Yes, little Zaiya.... time really is moving entirely too fast for mommy and daddy to keep up!
*SIGH***** I am really trying to hold back the tears on this one, folks! It's amazing how much faster time is going now that I'm working again! Zaiya is now crawling like a champ, sitting and standing on his own... and has even begun to try and take a few steps while holding onto whatever he can find! What happened? In my post about 8 months he wasn't even crawling yet, nor could he sit himself up! Now he's such a distinguished little man! He is into everything! He loves playing with anything except what I put out for him to play with! Mostly, he likes to eat the mail, play with pots and pans, tip over the trash can in the kitchen, and follow mommy and daddy around in his walker (stubbing lots of toes!)
He has actually had a rough month as there hasn't been a week in the last 6 that he hasn't been on some kind of medication for some kind of ailment! Our poor little guy has had a bad stomach bug, followed by a cold that seemed to last forever, followed by a double ear infection that was "treated" once and is now *hopefully* actually being treated b/c the first antibiotic 10 day treatments didn't really touch it! It seems like I've been giving my baby more tylenol than milk this month! :( While we are all exhausted because it feels like we've had a newborn all over again who wakes multiple times in the night and can't fall asleep on his own.... I have to say that in the exhaustion I have really treasured all the snuggling that it's brought my way! This weekend was the first quiet weekend we've had in a long time and so when Zaiya woke up from his nap on Sunday and seemed sleepy still, I sat in the rocker with him and we both fell asleep for another 45 minutes! There have been lots of quiet moments like this and it's been really nice in the midst of all these changes we've been experiencing in our lives.
The news flash of late is that Zaiya is actually no longer in daycare! The company Marc worked for in the mornings actually closed up shop so he ended up not having to work until 1pm each day - and we just couldn't stand having Zaiya in daycare with one of us home and not working (nor could our wallets!) So, we decided to take him out of the daycare we spent sooooo long trying to get into!!! Ah, life! It won't surprise you that after only 3 weeks of daycare, he was already breaking hearts and got many sad faces when we left on Friday!! We really did love his teachers and hate that he won't have more time with them. It was a whirlwind of a 3 weeks... I'll skip the details but whoa is daycare hard. I used to teach 3yr olds so I know how pre-schools are run and how crazy the days are! And I don't know if that helped or hurt me in this process ... I think it helped me b/c it was very, very difficult to rush from work to pick up my lil' one and have only a small sheet of paper with very limited detail as to what he had done in the previous 9 hours!! But I remember what it was like to have to keep up with too many kids at once - so I could understand the lack of detail. However, being on the mommy end it was excruciating!! It didn't really help that he was the smallest and the youngest in his class - and that he was almost always the last to leave at the end of the day b/c I couldn't get there until 5 minutes to close! All of these things together make for an extra special kind of new mommy! :) (lol) So...I have also decided that I'm not a daycare mommy yet - at least, not a full time daycare mommy. I suppose if Marc hadn't lost the morning job that I would've been fine and I would've adjusted (his teachers really were wonderful - you really were, Shanda - I'm not just saying this!!!) just as Zaiya would've - but I think it may have been a blessing for our family that it worked out for Marc to be able to stay home with him in the mornings - and we have plenty of adjustments on our plates as it is... :)
I know Marc is thrilled to have so much time with him now, especially because he really only saw Zaiya on the weekends for the first 9 months! I can't imagine how hard that was for him and I really am thankful for how hard he worked so that I could stay home. Our roles have really reversed these last couple of weeks and it's been pretty hilarious (to say the least) at times, let me tell you!
In the afternoons, Zaiya will now be heading over to Auntie Brooke's house. Some of you may know the Straders - Jenny (Brooke's sister) and I have been best buds since high school and we've always kept in touch throughout the years. Their family is like a second family to me and I could not feel more comfortable leaving Zaiya with Brooke and her little angel, Jack Henry. I hate that Zaiya has to make another transition so quickly, but I feel great knowing that he had a nice long morning nap and slept for an hour at Brooke's house this afternoon - he was out by the time we got home, too - and I'm crossing fingers and toes that he sleeps through the night!!
In a nutshell - I am really loving my new job. I can't express how wonderful it is to work for a company that sincerely cares about my well-being! QUITE the opposite of what I used to have! I will leave it at that. AND I will suggest that you all call me at work www.canvasondemand.com and order some canvasses! I'll even give you a discount if you're really sweet to me! :) HA! Seriously. I wouldn't advertise for just anyone. Really. You know I wouldn't. :) They are WONDERFUL people doing WONDERFUL things with their company and I'm just so happy to be a part of it. *Whew*
Okay... so brace yourselves for the pics of the little man... who is looking more and more like a miniature Marc every day!
We went to a pumpkin patch with Auntie Kristen and my cousins to get our first pumpkin of the season!
I am king of these pumpkins! (Really, I don't even know they exist. All I care about is mommy's water bottle. For REAL.)
Mom-mom got me this awesome baseball outfit! I wish it was still warm so I could still wear it!!
I had so much fun with mommy's family at the Pumpkin Farm! I'm mesmerized by the corn pit in this picture!
Come on... has there ever been anything cuter than this?
Mommy and Daddy took me to vote for the first time!! I got a sticker!!!
I learned how to stand up and now I've got to keep stretching so I can start walking soon... :)
See, I can pull up on my crib!! Mommy says I look so scrumptious when I'm trying to concentrate!
I LOVE showing off for mommy!
I just found my tongue... and man does it help me focus! (Mommy says I look like Mom-mom in this picture!!! hahahaha!!)
I'm pretty amazing, aren't I? I'm going to be a tight rope walker one day... you just watch me!
Happy Happy Boy!!!
HAPPY 1st HALLOWEEN!
I'm mommy's little pumpkin today!!! (And every day!)
