Family Friday (vol. 33): Birthday, Baby, and Kitchen Update

Dear blog and friends,

I haven’t forgotten about you. I just need about 12 more hands and 12 more hours in each day.

Love,

Nicole

First up, Shea turned 2 yesterday! There was the official “birthday girl” shirt, getting sung to at both daycare and home, and of course, mac and cheese, cake, and ice cream. No wonder the girl slept past 7:30am this morning! I can’t believe my first born is 2…and that I’m no longer a mom of 2 under 2. I feel like I earned my stripes in that 4 weeks’ time. But not really, thanks to lots of visitors and helping hands. #blessed

Shea had her 2 year well-child appointment this morning. She survived the toe poke for the hemoglobin check…and the flu shot. She learned who “the doctor” is. She is 36 1/2 inches (99th %ile) and 31 lbs (91st %ile). Hard to believe she’s TWO! My healthy, happy, feisty two year-old.

Shea’s “official” celebration will be tomorrow with all 4 grandparents, her aunt, and her uncle. There will be an Elmo cake, dress, and balloons. She’ll be in heaven. I can’t wait to enjoy the special time with her and our loved ones.

Next up, Piper! Tomorrow, Piper will be 1 month old and I’m having some trouble understanding where exactly the past month has gone. It has FLOWN by in the blink of an eye and I can’t believe I have less than 4 weeks left of (full-time) maternity leave. I’m thankful to be going back to work just 2 days/week through the end of the year, but those initial days of daycare are hard. For everyone.

We need to continue practicing with a bottle because to date, we mostly just gag on the nipple…at least if I’m the one offering the bottle. Sleep continues to be a blessing for us all – Piper is up once a night, generally between 3 and 4am. Her bedtime continues to be late, as with most newborns, falling asleep between 10 and 10:30pm most nights. Last night, she slept from 10:20pm to 5:20am (!) and I actually had to get up to relief pump some.

Piper is nearly 10 lbs, if not right at 10 lbs and had her first visit to the doctor for something other than a check-up – she had a yeast infection in her under arms. Poor babe, but she’s on the mend. She continues to love breastfeeding, cluster feeds most of the evening hours, and is tolerating the kitchen remodel noise and not-so-gentle love from her sister at times. She gets fussy when she has to burp, has the hiccups, or is over-tired, but not even dirty diapers seem to phase her. We’ve been blessed with a pretty content little chick and we love her to pieces!

And lastly, the kitchen. There has been MAJOR progress and I even have 75% of my kitchen in its new home (you can see the original kitchen here). We’ve got a temporary sink and temporary counter tops while the quartz is being templated. We need hardware on the cabinets. We need the cook top, dishwasher, and beverage fridge installed, as well as the molding and footings on the cabinets. Last, we’ll get the back splash installed and the floors re-screened…as much as we’ll miss the cardboard 😉  And then, enjoy! We’re 2-3 weeks from completion which means I’ll have 1-2 weeks to enjoy the kitchen before I go back to work! Perhaps most importantly, however, I have an oven, microwave, and fridge *IN* my kitchen, something other than paper and plastic (even if use of anything will require hand-washing), and can actually cook some.

And, there’s no longer a million boxes and a fridge in my living room! Woo!

There’s my update. I’m off to continue work on the kitchen and hope to be back with a recipe VERY soon! Promise!

Be well,