Week 11

We are coming to the end of my last full week home with Ellie which is very hard to believe. I said last night that it feels like her birth was so long ago already - the time has gone really fast. We visited the day care she'll be going to earlier this week. They have a new young infant room where Ellie will be one of five babies. The other 4 are all boys!! There will be one more girl starting a few weeks after Ellie though, so she won't be on her own for long! It is a large day care center, so Ellie will be in one room with babies of her own age. The whole day care thing is really hard when you live in an area where you don't know a lot of people and have no family around either. I talked to a few mothers who bring their children to the same day care, and they had nothing but good to say. Everytime I've visited I have a good feeling as well - it's a warm, welcoming environment, and everyone that works there is so nice. I feel good about it, though I know next week will be an emotional one. I don't start work until Thursday, but Ellie is going to start day care in the mornings on Monday so she (and I) can ease into the new routine (and so hopefully I'm not an emotional wreck my first day back to work). I can definitely say after these last 11 weeks that I have a whole new appreciation for stay-at-home moms - they do have a full-time job in every sense of the matter! I'll be honest with myself though and say I am more suited to being a 'career-mom'. I love Ellie with everything in me, but the balance that my career brings to my life is something I really see myself needing. Besides, my job is to research and develop BABY products - who better to do that than a mom?!? I think that BEING A MOM will give me a different (and better) perspective at the job I do! So, send your HUGGIES complaints my way - I'm all over it!

Stretching out on the floor is a lot of fun these days.



Smiley girl



Holding a rattle, but not quite sure what to do with it yet!



Here are some shots of the house too...we still have a few boxes to unpack and decorating to do, but it'll be a while before that's all done! We're about as settled as we're going to be for now! The bedrooms are pretty boring at this point so no shots of those, but these are some of the more finished areas so far. We're hoping to have Ellie's room done next week!

Living room (from the kitchen) - notice the Baby Einstein play mat in the middle - still VERY fun!



Kitchen (from the living room)



Dining room...when we were looking at houses, a wall that fit my china cabinet was an absolute must - I love my china cabinet =)



The 'office'...really it's just an empty room with the computer desk now...it's also been the catch-all for things we don't know what to do with or haven't gotten to yet.



Half-bath on the main level



Guest bath upstairs - I really like this shower curtain, and it was on clearance too - better yet!



The front door entrance...the little art area was a perfect fit for my Keweenaw copper.



The front porch...garage on the left.



We have a nice-size backyard too...not as big as at the last house, but still plenty to mow!



Backyard again, to the left there are houses, but looking out to the right there's an open field.