Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Reflection on my maternity leave...

I can't believe it but this Sunday I officially go back to work. It is crazy to think that I have been on maternity leave and that Payton is already almost 8 weeks old. I am excited to go back to work, but it has been such an incredible past couple of months that I have gotten to spend with family and friends. I wanted to post some of the highlights...


After just a few short weeks, Payton was only needing to eat once at night so Chris and I decided that we needed a little family getaway. We loaded up both kids and both dogs and headed to Chandler, OK to stay in a cabin at Jacobs Ladder. It was absolutely incredible. Darryl had a blast running around with the dogs and being outside as much as he possibly could while Payton enjoyed eating and sleeping :). Kim came and stayed with us the first two nights and it was so fun to get to spend time with her. Then, the last night that we were there Mark and Rachel came out and brough Karis. The kids had SO much fun together and it was a blast watching them play. We made tents out of sheets, went on numourous golf cart rides, played fetch with the dogs, played with play dough, and pretty much did everything you could possibly imagine. It was an incredible weekend.

While at home, I got to experience so much with my kids. I fall more in love with them every day! We enjoyed getting to spend lots of time with our friends. We went to the zoo on several occasions, swam, jumped on Darryl's new trampoline, and had a blast getting to be with so many amazing people. Our small group even threw two parties to welcome Payton! It was so much fun and such a blessing to us.

Darryl started CLC on Tuesdays and Thursdays and loves it. It has been an adjustment since he is not used to being away from Mommy but it has been so fun to watch him do so many big boy things. The other day I needed to pick him up early so I peaked in his classroom to spy on him. They were all sitting at a big boy table eating their lunch. He was so cute eating his lunch and talking to the other kids (they mainly just stared back but he was enjoying himself). He even brought home his first craft! It was a paper with purple circle stamps on it because that day they were learning about purple circles.

Having two kids under the age of 2 definately has its hectic moments! My favorite moment took place in the waiting room of the Dr.'s office. Darryl had an ear infection so we rushed over to the doctor. while there, everything was going great at first...Darryl was being really sweet and was walking around the waiting room talking to everyone. Then...chaos broke loose. First, Darryl tripped and bit his lip, causing him to start screaming. While I was comforting him, he grabbed Payton's stroller to get up and sent it crashing into the wall. This scared Darryl so he started screaming harder when Payton woke up and started screaming bloody murder. I tried to find her pacifier but couldn't (I found out later it was digging into her back). So after a few minutes of both children screaming I decided I would just feed her. When I reached down into my diaper bag to get her bottle, Darryl decided he wanted to help me so he grabbed the container of formula. When he pulled it out it exploded! It went EVERYWHERE! All over the carpet, all over the stroller, and all over the still screaming Payton. Luckily I had formula in the car so I grabbed both kids and ran outside to get it. When I came back in I started feeding Payton when Darryl decided he would make a run for it and started running across the waiting room toward the door. I put down Payton and ran after him to discipline him. Causing them both to start screaming once again.

Needless to say... I was very tired (as I'm sure everyone else in the waiting room was!) by the time we saw Willie, but of course both kids were perfect angels for him the whole time. What is amazing is that I didn't freak out! I stayed surprisingly calm the whole time. But it was definatly an interesting time! I immediately called my friend Jolene to tell her all about it sense I knew that she had stories that like to!


My parents have also gotten to come into town a lot which has been so great! Darryl loves his Grandma and Papa. It is so fun to watch him with them and to see how quickly he remembers who they are even though they live in Nashville.

My birthday was a couple weeks ago and it is so crazy to think that I am 27 with two kids and a mini van! I am blessed beyond words. I totally forgot my birthday of course due to having my hands full but several of my friends through me a surprise party and I also got a massage and amazing dinner at Red Rock as well! It was a great birthday, I can't believe how incredibly blessed I am to have so much at such a young age.

There is so much more to write about but I'm tired! Payton is still only waking up once a night, but now she sleeps in 6 hour stretches from 10:30 til 4:30 a.m. so I'm hoping it will be anytime now that she sleeps on through the night! She had her 8 week appointment today and she weighed 10 pds. 3 oz and is 21 inches long! She is so fun and amazing.

More to come! Here are some photos..












Welcome baby Kal!!




























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