Growing up and feeling down (sort of)

Growing up

Part of Daddy's job on this blog is to report Miri's updates from her doctor's appointments. Just over two weeks ago she had her 2 year appointment, and she is getting big! Height is 33in (25th percentile), weight is 22lbs13.5oz (20th percentile), and just for good measure...head size is 46.5cm (30 percentile). So when I say getting big...I mean big for Miri! She is still a little munchkin compared to others her age, but it doesn't seem to phase her! And it certainly doesn't phase Mommy and I! It makes it that much easier to pick her up and throw her over our shoulders when she's being "a 2 year old".

 

And speaking of being a 2 year old, Miri is no longer a 1 year old! She had her 2nd birthday party 3 weeks ago. It was a small "bash", but most of her favorite people were there! Of course Mommy and Daddy were there...and yes, Bear, Lambie, and Baby Sandie (all the usual suspects) were there too. But more importantly, both sets of grandparents were there as well! Whenever we are able to assemble Gammy & Grandpa R. and Gramma & G-pa B. (who came all the way from South Carolina) in one room, Alli and I consider Miri's "mind blown" (it's hard to contain THAT much excitement). Anyways, a great time was had by all at her zoo themed ("themed" used loosely) party. We started off at...well...the zoo! It was a beautiful day, so animals were out and very active. And Miri had her first ride on the zoo train. Lunch at the zoo, where Miri feasted on one of her favorite delicacies..."hot gog" with "hot gog bun". Home for nap, followed by presents(!!!), spinach & artichoke mac 'n' cheese, and birthday cake decorated with some of her favorite zoo animals. It was a great day and Miriam is really becoming a BIG GIRL!

Feeling down

As Allison mentioned a couple blog entries ago, I lost my job at the end of May. It was really tough on us, but there was one great thing that came out of it. I got to be a stay-at-home dad for the summer! Miri and I had a ton of fun and had a lot of bonding time. Of course we wish Mommy could have also been off with us all summer...but she was too busy working tons of extra hours (including Saturdays) to take care of us while I was job hunting (and playing with Miri). What a great mommy and wife! But back to us...Miri and I had tons of fun this summer...going on bike rides, playing and picnicking at all the parks in Germantown, doing arts and crafts, building forts, play dates with Erich and Maddie, events at the library, going to the zoo, playing in the water, etc. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely a tough job being a stay-at-home parent...making sure Miri ate/slept well and on schedule, having little to no adult interaction for days at a time, cleaning the house during short naps, etc...but the fun definitely out-weighs the not-so-fun!

"Feeling down?", you ask. "I don't understand why you would name this section Feeling down." Well, I'll tell you. My days as a stay-at-home dad have come to an end. I guess you could say I'm SAD about no longer being a SAHD. Get it? Man, I am creative.

(Sort of)

So that brings me to the last section of this blog entry. Although I am feeling down about no longer getting to spend day after day with my wonderful, hilarious, smart, beautiful daughter, I am feeling up (hence the "Sort of" feeling down) because I am now back to work. It is a huge weight off our shoulders, and I am completely grateful I was not out of work for much longer than I was. We definitely made some cuts this summer (not ramen noodles and powdered mac-n-cheese kind of cuts, but certainly some cuts), but it could have been much, much worse. Just happy that's all over with. Things are starting to get back to normal. It's tough to be back to work, but things could be tougher. And, one of the benefits of my new job, is that I'll be working from home so will get to see my girls a lot more! Yay for me!