Hello Again~

Apologies for an unintended hiatus from blogging.  There's no particular reason and I didn't really mean for so much time to pass.  Things are busy, which isn't new, and I guess I just lost some of the little free/quiet time I have to other projects.  I've been trying to cook more- like actually use recipes and not just reheat food.  I really enjoy cooking but it does mean a bit more organization required in terms of planning my meals and shopping for ingredients and doing some prep during nap time.  I've also been trying to take care of my body more- I signed up for a pilates reformer class and am really trying to make time for working out, playing tennis, even just doing exercises around the house during nap time.  I'm still working to figure out the best ways to juggle my time and balance my priorities.  I have a feeling that this is a continuous life project that at times may be working better than others but will never be complete.

While it is still predicted to be 90+ degrees here Sunday into early next week and Kate's school program is year round, there is definitely a back to school vibe in the air.  I love the fall!  I love the sunny yet brisk weather.  I love falling leaves and wearing sweaters.  I love everything pumpkin- soup, muffins, pie, even the seasonal cream cheese they serve at Einstein's.   So with any luck this exciting new energy will renew my commitment to blogging.  I do plan to do more blogging to share stories and events even if I don't have pictures.  Many times in the past several months I have drafted a whole blog post in my head but not had any pictures so skipped it.  I'm now rethinking this strategy and wanting to capture these stories even without the pictures.

Kate is doing great.  She continues to be quite precocious and constantly chatty.  The littlest thing (for example not having the right Bubba or the butter on her waffle melting too quickly) can set off quite a dramatic rant.  That said, she is intuitive and observant and even seems to have a bit of a sense of humor.  Last Saturday she came home from an outing with Dad and told me completely unprompted that I need to get a seat for my bike for Luke so we can go for rides as a family.  On Monday driving home from school she said she was still hungry and asked if she could have one of those apples from tennis.  (They give out apples at our tennis club and Kate has been drawn to them since she was 13 months old.  We now buy apples at the store but tell her they are from the club just to get her to eat them.)  I told her, "Yes, Kate, you may.  As soon as we get home."  Her response was, "Mama, can you please say, coming right up Kate!"  And then she bursts out laughing.  Shaking my head and giggling to myself I replied, "Kate, what do I look like?"  But the sarcasm was lost on her.  She quickly told me, "You look like a mama, Mama."

Luke is doing great too.  He's definitely teething - he sucks and bites and chews on anything and everything.  He's getting some physical therapy for torticollis and plagiocephaly- big words for stiff/tight neck and flattening of the back of the head.  Our goal is 50% of his awake time (or 4.5-5 hours daily) to be tummy time so we can strengthen the muscles in his back.  He's tolerating tummy time more and more and even rolling off his tummy on his own, but when you factor in feedings in his highchair and time in the car seat, we need to basically do tummy time all the time.  That makes trips to the park hard and definitely gives me less ability to do things for myself or Kate when he is awake.  I know this is just a goal so I am doing my best and again just searching for balance.  He continues to have an extremely happy disposition and except when left on his tummy longer than he would like, he's pretty patient waiting for his needs to be met while I deal with the drama of his older sister.  He's doing much better with his bottles- I am optimistic this means he's growing out of the reflux and really eats purees like a champ.  We've tried some "puffs" and while he is intrigued, he hasn't eaten them really.  Maybe in a few more weeks.

Signing off for now . . . hope to be back again soon.