Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Outside
Woo hoo!!! I finally think that I've set the yard up well enough to let Kayla out there without worrying. Two Superyard XT's have been put together and each side attached to the deck to form a large circle on the grass for the slide, pool or just open play space. Kayla can go up and down the three steps between the deck and the grass and play on both. I love that I can also be inside with Kylie and watch Kayla very easily through the sliding glass doors, or see her through the window if I'm at the sink. So if Kayla is climbing the walls and getting stir-crazy, I can simply open the doors and let her run for a little while and either sit out there with her, or bring the baby into the kitchen and watch her from the kitchen table. I'm pretty happy with it for now. Aesthetics will come later, as I'd still love to make the back yard look a little nicer, and sure, there are plenty of fun, outdoor toys that I think Kayla would love to have. But for now, this totally serves the purpose I need it to, and I'm glad it's finally done. It only took me over a month!!!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Friday- End of the Day recap
Yep, I was right. That was one long day. I'd be better off if Kayla would take a nap, but we all know I'd be asking for a miracle to ask that of her.
Another good week, overall. But seriously. I need a nap.
Another good week, overall. But seriously. I need a nap.
Friday
Well, it's the second Friday of two full weeks of this gig. As much as I love it, and know I'm lucky to do this, Fridays are just exhausting. Thursday is ok. On Thursday, I still think, "I can't believe how fast this week has gone!! This is the best job ever!! Time just has been flying by!!". But then I wake up Friday morning and think, "This is going to be the longest...day... ever." Maybe it's because the weekend is so close I can taste it, and I haven't had to appreciate the weekends in a really long time. Even when I was working and going to school, both full-time, I never really had a 'weekend'. Every single day was something. Either school, or work, or (more commonly) both. Granted, my job now isn't really something I think can be considered work. I get up whenever Kayla does, but realistically, if it weren't for Kayla rising early, I'd be able to get up 15 minutes before they arrive and I'd be fine. I don't even technically HAVE to get dressed, but I do for the sake of maintaining some professionalism, and in hopes that the day I happen to over-sleep and answer the door still in jammies with bedhead, they'll forgive me. So even though what I'm doing now is incredibly less demanding than my previous schedules, I've got this structure to my week that I'm not used to yet. So Friday, for the time being, is not my friend.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The First Few Days
It's been a couple of weeks watching Kylie so I thought I'd take some time to react.
The experience, overall, has been incredible. Not always easy, necessarily, but definitely a wonderful, fun, and rewarding way to spend my days. I've had several moments where I actually stop, and ask myself- are people really paying me for this? I feel lucky to be able to do this. Even if Kayla was in school, I think I would love to do this. Brian might have something different to say about that last statement, but if I'm being honest with myself and what I love, this is it for me.
Even as I write this, I'm getting paid to do this. Kayla is mesmerized by Barney, Kylie is falling soundly asleep in the bouncy-seat after being well-fed and entertained. I've leisurely enjoyed my coffee this morning, and have even been able to do some housework. It's not always so quiet, especially with Kayla going through her 'terrible-twos', but for the time being, we're happy. I'm lucky enough to have found a baby that is wonderfully-tempered and very content to observe the room, smile at you, and cuddle contentedly. The only problem so far as been her battle with the bottle, but we've settled on the Playtex Drop-Ins and she's been drinking like a pro.
Kayla has been pretty fantastic with the baby. I think she has her moments of jealousy, as I see her climbing into the swing or the bouncy seat after I take the baby out of them. But other than those small signs, she seems to be happy to see the baby and tolerant when she's crying or I have to feed her. I'm not sure she understands sharing yet, and sometimes when I try to show Kylie a rattle or book, Kayla tries to grab it away. But then she always brings it back withing a few seconds and shows the baby herself. She's learning. I don't trust her alone with Kylie, though, because she's a klutz and accidentally stumbles over things, throws things backwards over her head, knocks things over, hugs things really hard, or other things that might be totally innocent but still can cause harm. So Kylie doesn't leave my sight. I might take her into the kitchen to prepare a bottle, while leaving Kayla in the living room to play. When they're both a little older, maybe I'll be less paranoid. All in all, however, Kayla is handling this sudden change very well. She didn't even have the months of preparation children normally get for a younger baby being around, there was just a tiny baby here one day. I'm very proud of her.
Now, if I could only just get her to nap during the day. That would be fantastic!
