Back to Work, 5 months old and other stuff...

I'm half way through my second week back to work (as if I haven't been working the last five months!) and it's going pretty good. The first week and especially the first day was hard and I'm simply exhausted trying to manage both a full time job at home and a part-time job at work, but I keep hearing over and over that it gets easier...so I'm going to have faith that it will! Thinking back to those first few weeks at home with the boy and how much easier it became makes me believe it even more! We just need to get settled into our new routine.

Let's see...I'll try to give you a little recap of what we've been up to and of course I'll get some pictures in here.

gymboree

A few weeks ago we started Gymboree classes with a group of moms and babes that we met through the hospital Baby and Me group. We've had so much fun...learning new songs and different ways to interact and play with Kellen that will encourage his development. Kellen absolutely loves it - especially the parachute and Gymbo the Clown. Personally, I think that Gymbo is a bit creepy, but I tell you...the babies go crazy for him! Anyway, now a month later Kellen is no longer content in the Level 1 class that is meant for ages 1-6 months. The instructor has recommended that we try out the the next class. We just got back and I think we've officially graduated out of level 1 and into Level 2. The sad thing is that all of our friends are a bit younger than us, so won't be joining us for another month or so! We can't wait for them to join us in the next class...it's so much fun!

new toy

the boy has outgrown the bouncy seat and the swing just bores him, so we pulled out a new toy that had been stashed in the garage. the jumperoo is just a riot - kellen loves it! it makes him squeal with delight and he'll jump, jump, jump and then stop in amazement of himself. i made a video but i haven't downloaded it yet...as soon as i do, i'll post it because it's pretty fun.

beach trip

In honor of our 4th anniversary, the three of us headed west to Canon Beach for a night. It was just gorgeous - 70 degrees and no wind on the beach. That is a rarity! Kellen was able to put his feet in the sand for the first time...what fun. Of course, like all good babies, he stuck a fist full of sand right into his mouth! We just relaxed, walked around town, checked out the shops, ate good food and walked up and down the beach. It was the perfect way to celebrate our marriage and also get a little r&r before I headed back to work the next Monday.

work

As I said, we're trying to figure out our work routine...but we can't get too comfortable because I'll only be on this part-time schedule for 12 weeks and I've already started the countdown...only 10 more weeks until I have to work full-time again! ugh. But, it's so great to be able to ease back in. We are SO lucky to have family stay with Kellen while I'm out. We have Grandma Jan on Mondays and Aunt Nancy on the half day Tuesday and then Aa is home with the boy on Thursdays and once Auntie Sarah is done teaching for the Summer, she'll take on every other Thursday. Then in September, Kellen will be coming to work with me!

beach trip part two

The boy and i were lucky enough to get to spend two weekends in a row at the beach! This time we went with my book club. We stayed at our family beach house in Salishan and enjoyed some girl time. There were eight of us, plus two babes and an almost three year old - Kellen, Avery and Macen. We had a lot of fun - walked on the beach (unfortunately it was VERY windy!), ate WAY too much food, watched a movie, played some games and stayed up WAY too late (at least for this mama). It was pretty mellow since we have a lot of pregnant and nursing moms in the book club...we've discovered that our book club is VERY fertile! It's a baby boom right now. I forgot my camera, so hopefully we'll be getting some pictures from the girls soon!

5 months

Ok...we now have a 5 month old - I just can't believe it. I've said it many times, but I'm simply amazed at how time flies and how quickly he's developed in these last five months.

• The boy is now sitting up all by himself. He started sitting up a few weeks ago, but was pretty wobbly and now just like that he's sitting and let's us know that he prefers the upright view, as opposed to the lying down view!
• He's very into checking everything out these days...which makes feedings a bit difficult, as he'll take a few sips and then look around! If Aa is talking to me, forget it...what Dad has to say is WAY more interesting than food. What is sweet is that when he is focused on eating, he now pats my face or tugs at my hair while he is nursing.
• He's a pro at reaching for and grabbing things and has no problem passing items from hand to hand.
• He's still a rolling fool and will roll all over the room if we let him! I'm sure he's going to be an early crawler which is scary to me!
• He's laughing and talking up a storm. The most random things are funny to him. The other day I asked him if he wanted a panini and he thought that was SO funny. The Panini trick worked for about a week and now it's no longer funny!
• His eyes are still blue!
• He's found his feet!

I'm not able to go the Baby and Me group at the hospital anymore, so I haven't been able to weigh him in a month...I'm so curious to know how much he weighs now. He's obviously growing as his rolls just get better and better - oh those thighs, I could eat them for dinner! And just this morning I went through his closet and weeded out all the things that don't fit him and pulled out the lot of 6 and 9 month old clothes. It's a good thing we know lots of babies that are coming later this year to share our hand me downs with! I have 10 good friends right now who are pregnant with babies due this year. It's crazy!

Okay...if that wasn't enough pictures for you...here's the links to his monthly albums:
5 months
4 months
3 months
2 months
1 month

and finally...
half...make that quarter marathon
okay, the training didn't quite happen as i imagined it would, so this weekend, instead of the hippie chick half marathon, i'll be running the hippie chick quarter marathon! wish me luck (what was i thinking)

and we're done with the mega post