Our Amazing Little Fish ... 6 Weeks Old Already ... Back To Work

(ABOVE: Charlotte "In the Hood" ... taken by Amanda at home!)

(ABOVE: Just LOOK at those cheeks ... yeah, she likes to eat!)
(ABOVE: Little Charlotte on her first day without mommy - yeah, she survived just fine!)

Well it is already February 10th and that means that my maternity leave is over and I headed back to work yesterday. The day actually went well and without too many tears shed by me! Jason got up with Charlotte at 1:30am and then I got up with her at 5:30am and when I got up with her I decided to stay in her room a little longer to rock her, stroke her silky soft hair and to kiss her forehead and cheeks over and over again. I admit I cried while I was sitting there – trying to figure out how 6 weeks went by so fast and how much she has changed already and that she will just continue to change and grow and, let’s face it, I will be missing a good portion of the changes. I am very grateful that my niece Amanda is home with her all day versus sending her to her daycare at just 6 weeks old. That was a huge struggle when Jaden was born – I cried for a good week! I am happy to report that Charlotte had a good day yesterday and aside from falling asleep at my desk for 15 minutes I survived. Starting today Manda is getting Jaden off to the bus stop and Jason is dropping me off at my bus stop. That means that I get up at 5:00am and get to work before 7:00am which means I leave at 3:30 and am home by 4:00 … that is going to be so nice! Today is getting to me slowly since Charlotte woke up to eat at 4:15am so I have been up and awake since 4:15 – I may need a Dr Pepper to wake me up soon or else I am a goner! But all in all the transition for me has gone so far so good … Charlotte’s transition from home to daycare will happen on March 9th so we have a few weeks still!

Our weekend was a good one in spite of me counting down the back to work days and hours! Friday after Jason and Jaden got home from work and school we dropped Jaden and Manda off at the movies so they could see Coraline in 3D. While the girls’ were at the movies Jason, Charlotte and I drove around for a bit and then headed to the exercise store so Jason could look at elliptical machines. I fed and changed Charlotte in the move parking lot and waited for the movie to end. After it was over all of us headed to Jimmy John’s for dinner (YUM YUM YUM!) Saturday we headed to Jaden’s swimming lesson where a lot of action took place. You see this is Jaden’s 1st ‘official’ swimming lesson of any kind. She knows how to swim based on all the swimming she does all summer long but we wanted to make sure she knew how to swim properly and to swim when she can’t touch the bottom so we signed her up based on the level we thought she was at. She has been to 5 weeks of lessons so far and after each lesson Jason and I are shocked at how fast she picks up the new stuff. Well Saturday was evaluation week to determine which kids graduate to the next level and what level the instructor feels they are at. Jaden was pulled aside to another swimming lane by the lean instructor of the school and he tested what she knows. I figured he was doing this for every kid in the class but I was wrong. He was watching Jaden swim and pulled her aside to see what she was capable of doing. He had her do 2 (25’) laps of the freestyle swim with the side breaths then 2 (25’) laps of the backstroke and then 1 (25’) lap of the breaststroke. He tested her and then pulled Jason and I aside and asked us if we could bring Jaden in an hour earlier the following week. He said they very rarely (if ever) do this but he feels that Jaden’s side breaths and strokes are so strong that he recommends we move her up 2 levels to an advanced swimming class for her age. He said we could also move her up and over a level but the ages in that group are 8-13 years old and he thought she may be intimidated by their size plus the lap lengths are a bit longer. Jason and I were surprised and BEYOND proud of Jaden!! In fact both of us teared up watching her swim so well. She is amazing in the water and we both knew she was a good swimmer but the progress she’s made has astounded us all – even she was proud of herself!! I will try to take a shorter video of her swimming next week and post it on here for all to see our little fish!!

After swimming we headed to Target to buy Charlotte a side cradle swing and some other odds and ends … then we headed to Jolene and Jeff’s house for a play date, dinner and drinks! And drinking we did – well at least Jason did! He decided Crown Royale Whiskey and Coke would be a good weekend drink … a ½ bottle later he was pretty lit up and talking up a storm. He had us laughing so hard with the nonsense he was spewing … eventually he dropped his glass on the floor – that’s when he said he was done! It was pretty funny to hear him so jovial over the silliest things … I admit it has been a LONG time since he was that drunk and it was pretty funny to be a part of his silliness! Sunday is our usual laundry day and for Jason a recovery day … he was actually up at 6:30 and showered by 8:00 – but he was still kind of drunk in the morning if that tells you how much he may have drank!!! So now it is Tuesday and I am at work – where I am extremely busy working on a few Landfill Projects … this weekend we aren’t doing too much. We will celebrate Valentine’s Day with the usual Dairy Queen Blizzard Cake and exchange gifts to each other. Jaden has a Valentine’s Party on Friday at school and daycare so she will have a wonderful day. As far as the rest of us go – my girls’ are the best gift Jason could give me … and for that I am eternally grateful to him! Not to mention I love him with all my heart! So to all of you – Have a great week and a Very Happy Valentine’s Day if I am not back sooner!

Love ~ The Clark Family of Four (plus Manda) ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden & Baby Charlotte!