I have not put any resent pictures or stories on our blog in a long time. I have been a bit crazy these days, while I still take care of our little friend Parker, I have added tutoring a 3rd grader two nights a week and I just got a third job at a little French bakery up the road. So I have been doing the training on top of my other jobs. Starting in January I will slow down a little as I will only have Parker 2 days a week, but still be tutoring. I'm really excited about my bakery job. Its low stress (meaning I'm not chasing two 2 year olds around), and it brings a bit of balance into my life (I'm getting out!). I love being a mom, I love doing attachment parenting and I loved nursing my child. However, this is probably the only time I am going to be able to do something that is unrelated to raising children for a while. No we are not expecting another baby yet. But at some point I hope that another baby will come around and at that time I will dive back into my over-protected "cannot be seperated from a nursing baby" postpartum life. So Todd has adjusted his schedule to work from home a few more hours a week, and Marin and daddy hang at the house together. We'll see if it works out. We still value and pursue moments of 'sabbeth' in our lives to give Marin as much consistancy as possible, and so we have tried to make this little adjustment as smooth as possible, and so far it seems that she loves her days with daddy, and loves it when I bring her home a treat from the bakery. As I mentioned in a past blog she used to be a high needs sleeper, so when we make changes or have any type of adjustment going on we work really hard to make sure everything else in our lives is consistant and low stress so that it does not affect her sleep. So far she is still sleeping like a baby!
OK I want to post a few pictures of our trip to the beach with my mom. My mom and her husband Tim flew to Panama City and met us at Grayton Beach for a few days to celebrate Christmas. It was a great time to rest, chat, and get beat by Tim in just about every game we played...including the ones we taught him!
One of the highlights of the trip was my mother waking up each morning early gathering up a wakeful Marin and playing together while Todd and I got the sleep for another hour! That never happens, once Marin wakes up, sleeping time is over. We also got to take a few walks alone and spend one moring in a coffee shop reading, thanks to my mom and Tim playing with Marin. I love having family around for some free babysitting.
I brought Christmas decorations to the cabin
Home Sweet Home!
We did get a few warm days when we first got there so we put our suits on and played in the sand, and my mom got in to ocean... and yes it was cold!
Todd is taking Marin's socks and sandals off (no I did not choose that for her to wear, she often picks out her own cloths these days, thus we end up with inside out socks under sandals!)
Marin got splashed by a wave! She's so cold.
Marin and Mommy playing in the sand
Grandma and Marin painting while Todd and I sleep late!
A great place for a picture, everyone out of the car... I don't care how cold it is, its a great time for a picture.
Hey we just got a picture of all three of us! That never happens.
One more trip back to the beach before we say good bye.
Watching for dolphins with Grandma and Grandpa.We love Christmas at the beach!
p.s. the Christmas tree dress came from my grandma, Marin's greatgrandma, and Marin loved wearing it... like every day! I think it was the star button at the top that really made her fall in love with this dress because she made sure to point it out to everyone.
