It's Bittersweet

Today is my last day of maternity leave.  Tomorrow will be our new normal.  It truly is bittersweet to go back to work.  I am anxious to see everyone at school, and really ready to establish a routine again.  But like all working moms, I am sad to leave my two sweet kids.  I have had so much fun watching Vera play, grow and change this summer.  Her creativity and imagination always make me smile.

Vince is three months old.  I can't believe it.  He's starting to smile a lot more.  Just this week he really started to coo and it is the cutest thing, even though his talking sometimes sounds like we have a cat in our house.  (Thank God we don't!)  :)  He still isn't sleeping through the night regularly.  Some nights he's up twice, which is definitely not ok.  I'm making a conscious effort to not feed him when he wakes up and just rock him back to sleep.  Sometimes that's successful and other times, he won't have it.  I really think he has figured out that if he wakes up when it's dark outside, I will feed him, and I don't want to fall in to his trap.  (He has us in a few other traps!)  Vince's hair is starting to grow in blonde.  It's so cute to see the baldness fill in with little fuzzy hair.  He is also a chewing and slobbering machine right now.  It doesn't seem possible that he could be teething already, but then again, Vera got her first tooth at 4 months.

I spent a lot of time yesterday and today thinking about how far we've come since the first weeks of crying with Vin.  The three months have gone by so fast.  The month of July is completely a blur.  August was a little better.  September has been a sigh of relief.  These months have been trying times for Adam and I, and I know someday I will look back on this time and smile.  I couldn't have done it alone.  My mom came over on a moment's notice more than once, and Adam's mom took Vera a number of times to play for the day.  Countless friends offered support and encouragement when we needed it most.  Though we still have a few hard days, I've really enjoyed the month of September.  It's been fun to watch the seasons change and really have a chance to take it all in.  Nothing beats fall in Ohio!  The trees are so pretty right now!  Whoever ordered the weather for the last three weeks has done a superb job!

I spent today tying up a few loose ends around home, took Vin to get his three month pics taken (he did so well!), and soaking in as much rocking and smiles as I can.  I'm going to miss my little munchkins tomorrow, but I know they're in good hands.

So, here's to the new normal for us!  I hope it's filled with smooth mornings, a sleep-through-the-night baby, 2 healthy kids, and 2 sane parents!

The best ending to the last day of maternity leave--a long snuggle with this sweet boy!