Soaking it Up

I often hear advice from more experienced moms to "enjoy this time" and "soak it all up" and "they're only little once." I get it, and I know I will miss so many of the things that can only happen when these guys are little. I'm not the best at taking this advice, but I do have moments that I try to implant in my memory and treasure forever. When Graham cries in the middle of the night, I totally do not enjoy being woken up...but it's really the only opportunity for me to hold him while he sleeps. So I do appreciate that as much as I appreciate getting back into bed. And now, with Gavin, the moments I appreciate the most are when Dylan is home with Graham and we hit the town together. This usually involves a trip to the gym and then one or two other errands. He's still at the age where a run to Costco is fun, and he makes terrific company. We had Dylan home for a few days this week, and I was sure to take advantage of getting my solo Gavin time. I have a feeling by this time next year I won't be able to shove him in a shopping cart anymore. I love that little stinker, and he says at least one thing every day that totally blows my mind.

As far as my new working girl gig, it went pretty well this week. I wasn't able to get Graham into daycare until next week, so he stayed home with Dylan for my half day on Tuesday and all day Thursday. Dropping two kids off at two different places will add a new dimension to things. I do think that Graham will do great at daycare, so I'm not too worried about that. However, I'll have no help from Dylan before or after work for a couple months, so I'll have to get us all out the door by myself by 6:40 to embark on the one hour and twenty minute commute. It's a lot...but I still think it'll be worth it. I probably won't look very well-rested or pretty, but I never really have when I worked in the past either, so why would I change that now?

Tuesdays and Thursdays will be tiring. I'll probably throw a granola bar to Gavin in the backseat for breakfast. We'll be home in time for me to just feed the boys dinner, bathe them and then put them to bed. But it's only two days. When Gavin was a baby, I worked three days a week. That seems like SO much more than two days. And we will be in B Mode. It's like we have two different ways of living. When Dylan is home, we have more fun and are more relaxed, and overall it's better. When he leaves, we flip the switch from A to B and become much more regimented. I tolerate less BS from Gavin and everyone goes to bed earlier. The house is cleaner, the dishes are fewer and I can take "what's for dinner?" off my radar since I'm not really a dinner person. B Mode is not preferred but definitely has its upsides.

But enough about my job and our modes. Here's what we've been up to this week!

Waiting for Daddy's truck

I don't even know

A picture from Daddy Daycare

Backyard shenanigans for the boys and me while Dylan was at work

He has turned into a real jumping bean lately.

He hasn't been very easy to please lately, but I can still catch at least a few of his epic smiles every day.

It took a long time to leave the gym this morning because Gavin obsessed over this dumpster for-like-ever.

We had an awesome family Saturday today. We cashed in on a Groupon for the Children's Museum in the afternoon. The plan was to keep Graham in the carrier, but I think he ended up having just as much fun as Gavin. From there, we picked up dinner from Pei Wei and went to the Scottsdale Quarter for the first concert of the Fall Concert Series. It was 105 degrees and super crowded but somehow still enjoyable. We had two tired boys on our hands by the time we made it home. Also, can we talk for a second about the ahi tuna salad from Pei Wei? I must declare it the best under-$8 meal of all time. My goodness...that will be added into the rotation for sure.

Admiring our reflections

This guy and his one-liners from the backseat...

And the best news of all is that the weekend is not over yet! But seriously, I could do without the triple digit temps in my life. Maybe next weekend will be cooler?