See You In September

Posing on his play mat

I am a blog slacker. Sigh. I had started a post last week but never finished it, and I just tried to modify it and gave up, deciding to start a new post.

First of all, Daniel turned 3 months old last Wednesday! Such a big boy! He has become super chatty and even more expressive. He coos and smiles so much and has started to giggle. Sometimes his laugh sounds like the “heh heh” from Beavis and Butthead, and he had us in hysterics a few days ago because he was giggling non-stop for several minutes. He loves his new play mat and has started to reach for the dangling animals as well as reach for J’s goatee and my chin. He has also started rolling over onto his side. Is rolling over coming soon? He still dislikes tummy time, but when I put him on my chest, he can lift up his head quite well, so I’m not too concerned. The other day we encountered him sucking his thumb, and it looked like he meant to do so!

He’s over 12 pounds now and quite long. His 3m pants still fall off of him, but his 3m sleep n plays are starting to get tight in the feet. The jury is still out on his hair. Some days it looks super blond, and I call him my Aryan baby. Other days it looks like it has a bit of strawberry in it. His eyes are still nice and blue, though, and he has a gorgeous peaches and cream complexion. J and I are having a great time with him!

In the car, ready to go, on my second day of work

I’ve survived two weeks at work, and it hasn’t been bad at all. Everyone has been glad to see me, which has definitely helped the readjustment. My brain is a lot fuzzier than I anticipated, though! There have been some definite changes at work but overall, quite a lot is the same. I’m surprised by how exhausted I am, though. I get up at 5am (ok, maybe 5:15 and a couple of times last week 5:30) and by 10pm, 10:30 at the latest, I am falling into bed. And it’s the kind of fatigue where your brain takes over and says, “if you don’t go to sleep, I’m putting you to sleep.” I have wanted to go to bed by 10pm for years, but I certainly have no problems doing so now!

Daniel is doing wonderfully with J’s mom. Some days, the drop off is easy for me and I stride into my building, ready to tackle the tasks awaiting me, but occasionally, I watch her drive off with him and miss him horribly and feel sad. Work is very busy, thankfully, and that helps take my mind off of it. It helps tremendously knowing that he is in great hands. I’ve also seen how happy she and J’s grandmother are to have this time with him, and I love that. It’s a great situation all the way around! Although I will admit to having mixed feelings when Daniel frowned at me twice and looked like he was going to cry when I greeted him after work one day last week!

Rolling on his side.

So it is September now, and J and I feel so energized! We adore fall and consider it our time of year once September begins. I truly feel like turning cart wheels. But I won’t since I’m not the most coordinated person. The weather cooperated beautifully last week with fall temperatures. I took Daniel for a few walks around our neighborhood once we got home from work; amazingly, it was the first time I had done so because it had been so hot while I was home with him.

September is a special month for us because we both have birthdays as well as our “meeting” anniversary (we met in September 1996). This time last year, we were cycling and happily, received good news about the cycle’s outcome at the end of the month. And now this year, we can see the result. He is in the swing, sleeping as I type this. Each day, I’ve been comparing this year to what we were doing this time last year, and it’s astonishing. I vividly remember the ups and downs, the tears, the anguish, tiny moments of hope of those first few days in September 2008. And now this year I can kiss Daniel’s chubby cheeks, glory in his smile when I sing to him and be so thankful and happy that everything, finally, worked out.