I'm Three months old!

Our first week of working and taking care of baby is finally over, and we are both soooo tired.

Tims thoughts: "It isn't really as bad as I thought it might be, and I feel like we will be able to handle it. I enjoyed my first morning with Aoife, but as the week progressed and my energy level decreased it was harder to keep her happy. The hardest part is the constant uncertainty over what she wants/needs and how to deal with it. She picks up on how I am feeling quite readily and if I am lackluster in my duties she gets bored and upset. We will get used to each other though over the next few weeks."- T.J. Nice

This past week, nights have been insane. Starting Tuesday night, Aoife woke up every hour from 11pm - 3am then 5am then 6am. This really tested my motherhood. By Thursday, I decided that I could no longer go on like this, so I decided that we should move her to her crib. I also started to put her to bed later than usual, took out one of her naps, and fed her more before she went to bed. It worked great! Maybe she had also grown out of sleeping with us. In her crib she no longer has to listen to our snoring and tossing. I thought that I would miss having her in the bed, but in the morning I bring her into bed with us so that she can snuggle.

Monday-This was our first real day of being apart. I really truly missed her. It felt very strange without her for the whole day, but I was so happy to see my coworkers again. We didn't have school today. today was orientation for the new students. I did some speaking evaluations and was the Academic Advisor's assistant. It was fun to run around and make sure everything was running smoothly. My school also has a dormitory attached to it, so there is a lunch room where the teachers can eat for free! So, for lunch I bring a container to put Tim's lunch in. Tim and I met each other at 12:45 at the bus stop and quickly did the exchange before I hopped on the bus to go home.
Tuesday-It was my first day of teaching today, and it went okay. It's really hard to get back into it. It's hard to muster up all those old skills that I had for teaching. Today was the first day that I noticed Aoife grabbing her feet. She was grabbing her toes with both hands; she really loves her toes.

Wednesday-Aoife and I went to the school BBQ to welcome the new students. Aoife had milk flavored with a processed bratwurst. She enjoyed being around lots of people, and everyone said that she looked like me. One of my students gave me a gift; a Turkish spirit/energy protection charm. My co-workers said that she had grown a lot since they last saw her which was over a month ago. Tim came home early tonight, so that we could spend some time with each other.

Thursday: Three months old! She is now officially not an infant any more and she acts a lot less like one now. She is very very alert and curious of everything around her. She loves to look out of the window of our apartment. Se loves to be read to, and she talks a lot now. I really like this age. I feel a lot more comfortable as a mother, and we have a very good relationship. When I come home from work she just spends that first hour talking and laughing and giggling with me. I love coming home to that, and really cherish that hour.

Friday: Our last day of work. Tim came home early again to spend time with me, but we just fell asleep. We are so happy that it's Friday.

Saturday: Today we went to our friends house for a BBQ. Our friend is from Korea and cooked a traditional Korean BBQ for us. It was a lot of food, but I just kept shoveling the food down. My appetite was so large today, but during the weekdays, it was pretty small. Aoife didn't really enjoy being at the BBQ, so she fell asleep for a couple hours on their bed. It was really nice to hang out with people again. I love the summer time because we all get together and have BBQ's. After the BBQ, Tim and I went to a few bikes stores to look for a bike for me, but we didn't find one small enough. I want to start biking to work again so that I get some exercise. I only have two pairs of pants that fit me for work!

Sunday: We went to our old neighborhood today. First, we went to the farmers market and got some delicious jalapeño and cheddar cheese bread. We then got some cherries. The cherry and blueberry season are winding down in California. The farmers market was packed with people; I'd never seen so many there before. We then went to a baby store to look at carriers, jogging strollers, and a bumbo seat (pictured above). They didn't have anything within our price range so we went to a the local bike store. I test ride a bike that fit me to the "t"; it was a beautiful ride. It was comfortable, and smooth. They didn't have my size on another bike that the sales woman, Charlotte, recommended, so we'll go back next week to try it out after they have built it. We walked up to college to a used baby store and found a bumbo seat and a toy (gifts for her birthday). We got home and plopped her in it. She really fits into it well. She's at the age now where she likes to sit completely upright, and I can't believe that this seat keeps her upright so much; it's fantastic! Tim's off to his softball game in a few hours, and I'll probably spend some time lesson planning. I hope Aoife sleeps better next week. So far she seems to be doing great in her crib. I'm half asleep but I manage to stumble over to her crib somehow and feed her. The great thing is that she always falls back to sleep right away; she's a good baby.