Back to the grind.

I've decided to go back to work. I found a job that I just know I'm going to love, too! Here's the problem: I Do Not Want To Put Baby E In Daycare! I did not have a baby so that someone else can raise him. Here is the other problem: If I don't get out of the house and work I will go Crazy. I LOVE watching Baby E learn and grow and do cute baby stuff (like yesterday, when he finally mastered the art of crawling), but staying at home alone with him is slowly driving me insane. Luckily, I found a FANTASTIC stay-at-home mom to take care of Baby E while I am away at work. Also, my job is seasonal, so I will work from April - October and have Nov - March to spend with him.

Okay - I forgot to post the last part and now it's a week later!!! I DO love my job! It is so great - I can set my own hours and when I'm done with my work, I get to go home - no waiting around until the clock says 5! Baby E has really adjusted well to daycare, too - there are 2 other babies, and he is in the middle.....I know he likes it there because when I go to pick him up he is all smiles - makes me feel not SO guilty about going back to work!

Yesterday was Easter and our family went up to Door County to celebrate the Holiday. We stayed overnight at a hotel with my sister's family and my parents. Baby E LOVED the swimming pool! I finally had to take him out when his little fingertips started looking like raisins. He also got his first Easter basket - filled with (what else) toys for the bathtub and a ball. Nana got him a bottle of bubbles - who knew a kid could have so much fun trying to figure out the bubbles.

He's cutting his 2nd tooth, so he's been a bit crankier than usual - poor little guy!

WAIT!!

As promised, this is Baby E after his little "treat" in the tub.

I hate waiting. I hate waiting for a good table at my favorite restaurant. I hate waiting for a phone call about the job I REALLY want. I hate waiting for my husband when he's on his stupid cell phone and I need speak with him. But what I really hate is waiting for my baby to wake up from his nap so I can kiss his sweet little cheeks and smell his baby scent and smile at his toothless little grin.

I've been trying to snap some really good pictures of Baby E that truly capture his personality. This is not an easy feat. Maybe I am not artistic enough, or MAYBE I need a better camera. At any rate, tonight was a night of photos. It started in his high chair where he has almost mastered the art of feeding himself veggie-puffs. I did not produce a single photo worthy of noting. Sad. Next we moved on to the floor. I was about the clickity-click away when my Skype thingie rang. It was my 3 nieces. So much for photos now. Although, I did hear an interesting story about an imaginary friend named Bob and how he forgot his lunch when he went to work this morning, so he had to come home early and there was an equally imaginary monkey in his bathroom. But I digress. After the Skype conversation, it was bath-time. Bath-time tonight happened to be in the kitchen sink. I FINALLY got his attention and just snapped away. After reviewing the photos, I believe I have 2 good ones out of about 35. Not a bad ratio, I guess.... Here's the funny thing: The best picture of him is when he decided to POOP in the sink and he has this totally adorable shit-eating grin (no pun intended) on his face. I promise to post it soon - it's just too late to upload them right now!

The upstairs is ALMOST done - we are in the home stretch now! Just waiting for the tile guy (hopefully this week) and the carpet guy (1st week of April)! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

out in the yard

It's finally happened. Just like my mom said it would. Yesterday I went outside and got some yard work done. AND I DIDN'T HATE IT. Generally I HATE anything that gets my hands dirty. This includes: gardening, changing oil, washing my car, making meatballs (or hamburgers), fishing, changing poopy diapers, cleaning out the fireplace, scooping the litter box, etc. So yesterday it was a balmy 59 degrees here in Fox Point, and I decided to put Baby E in his stroller and start some spring clean-up. I raked, and I swept, and I put out the spring decorations. I also got to see the little shoots of daffodils and tulips coming up. Baby E was as happy as a clam to just sit there and play with his feet and occasionally "talk" to me about all the interesting things he was observing. Now, I'm not saying I actually liked the yard work, just that I didn't hate doing it - maybe it's because the last two years I haven't been able to do anything in the yard. So today Baby E and I are going to get some wild bird seed and fill up the feeders that I found out in the garage - another first!

Time to change a poopy diaper - still not loving that chore! oh well!

Let the biting begin.

We reached a major milestone yesterday! Baby E got his first tooth! He's been crabby and feverish for the last couple of days, but now, he's back to being happy baby. I was starting to worry that he didn't have any teeth in his head - I guess he's just a "late bloomer". He has also learned how to get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. I'm worried that crawling will begin any day. We are NOT ready for that. The house is hardly baby-proofed. I'll have to put away my 4 ft tall vases until he turns 18. Kind of sad to see them go. I bought some outlet covers, and have to get them installed; and this weekend's project is to put those annoying little catches on all of the bottom doors/drawers in the kitchen. Woo-hoo.

I finally picked out paint for the upstairs! Hope to get started on that today during nap-time. We'll just see how that pans out! Jason and I went ordered the tile for the bathroom and it should come in today - I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE THIS PROJECT FINISHED!

The Joy of Jumping

Well, Baby E has FINALLY figured out how to get his legs moving and JUMP, JUMP, JUMP! It is so fun to watch him. He also has been eating pineapple and kiwi......the kid loves fruit. He must get that from me - big J does not eat anything that grows on trees or in the ground unless I MAKE him!

In other news, we are going to FLORIDA in April! I can't wait. I'm sure the weather here will be more tolerable by then, but I know that in FL it will be so nice and WARM! This has been a very loooonnnggg winter and I feel like I've been stuck inside since November. Anyway, enjoy the video. That little boy really makes me laugh!

Chickens and Bunnies

Our little family unit went to my parents house this weekend. I spent Saturday running errands with my sister and baking cupcakes for my niece's 6th birthday. Baby E wore his totally adorable little "paper-boy" hat. I can't believe how many people comment on that hat. My sister likes to carry him around when he's wearing it - gives her a little extra boost when people come up and say how cute he is (which he absolutely is)... Went back to my parents house and put Ethan in a chicken costume to get some pictures for an Easter card. His cousin, Julia, not to be outdone, went and put her bunny costume on. Some REALLY funny pictures came out of that little costume party.

On Sunday we went to Maria's birthday. Roller skating. I think the last time I went roller skating was 1988. You know what the great part about roller skating is? It's just like riding a bike (which is ANOTHER thing I'm not very good at). You simply cannot forget how to do it. The only differences between 1988 and today are the music and the fact that now I'm in my 30's, and falling hurts like a mother effer. So today, I am STILL paying for the roller skating adventure with an ice pack on my knee and a big bottle of Tylenol. Big J pushed baby E around the rink in his little stroller. Baby E was loving it. And he looked so cute in his little red bib-overalls.

Someone told me today that Ethan reminded him of Benjamin Button. Not sure how I feel about that.