Could be Worse

Well, we made it through the first week of day care and work. It was difficult, but not as bad as I had expected. Bryn's day care really made it as easy as they could for us and we really like them. I call 1-2 times per day and they have always made it seem as if talking to me is not a hassle. It doesn't hurt that they have such wonderful compliments for Bryn either. They said that she made the transition better than most babies and she is really "calm and happy." I guess the only time she fusses is if she is hungry or it is nap time. Hey, a girl's gotta eat. She also really likes the other babies and will talk to them as they crawl by. They told us talking is her favorite thing to do. We didn't fully experience that until today.  They weren't joking.



Every day, they send home a sheet that tells us when she ate, slept, and had her diaper changed. It also has the list of activities they did in each developmental category. For example, her first day, Bryn listened to a book being read (Language Arts), grabbed a duck and was tried to be taught to hand it back (Cognitive Development), learned the sign language for "eat" (Self-help skills) and experienced a new texture by feeling ice in a ziploc bag (Sensory Stimulation). If she were a little older, she also would have painted with a paintbrush to learn the color blue, sang a song and done a butterfly yoga pose. I can't wait to see that some day! All in all, I make myself feel better by thinking she is learning more than she ever would have with me at home.

Looks like Bryn's new typical day, from her point of view, is something like this:

5:30-6:00- Start talking up a storm in my crib. Mom can get up if she wants, but I kind of like to talk for awhile.
6:00- eat
6:20-6:45- play and get dressed.
6:45- Go to day care with Dad. I like to talk with Dad the entire drive and sing country songs with him.
7:00-5:45- play with my friends at day care (see above).
5:45- grin real big at Dad when he picks me up. Talk all the way home.
6:00- grin at mom real big when I come in the door and have patience with her snuggling me.
6:00-7:30- short nap and lots of play time.
7:30- bath-kick my legs in the water
7:45-baby massage from mom.
8:30- eat and go to bed.

The biggest problem is, of course, that we don't get to see her awake more than a few hours a day. Weekends will be very cherished, but 2012 overall has treated us well.

We visited Great-Grandma Mitchell and cheered on the Jayhawks:

We got to see Erin, Lane and Jan for a day and take pictures in matching outfits.  Lane is so adorable!

We celebrated New Years.  We stayed in and played some scrabble after Bryn went to bed.  Oh how times change.  You might be able to tell that we aren't so great at scrabble.  I especially liked "VIN."  Nick didn't challenge it. 

Here are some other fun pictures from the last couple of weeks.  Happy New Years everyone!