My next goal with this is to make a more deliberate effort to get outside every single day. I have been slow to continue my preparations for outside because our landlords don't really want things on the lawn permanently. Once done playing, we're supposed to pick everything up. That becomes a time-consuming hassle. I have a Superyard gate, with some added panels outside that I intend to open in a large circle for a play area. It's quite long and after playing, I was simply pulling it closer to the house instead of leaving it set up in a large circle. That was also a pain, because it's not meant to always bend backwards. For now it's folded up again as I figure out what to do with a large, family-sized inflatable pool I bought for us. I'm planning to put it against the house since they don't mow there anyway, and I hope it doesn't cause any problems for the landlord. If I do that, I'll have the gate block off the pool from the rest of the yard, and have to figure out a new set-up for back there. I need it to be enough room for Kayla to run and play, without having to worry too much about her wandering off too fast for me to catch her with the baby in tow. I'm rambling. I'll update with a post specifically on the backyard.
Right now, the baby is at a phase where she simply needs basic care and cuddling, while being exposed to different things to help developmentally. I've got that covered. It'll be a whole different game once she starts to actually play and learn more actively. For now, I'm quite proud of the way things are going and feel confident that the family does, too.
The experience, overall, has been incredible. Not always easy, necessarily, but definitely a wonderful, fun, and rewarding way to spend my days. I've had several moments where I actually stop, and ask myself- are people really paying me for this? I feel lucky to be able to do this. Even if Kayla was in school, I think I would love to do this. Brian might have something different to say about that last statement, but if I'm being honest with myself and what I love, this is it for me.
Even as I write this, I'm getting paid to do this. Kayla is mesmerized by Barney, Kylie is falling soundly asleep in the bouncy-seat after being well-fed and entertained. I've leisurely enjoyed my coffee this morning, and have even been able to do some housework. It's not always so quiet, especially with Kayla going through her 'terrible-twos', but for the time being, we're happy. I'm lucky enough to have found a baby that is wonderfully-tempered and very content to observe the room, smile at you, and cuddle contentedly. The only problem so far as been her battle with the bottle, but we've settled on the Playtex Drop-Ins and she's been drinking like a pro.
Kayla has been pretty fantastic with the baby. I think she has her moments of jealousy, as I see her climbing into the swing or the bouncy seat after I take the baby out of them. But other than those small signs, she seems to be happy to see the baby and tolerant when she's crying or I have to feed her. I'm not sure she understands sharing yet, and sometimes when I try to show Kylie a rattle or book, Kayla tries to grab it away. But then she always brings it back withing a few seconds and shows the baby herself. She's learning. I don't trust her alone with Kylie, though, because she's a klutz and accidentally stumbles over things, throws things backwards over her head, knocks things over, hugs things really hard, or other things that might be totally innocent but still can cause harm. So Kylie doesn't leave my sight. I might take her into the kitchen to prepare a bottle, while leaving Kayla in the living room to play. When they're both a little older, maybe I'll be less paranoid. All in all, however, Kayla is handling this sudden change very well. She didn't even have the months of preparation children normally get for a younger baby being around, there was just a tiny baby here one day. I'm very proud of her.
Now, if I could only just get her to nap during the day. That would be fantastic!
My next goal with this is to make a more deliberate effort to get outside every single day. I have been slow to continue my preparations for outside because our landlords don't really want things on the lawn permanently. Once done playing, we're supposed to pick everything up. That becomes a time-consuming hassle. I have a Superyard gate, with some added panels outside that I intend to open in a large circle for a play area. It's quite long and after playing, I was simply pulling it closer to the house instead of leaving it set up in a large circle. That was also a pain, because it's not meant to always bend backwards. For now it's folded up again as I figure out what to do with a large, family-sized inflatable pool I bought for us. I'm planning to put it against the house since they don't mow there anyway, and I hope it doesn't cause any problems for the landlord. If I do that, I'll have the gate block off the pool from the rest of the yard, and have to figure out a new set-up for back there. I need it to be enough room for Kayla to run and play, without having to worry too much about her wandering off too fast for me to catch her with the baby in tow. I'm rambling. I'll update with a post specifically on the backyard.
Right now, the baby is at a phase where she simply needs basic care and cuddling, while being exposed to different things to help developmentally. I've got that covered. It'll be a whole different game once she starts to actually play and learn more actively. For now, I'm quite proud of the way things are going and feel confident that the family does, too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)