I'm getting another July update in just under the wire. The kids are doing great. Quinn is growing fast and he is a really strong boy. He wakes a few times at night to feed which doesn't bother me (I usually have no problem getting right back to sleep), but there are some trying times too when he doesn't go back down and wants to play instead at 3 am. He's feeding well and still nursing great so that's what counts. Another habit he has is pulling mommy's long hair... I swear by the time he is done with me I may have no more hair left!
Olivia is learning new tricks, words and phrases by the day. She now helps feed the dogs. She knows how to navigate her iPad to watch movies and open/close the applications that she likes. She loves reading, and we are really big on Dr. Seuss around this household which is really fun and whimsical. Besides the normal toddler moodiness and rebellion which sometimes rears up, she is really a joy to be around. She's a happy kid overall and has a lot of fun at daycare with her friends.
Speaking of daycare, I'm going to pick up my series of thoughts on mothering because for me, having really good care for the kids in the form of daycare and babysitters is absolutely key. I have a ton of respect for the "stay at home" moms and dads of the world, but I know that I personally am much happier and better off working outside of the home. I titled this post "TGIM" (Thank God It's Monday) because in our household, though we certainly have a blast on weekends and vacations, we all like the swing of things with our regular weekly schedule. I think that's a really good thing!
I think a big reason for this is because their daycare situation is top notch.
Let me back up a bit now to describe the saga of finding quality infant care back when I was pregnant with Olivia. I am a planner and I try to be proactive about these things so at about 5 months along, I started seriously looking for a daycare solution for her. I gathered recommendations from friends and started calling places, both in home daycare and facilities. I toured a few places, got my name on waiting lists, and even wrote checks for deposits all to no avail. Months went by and I started getting more nervous. So I broadened my search (literally a Google search at this point!) and when I called several of the places, the women on the other end of the line sounded rude, frazzled or both. You could hear screaming kids in the background. I had a few people tell me that I would have to pay them full price from that day on just to hold a spot until the baby was born and I needed care for her.
Then with a stroke of luck, I stumbled across Nina who runs an in home daycare with another lady. She called me back immediately and we scheduled a tour. I will never forget in the interview when Nina looked me in the eye and said "We want to be more than daycare providers for these children. We love them and want to be very important in their lives, like part of their family." It was everything I had hoped we would find. And these two women have definitely held up their end of the bargain by creating a great environment for kids.
We also have a few wonderful babysitters including Kathryn, Nathalie and Gracie that have come to know the kids well and helped Jason and I get out for a date night every so often. Kathryn has even traveled with us which was a lot of fun.
I know that parenting it is a constant exercise in letting go as our children's worlds expand and they learn about new things. I believe that having great care providers, playmates and eventually schools helps to ease our minds as parents with these changes. Quite frankly, you never really leave your children as your heart always remains wherever they are. Still we feel really blessed to have these great care providers for our children when we are not with them.
Signing off for now and leaving you with one recent picture of Quinn.
Love always, Claire
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