First for the not so good. I truly can't use the word "bad" because nothing has really been bad. There's been some meh, and there's been some eh, but nothing truly BAD. Life is actually really, really good right now for the most part. One thing that has been kind of meh is that I returned to work on April 1st. The cool part about that is that we now are officially a two income family again. Woo hoo for extra money!!! The meh part is that, well, it's work. And work, by virtue of the fact that it's not laying around without pants, is just kind of meh. Plus....I really miss my Moo time. Somedays I just sit in my office and stare at her picture. Make no mistake, I love my work, and I am definitely happy to have a routine again, but there's definitiely a part of me that could get into the stay at home mom gig. Now that I'm back at work, I look back on my maternity leave with what are probably rose colored glasses. I wallow in memories of baby Moo sleeping on my chest and of first smiles. Of walks at Overton Park when it got warm and that one sweet time when Moo and I had a special Mommy and Moo lunch date on a patio. I ate a wrap, and she took a really loud poop. Pure bliss. Conveniently, I seem to have forgotten the endless gray of the longest, coldest winter ever, the sleepless newborn nights, and, of course, that one time when Moo's projectile poop destroyed a wall and several pieces of furniture (got pics to prove it). I guess that's just how it is though. In any case, I am back at work. I've made my schedule somewhat more mommy friendly, but I won't lie. I truly can't wait for the day when I can just go into private practice and have complete autonomy. If it wasn't for that whole student loan forgiveness thing, I'd be there like yesterday. Many thanks to all of the people who told me that student loans really don't count. Um, yeah. Yeah. They do. And they suck.
Now for the good. There's so much good. So, so, so much good. Moo is 4 months (and change) old now. Last Friday, my mom (she visited us to help out while G'ma and G'pa galavanted across Europe) and I took Moo for her 4 month appointment. No surprises. It was a pretty straightforward visit. We still like Dr. Magdovitz. She's a straight shooter and always seems very level headed and friendly. She proclaimed that Moo is indeed healthy and happy and, true to Tall People form, measuring in at the 93rd percentile in length. Strangely, when I took her in at 3 months (teething issues), she measured above the 97th percentile. Off the charts. Maybe she's just going to be regular tall instead of freakishly tall? Hmmm. Anyway, she's in the 61st for weight and the 61st for head circumference. In other words, she's normal. Shots were given, of course, which are no fun at all, but a necessary evil. My poor mom wasn't expecting the shrill screaming that takes place when Moo gets poked, so of course she cried almost as much as The Moo. I was prepared this time, having experienced the awesomeness that is baby puncturing before, so I was able to steel myself and escape with nary a tear. It did bruise my soul a bit though to see my perpetually happy baby squawk as if she was being murdered. In any case, Moo was calm again within minutes and happily chattering to herself. Love my happy, vocal baby girl. In other good news, Moo is growing and changing and very quickly developing into this amazing little person. Everyday, I see new and exciting changes in my sweet girl. She smiles constantly now and watches mommy and daddy very closely. She enjoys reading and cuddling and walks outside. The swing is still a favorite, but we're now playing in our Baby Neptune Exer-saucer thingie. Moo has a peculiar affinity for mirrors also and will stare and coo endlessly at the mirror on her swing. She's very talkative these days and seems to find new noises just about every day. We still laugh at what we call her lawn mower noises, and she makes this one very sweet gurgly, cooing sound that melts my heart every single time. The happiest place on Earth for Moo is not Disney World (who needs fake mice anyway?) but her changing table. Put the kid on a changing table, you get instant smiles. Get her naked, cue euphoric cooing, giggling, and borderline maniacal smiling. Whatever works, right? In the last few days, Moo has also discovered that she likes to put her feet in her mouth. mmm. Tasty. It's adorable to watch as she throws that leg up and catches a succulent toe in her mouth. Last night in the bath, she got quite frustrated trying to put both feet in her mouth at once. Sorry, kid. Life can be truly disappointing. Socially, she's interacting with her cousin Cora now too, trying to grab her and smiling at her. Cora, who's 17 days younger, is really just having none of it yet. In perhaps the biggest news, we appear to have successfully transitioned to the big girl crib. It began as an experiment, her daddy and I asking each other, "do ya think just maybe...?" So we tried it. And it worked. And it was awesome. And I stayed up half the night the first night watching the monitor. I watched as Moo kicked around in her sleep before finally settling herself at the other end of the crib. I have learned that this is just a Moo thing. The kicking that is. She's one of the heaviest sleepers I've ever met, but she will kick her legs in her sleep for hours. Whatever works, kid. Either way, she's now slept in her crib for 4 whole nights. These days, she usually sleeps around 10, sometimes 11 hours per night. The best part? The Moo always, always wakes up a happy Moo. I have never seen anyone wake up in such an awesome mood. We're talking smiling, giggling, cooing, the works. How did Thom and I, two of the most incurable night owls the world has ever know, produce this spectacular little morning person? No clue. That said, the fact that we have been blessed with a champion sleeper is not lost on me. Not at all. This kid is amazing, and I love her more and more every single day. 