pack them in my purse when we go out is an incredibly liberating thing!

Oakes is still smitten with Wren though - he thinks she's pretty cute and all he wants to do is try to hold her and kiss her. We got a really-super-over-the-top-cute video of him singing his ABC's to her last night and then doing Patty-Cake with her hands. The photo-hog didn't know we were filming which is good as he'd have just frozen with his new cheesy "the camera is out so it must be that they want a smiling picture of me" smile on his face.

Did I mention it's been 3 weeks?!?!? If I was going back on time, I'd be half way through my leave right now -- ACK! I'm just not ready! With the looming deadline of when I have to return hanging over my head, I have decided to start blogging officially in the hopes that one day in the not-so-near-future I can hang up my teaching outfit, blog full time, and spend more time with my kiddos. Establishing a new blog will be done in the next few days and I'll post a link to it on this site. I'd LOVE if you all checked it out once it's up and running. I figure the theme for it will be home improvements, decorating things, and maybe even some fun kid stuff that I'm doing already (or have done already). I love doing all of that stuff so I feel like even if the blog isn't my ticket to early retirement, it will be a creative outlet for me and will give me an excuse to do fun projects around the house. I already know the first project I want to do on the blog, though I'll probably start by highlighting some of the quick things I've already done since those pics will be quicker to get posted!

Honestly, I think that daycare is truly the BEST thing for Oakes and for Evan and I. And I know that I'm excited about the prospect of Wren going into daycare/school at some point as well. However, I just want the flexibility I have now: if I want to keep Oakes home, then I keep him home; if I want to take the kids on a "field trip" on a weekday, then it could be done; if one of them is sick, then Evan and I wouldn't have to scramble to come up with lesson plans. I think that in my dream world - if it could come true tomorrow - I would be blogging and doing projects at home with Wren in her Moby Wrap helping me out, and Oakes would be attending a preschool type of school (9-12 sort of hours) instead of being gone all day. Now where's my magic wand to make that happen?