Single mom... no thanks!

Well I'm full of new updates since my last post.... so here we go!

This last weekend was my first weekend alone with Dax... meaning no Daniel, all weekend long! I would be a single mom for the weekend...EEK! Daniel had a conference in Houston and I would be alone with Dax... just us... for 3 days and 2 nights. Lets just say I was terrified! I'm not a fan of being at home by myself at night anyways.. and with a baby in the mix that just pushed me over the edge! I was VERY tempted to just put Dax in the bed with me for those two nights but I held it together and resisted the urge... that would have been a two night mistake that would take a week to correct. I must say though that the weekend went great! Dax was sort of a fussy boy Saturday but I handled it like a champ if I do say so myself :)  Things I learned while being alone with Dax for the weekend.....
1. Make bottles and have them prepared in the refrigerator ahead of time.  There is no one to distract a hungry baby while the other one makes a bottle when it's only you at home with the baby. After Dax would go to bed for the night I would make bottles for the next day. I still nurse Dax during the night and first thing in the morning... but the rest of the day is formula so having it ready was a life saver!
2. Go to sleep the second that baby goes to sleep. There aren't two of you to take turns waking up with the baby during the night.... so if you want any sleep at all... you better get to bed when that baby does.
3. Prepare the night before. Dax and I went to church with mom Sunday morning and having everything (clothes, bottles, cereal, diaper bag, etc) all set out and ready for us Saturday night made life much easier come Sunday morning.
4. Daniel is my security blanket.  I don't sleep well AT ALL if Daniel isn't home... and this just jumped to a whole new level with a baby in the house.
5. Being a single mom... no thanks!  While it was very empowering knowing that I did great handling everything on my own... I gained a whole new respect for single moms that I don't think I would EVER want to get familiar with... not that that would ever be an option anyways... have you seen how amazing my husband is??  :)

In my last post I mentioned Dax trying to roll from his back to his tummy.... well he mastered it Sunday night! YAY!  Now he really enjoys rolling back and forth from back to belly, belly to back, etc.  I'm pretty sure he'll be crawling much sooner than I would like to admit :/     He also gets two bowls of cereal a day now and LOVES it. The Dr. recommended cutting back the ounces in each bottle and giving him some cereal to help with his acid reflux so we've been doing this for about a week now and it's working pretty good.  He does so great with cereal and I can't wait to start feeding him food in a month! Speaking of food....

WOOHOO!!! My new pride and joy!  My Beaba was delivered this weekend and I'm SOOOOO pumped to start using it! With it I had delivered some trays for freezing the food, labels to label the food, and a babyfood cookbook! Last night we bought a Butternut Squash to make this weekend and I couldn't be more excited! We also got some glass bowls with lids for babyfood at daycare so it can be thawed in the microwave if necessary. Wouldn't you think they would sell glass bowls for baby food somewhere...  no... only plastic... despite how bad it is to head plastic. We just settled for some small pyrex bowls with lids that should work perfectly. I'm so excited about starting this chapter of ours and Dax's life! I feel so passionately about this and hope that it's something I can stick with!
More VERY exciting news that we got last week... I'm pregnant!! just kidding just kidding. lol  I couldn't resist ;)    The exciting news is that Dax will be starting daycare at the center I work at Monday!  We love where he's been and will miss Lora.... but having him literally right next door to me will be soooo amazing!  I'll be the one getting Dax ready every day now and will be able to take him to work with me and take him home with me when I leave. I'll also be able to peek in on him whenever I want... and probably be able to hear him scream through the wall when he's in a mood :)   We'll be paying more than what we do now but the convenience of it all will greatly outweigh the cost issue. Daniel will be able to spend more time studying for school and boards (he has his first licensing exam in June.. eek!) and will save me an hour and fifteen minutes of driving everyday (45 minutes from my work to his current daycare, and then 30 minutes back home).  It's going to be so perfect. Not to mention I LOVE Dax's new teacher. I'm so excited about this new adventure and all the new doors that will be opening for Dax from it. Now just send prayers our way that the new transition goes smoothly for him!
Life for me and Daniel is going good. He's staying busy with school... starting to gear up for test block (yuck) and I'm staying busy with work. Since starting back I've been reassured that I'm in the right career. This point about a year ago I was unsure. A mixture of pregnancy hormones, stress from school, and absolutely insane class at work made we question whether or not I was really meant for a career in early childhood. Now that life is back to normal for me and I have my own classroom again with wonderful kids that are a year older than what I was previously teaching I know that I love what I'm doing. I get so excited when I see my kids learning (and my how much they are learning!) and actually love going to work everyday!  I have wonderful students and parents in my class, an afternoon teacher that is just wonderful, two wonderful bosses, and did I mention the wonderful kids in my class?? Hugs from the each morning make my day so much brighter and I instantly forget about the lack of sleep I got before or any other stresses in my life. Hearing them ask me about how "baby Dax" is every day melts my heart and hearing these sweet little words, "Mrs. Kandice, will you be here everyday?"  from one special little girl before I leave everyday erases all the worries I have. This week I have been sick and getting hugs and kisses to "make me feel better" and hearing them ask me everyday if my body is feeling better yet, really does make me feel a little better.  If you can't tell... I sort of love my class <3

Off to nap again before Mr. Man gets home from daycare... I've been sick the last few days and in case you didn't know... the job of being a mom doesn't stop when you're sick.... you still have to wake up all night and you still have to have the energy to deal with a 5 month old... it's a whole new learning experience that I'm having the pleasure to experience for the first time. But his little smiles and laughs remind me that it's def. all worth it :)

Have a good day :)