We spent the last two weeks of my leave in NC and had beautiful weather. The first week we were in Winston-Salem and spent our time watching all 4 kids! Paul and Susan dropped their kids off and Dean and I were so excited to see them! It was definitely busy and nuts, but we had a good time. Lots of park time, walks, seeing old friends, Grandma and family, and Benny and I even went to the Wake Forest Football game against Clemson!
 |
| Flying with 2 babies...Fun? |
 |
| Go Deacs! |
 |
| Add caption |
The 2nd week we went to my parent's Raleigh house where we spent lots of time with Paul and Susan, continuing to enjoy the beautiful 60 degree weather! We got to ride a special Christmas Choo Choo, go to the lake and lots of playgrounds! Then Mark arrived and Susan hosted Thanksgiving (with a little help) and it was DELICIOUS! One of my favorite Thanksgivings I've had. Even if Dean ate nothing... He continues to be a VERY picky eater. We even celebrated Christmas!
When we returned to MN I returned back to work. It has been logistically a good transition, but mentally very hard. I have a very tough class this year that has been testing me a lot. My staff has been very supportive, but it's been very stressful trying to figure out the best way to get to about 5 of the kids. I'm pulling out a lot of tools I had to use when teaching in Kansas City. Mark has been very supportive and helpful with the house and kids, but I still miss the boys all day long. When I get home all I want to do is spend time with them and laugh at their cuteness.
Dean's plays really well by himself, and has loved walking and seeing Christmas decorations and blowups all month. He currently loves to say "my friends" and "come on guys" as well as "yup I sure did!" He listens to every conversation we have and tantrums are not quite as often. He and I have loved the snowy weather and he even enjoyed sledding (as long as it's slow).
Benny is going through a bit of a fussier period, but still continues to be an easier baby. He wakes up a bit more at night (2-3 times) and has difficulty falling asleep, but he's nothing like the every 30 minutes that Dean was at this age. He is a lot more stable and sits a lot in the bumbo and stand up toy place. He also is bringing things to his mouth and sucking a lot. Too bad he doesn't really like paci. Dean continues to make him smile and his transition to daycare has been wonderful! He eats well for Lisa, is sleeping ok, and the kids love him.
We enjoyed watching both boys at their Christmas Daycare concert at our daycare party which was a blast!
