Back to the routine

After our week of travel, this week has been one of settling-in to old routines and getting back into the groove of things. Brian went in for an ordinary full week (as he's been doing for a while), and I am now back at my teaching as well as my doula work. Our time of "family leave," with its variable schedules and slower pace, is now over for everyone. We're both making an effort to get back to our exercise routines--Brian was at the gym today at 6:30 AM--and that includes participation in the Ann Arbor Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day (a 5K run) for me. I have a month and a half to get back into shape and able to run a 5K, which I know is a baseline indicator of physical fitness for me.

From October 8

It feels like Eli has grown fully out of his newborn-ness in many ways. He turned two months old yesterday. Of course, he's quite big (over 17 lbs., I think), but he's feeling like a big boy in other ways, too. He really blossomed over our weekend together in Milwaukee, so much that it was noticeable and something that my colleagues were able to see and feel. He's holding his head up quite well, and he's really enthusiastic about "talking" with us when he's alert and awake. He'll kick his feet (his left more than his right) and wave his arms and yell in this very deliberate way--I love it! One of my favorite Eli-isms is his habit of rooting around on someone else's shirt or shoulder if I'm not holding him. He'll root and wiggle his head around as if he was ravenous for milk, but once he's been handed back to me for nursing, he's not at all interested. It's as if he's using it as a strategy to get back to Mommy. He's a very Mama-focused little guy.

I haven't found the logistics of getting around town with two kids to be as challenging as I imagined they would be. That's been a pleasant surprise. We get out of the house every day at least once (as I've done since Maia was born), and I don't find myself lugging-around as much stuff as I thought I would with a newborn. I think I attribute that largely to two things: babywearing, and nursing in public. We're doing very well without a stroller, so the carrier that I use for Eli takes up no more room than a jacket or sweater would. And, as with Maia, I have no problem with breastfeeding in public (and I don't use a cover--not my cup of tea) so there's no need for bottles or nursing covers or extra blankets or anything. Eli isn't really adhering to any sort of nap schedule yet, so we just do our thing and he'll nap in the baby carrier if we're out-and-about.

From October 7

Maia seems to absolutely love preschool (no surprise there). She leaps out of bed in the mornings on Monday and Wednesday with a joyful "School today!!!" She's going to have her first set of school photos taken on Monday, and then we have a field trip to a pumpkin patch on Wednesday. Eli and I will join her for the class trip, and I'll be bringing the camera with me in my capacity as "Triangle historian"--that's one of the parent jobs that Brian and I were assigned, and part of it involves taking photos of school events.

That's about all for now!