And playgrounds! We have entered into the world of two children who can play at the playground! The East Bay is packed with great playgrounds, many with soft rubber ground cover perfect for crawling. Cooper also loves swinging and, of course, following Lucy around on the play structures. It seems early, but Coop has been refusing two naps a day. He will take one good one and occasionally one long morning and one short afternoon, so we are trying out one nap a day for a little to see how it goes. As soon as we figure things out, things shift again! Cooper is still nursing and I am still pumping. Our pediatrician said we could easily give one cup of cow's milk a day so I don't have to pump. I decided it is only two more months of pumping and then we will start cow's milk and I'll nurse Coop when I am home. We have definitely crossed back into a more free, fun stage of parenthood. Having a baby has been tough in so many ways. The snuggles and love and growth are amazing, but Jim and I are enjoying the more independent stages of raising children.
Lucy is a god to Cooper and he has patience for days with her. She is patient with him, too, but he isn't that irritating yet. He stops nursing for her. She would never have stopped nursing for anyone! She loves to romp him around and he giggles and lays there like a dead fish just waiting for her to tackle him. Jim and I are working very hard not referee in favor of Cooper and it is getting easier as he gets sturdier. He lets her know when he is done and is mostly listens. We talk about his message sounding different from hers until he learns to use words to communicate. She loves having him around and asks for him to play with her. They played with a musical, singing Little Tykes puppy toy for 20 minutes the other day. It was quite incredible. The less we correct Lucy, the nicer she is to him. This morning Lucy greeted Cooper when he woke up (and I finished packing lunches). She called for me to come in and all I could hear was giggling. When I opened the door to Cooper's room I found both of them romping around in Cooper's pack n' play, both as happy as could be. Having two kids has been significantly more challenging than having one, but Lucy wasn't meant to be an only child. We even put Cooper in the bike cart for the first time a couple weeks ago. As long as Coop isn't trying to pull her hair, she seems to enjoy the company. She shares her snacks and special toys with him while we ride around. It has been a sweet transition from the very baby stages of the first months of life to the more playful, interactive, and fun stages before toddlerhood settles in.
We are back in the throes of another new semester. Every semester has been so different and I am finding an endpoint of mustering up the energy to rework schedules, babysitters, classes, teaching, housework, marriage, and my actual doctoral work aka my dissertation proposal. I am finding I feel stressed and distant even when I have the time and space to be present. It is only the second of week of the semester and I know things usually calm after a few weeks. However, I have never been more looking forward to graduating. We have found a wonderful nanny for the semester, which is a relief. Having a person in your home has in challenges, though. There is no solution for sick or vacation days and these types of disruptions really add to my stress level. I only have 27 hours of Cooper care a week and by the time that gets divided up between my GSI position, teaching at SFSU, getting Lucy to school, and squeezing in time to exercise, there is very little time left to do dissertation work. I have been told our psychologist and our chiropractor that I need to breath more, a lot more. I am working hard to make this happen and it does make a difference. So will anti-anxiety meds, but that has to wait until Cooper is completely done nursing. Jim is traveling for work this week, so that doesn't help my state of mind while I write this. I get to do teacher observations this semester for my GSI, which I am excited about and is great for my resume. Once that schedule gets underway, I should be feeling much better. I have to observe 7 student teachers in four different school districts 6 times each 😮. It will be a great experience and it pays my tuition, so we may actually not be drowning financially this semester, too. Breath, lots of breathing. I am so afraid I will turn around and have missed Cooper's first year of life and Lucy's 4th year of life. Since I started studying for my oral exam it feels like I can't get caught up in any aspect of my life. I think I am getting close and I am working hard to come up for air. I want to enjoy my kids on the weekends and even the occasionally weeknight ;-).
It was a long drive, but we managed to have good timing and Cooper slept most of the way in the car. A 6.5-hour ride took us almost 12 hours, but everyone was happy and in one piece when we got home. We used minimal screen time and Lucy was willing to balance shows with books and works and snacks. I am excited for the possibilities this summer holds and I am happy we saved our Northern CA/Oregon/Washington trip. It probably can't happen this summer because of Jim's vacation days, but the fall is looking promising! I had wanted to go right after Cooper was born, but the c-section put a stop to neighborhood walks, let alone hikes in the woods. The trip will be much more fun at this point, anyway.
Lucy is a god to Cooper and he has patience for days with her. She is patient with him, too, but he isn't that irritating yet. He stops nursing for her. She would never have stopped nursing for anyone! She loves to romp him around and he giggles and lays there like a dead fish just waiting for her to tackle him. Jim and I are working very hard not referee in favor of Cooper and it is getting easier as he gets sturdier. He lets her know when he is done and is mostly listens. We talk about his message sounding different from hers until he learns to use words to communicate. She loves having him around and asks for him to play with her. They played with a musical, singing Little Tykes puppy toy for 20 minutes the other day. It was quite incredible. The less we correct Lucy, the nicer she is to him. This morning Lucy greeted Cooper when he woke up (and I finished packing lunches). She called for me to come in and all I could hear was giggling. When I opened the door to Cooper's room I found both of them romping around in Cooper's pack n' play, both as happy as could be. Having two kids has been significantly more challenging than having one, but Lucy wasn't meant to be an only child. We even put Cooper in the bike cart for the first time a couple weeks ago. As long as Coop isn't trying to pull her hair, she seems to enjoy the company. She shares her snacks and special toys with him while we ride around. It has been a sweet transition from the very baby stages of the first months of life to the more playful, interactive, and fun stages before toddlerhood settles in. 
