It’s so true. Some days, I’m hanging on by a thread. I lack patience, I lack sympathy, I raise my voice, and I quickly forget I am so, so, so fortunate. My kids have a way of exhausting me to the point that I lose my focus on the beauty of childhood and the joy of being a mother. So what if Piper plays in the dog’s water bowl and Shea just over-shot her potty chair and created a puddle on the bathroom floor for the 3rd time that hour? (You guys, I’m so serious about both of those.)
But then Shea will do something or say something and I quickly realize that my baby is a little girl. She is so quickly morphing from toddler to child just as Piper is going to be a toddler in a matter of weeks (okay, like 9 weeks…but still!). It is all just going so quickly and I hate it so much…and yet I find myself frustrated, upset, or impatient only every other second. Please tell me this is normal and I need to show myself some grace here!
So, a little update on life.
Work is bananas, but mostly in a good way. I’m applying for an 18-month leadership course so, fingers crossed my application is accepted. Mark has had some work travel and has several more trips on the calendar. I’m planning my bestie’s bachelorette party this October and I pretty much cannot wait for that. My friends from earlier in life are, for the most part, unwed, and my newer friends in life I’ve met after their weddings…so I feel a little dumb when it comes to weddings, bachelorette parties, showers…the whole thing. But, this gal pal has been my friend for 30 (!) years and so I couldn’t be more excited for her and the fun ahead in celebrating properly!
Shea is full-blown potty training. It is not an exaggeration at all, whatsoever, to say that she’s been using the potty for the past year. YEAR, PEOPLE. We did introduce the concept early, but allowed her to take the lead. We were making good progress when Piper came along, and Shea regressed considerably, losing all interest in the potty. When Mark went in to get her dressed for the day on Tuesday morning, she requested “big girl panties”. We went with it. I packed up lots of extra clothes and panties. When I picked her up that afternoon, she was definitely not in the outfit I had dropped her off in…but daycare said it was a good first day. Fast-forward to Friday and she hasn’t worn a diaper other than to sleep and she’s accident free today for the first time! I do think having access to a potty at home makes it easier for her than at daycare – the potty is in a different room that is not attached to the classroom, so she has to ask to go. But, MAJOR progress and dare I say, there’s no going back now? 
I’m proud of her! We are doing “jelly bean” rewards (except jelly beans are really Reeses pieces…because that’s what we have on hand).
Shea is quickly emerging as extremely musical. Bless her heart, I have no idea where she got that gene because it is most definitely recessive in both Mark and I. Most of the time, her manners are great and she generally asks every day in the car, “Can I have songs, please, Mommy?” (Pandora, Toddler Radio over Bluetooth). So cute. She knows most colors in Spanish and her Spanish teacher says she does really well. We are working on understanding “left” vs “right” when we’re driving in the car. Lately she has started talking about the weather a lot and today she said, “It looks like rain showers soon.” My little meteorologist!
Piper is FINALLY sleeping through the night some. It took over 9 months and it is DEFINITELY not every night, but for the first time, I think I have reason to be hopeful. Ironically, I don’t feel any more rested when I do sleep through the night, but I’m not complaining! She goes down around 7:30/7:45pm and generally rises around 6:30/6:45am. Why is she sleeping better? NO idea. Why does she sleep through some nights but not others? NO idea. There seems to be no common thread with regard to her naps, intake, bottles, timing of bed – she’s an enigma. Sometimes you get the peanuts, sometimes you get the shells. You just never know. But…she has a very predictable 2 naps when she’s home (loves her crib and naps ~1 1/2 hours around 9am and 2 hours around 1:30pm) but at daycare she’s usually too stimulated to take a morning nap and crashes in the afternoon for a solid 2-2 1/2 hours. Depending on what time she gets up in the middle of the night, I will either give a bottle or nurse. Because I pump before bed, I often don’t have enough to satisfy her if she’s up too early in the night. I know this doesn’t help my supply, but she is nearly 10 months old, I have quite a bit of frozen breast milk, and I’m at peace with using a bit of formula at this stage of the game. It’s hard to compare my milk production to when I was breastfeeding Shea, but Piper takes CONSIDERABLY less milk than Shea ever did. She’s a little peanut and definitely enjoys food-food and purees. She nurses most every morning, though – that’s our time to still enjoy that bond. We both seem to really love that quiet time to start our day. Piper is quite the vegetable eater and seems to love meat and seafood, too. She hasn’t taken to fruit as much as most babies, but we continue to offer anything and everything at this stage. She has 8 teeth in with more on the way.
Other than sleeping, it has been a busy developmental period for Piper. She has learned to cruise on furniture, clap, wave, kiss, and is just starting to stand unassisted. On par for the age, I think, she’s rather clingy and enjoys being held but her stranger danger seems in check. She never cries when I drop her off at daycare or at the church childcare during the service.
This weekend is my birthday and I’ve requested going to a local winery/brewery/distillery for the 4pm band that’s playing. It’s always fun to sit outdoors and enjoy a cocktail and some tunes. We really don’t have any other plans (I do need to start my book for book club and update Piper’s baby book, but nothing big) and I took PTO on Monday – it should be a long, relaxing weekend! Can I get some beach weather?!
Have a happy and SAFE 4th of July!
Be well,
from Prevention RD http://preventionrd.com/2017/06/family-friday-vol-51-the-days-are-long-but-the-years-fly-by/
via Heart Based Marketing
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