Lucy becoming of more a kid and less of a little kid every day. Some days I swear I see her brain and body grow right in front of my eyes. She did monkey bars independently while we were on a rock climbing trip over winter break. Neither of us could believe it. She did those monkey bars about 25 times that day. She could taste the sweetness of hard work become a success. She is currently really into Doc McStuffins and all things doctor. We have noticed a shift from playing with lots of toys and needed entertainment to playing long, in-depth imaginative games, mostly taking care of her stuffed toys and dolls. I love listening to her talk and sing to them when she doesn't know I am listening. We got her a Doc McStuffins doctor's kit for Christmas and she has played with it non-stop.
Lucy had an MRI for a lump on/in her tongue and we took the kit and some toys along. The nurses let her give them check-ups and showed her their real toys. I wish she hadn't needed the MRI at all, but the staff was wonderful and I emphasized how cool the experience was. Doc has an episode where a toy cat has a wonky whisker and needs a cat scan, which Lucy translated to "kitty scan," which we have used to refer to her MRI. (It turns out Lucy doesn't have a thyroid in the thyroid spot, and the lump in her tongue is probably thyroid tissue. She needs a couple more tests to be sure, but since she is typically developing there isn't much to worry about at this point). She was so brave and the nursing staff loved her, which is easy to understand :-). Lucy is becoming quite a little sassafras. A couple of weeks ago she told "not to take my boobs off because Cooper needs the meelk" and then offered me a pad, "ya know, a pad for your panties or anything" as I was getting out of the shower. I wish could write down all of the funny and precious things she says, like this morning when she called the move Cooper was doing on the changing table "a bitch." She has been melting me with her humor, vocabulary, and syntax lately. She has taken to calling Jim "Pad" instead of Dad and I can't get enough 😂. She is also obsessed with butts and calls everyone "butt butt" at the end of their name, as in "Cooper Gainsey Butt Butt." (Wonder where she gets her nicknameyness from). Except for me. She tries out "Mom Putti Butt Butt." I do have my limits.
We are back in the throes of another new semester. Every semester has been so different and I am finding an endpoint of mustering up the energy to rework schedules, babysitters, classes, teaching, housework, marriage, and my actual doctoral work aka my dissertation proposal. I am finding I feel stressed and distant even when I have the time and space to be present. It is only the second of week of the semester and I know things usually calm after a few weeks. However, I have never been more looking forward to graduating. We have found a wonderful nanny for the semester, which is a relief. Having a person in your home has in challenges, though. There is no solution for sick or vacation days and these types of disruptions really add to my stress level. I only have 27 hours of Cooper care a week and by the time that gets divided up between my GSI position, teaching at SFSU, getting Lucy to school, and squeezing in time to exercise, there is very little time left to do dissertation work. I have been told our psychologist and our chiropractor that I need to breath more, a lot more. I am working hard to make this happen and it does make a difference. So will anti-anxiety meds, but that has to wait until Cooper is completely done nursing. Jim is traveling for work this week, so that doesn't help my state of mind while I write this. I get to do teacher observations this semester for my GSI, which I am excited about and is great for my resume. Once that schedule gets underway, I should be feeling much better. I have to observe 7 student teachers in four different school districts 6 times each 😮. It will be a great experience and it pays my tuition, so we may actually not be drowning financially this semester, too. Breath, lots of breathing. I am so afraid I will turn around and have missed Cooper's first year of life and Lucy's 4th year of life. Since I started studying for my oral exam it feels like I can't get caught up in any aspect of my life. I think I am getting close and I am working hard to come up for air. I want to enjoy my kids on the weekends and even the occasionally weeknight ;-). 
Since I last wrote we took our first family climbing trip as a family of four! It was a great success, although I didn't get to climb much. Luckily I was prepared for that this time and not too upset. I always want to climb, and it's disappointing when I don't get to, but I am thrilled that we got Lucy and Cooper out to the rock. Cooper at lots of rocks and dirt and Lucy climbed lots of rocks. We went to a place in SoCal called New Jack City.
It was perfect, perfect, perfect. We literally drove up and parked right beside the rock. I didn't have to pack in food or diapers or a baby carrying device. We spent the time with great friends and enjoyed wonderful company and help wrangling our ducks. Lucy even got in her harness and swung from a big overhang for a while. It was the first time we had success getting her in her harness outside. (She has also been willing and happy to climb more at the gym!). I was very happy to finally get Cooper outside and playing at the rock and he was happy, too! Although I am not in a hurry for him to walk, it will get even easier once he isn't a crawling baby anymore. The weather was unseasonably cold and we didn't get to go back to NJC, but we did go to another cliff and had another wonderful day. Full sun. Large reservoir with lots of birds. And the second crag even had a big sidewalk where Lucy could ride her scooter.
It was a long drive, but we managed to have good timing and Cooper slept most of the way in the car. A 6.5-hour ride took us almost 12 hours, but everyone was happy and in one piece when we got home. We used minimal screen time and Lucy was willing to balance shows with books and works and snacks. I am excited for the possibilities this summer holds and I am happy we saved our Northern CA/Oregon/Washington trip. It probably can't happen this summer because of Jim's vacation days, but the fall is looking promising! I had wanted to go right after Cooper was born, but the c-section put a stop to neighborhood walks, let alone hikes in the woods. The trip will be much more fun at this point, anyway. 
I should shower and prepare for class while Cooper sleeps. I am not sure exactly why I keep this blog, but so far I am glad I do. It seems the distance between posts will keep elongating as life becomes more full. I am looking forward to reading all of this one day. I am certain I will miss having very little ones someday not too far from now and am glad I have a place where so memories are kept.
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