Back to School

After asking me for what seemed like the millionth whether or not we should send Caitlyn back to nursery school, and after replying back for the millionth time that we should, the wife has finally made a decision. It’s back to half-days at school this week!

I think the wife was just tired of Caitlyn constantly asking to watch TV or use the iPad while at home. Sending her off to school is a good way to avoid that. And now is probably as good a time as ever since Caitlyn is becoming much better at not being attached to Mommy’s hips.

The wife settled on a place that opened up not too long ago. It’s spanking brand new and only has a class size of 3 toddlers along with a baby or two. So far so good, right? But as usual, the wife had to find something to worry herself about.

Apparently, one of the teachers there is a male and that makes her nervous. She says that she's not sure if she would feel comfortable having a male handling or changing our child’s diaper. If that’s the case, should we also feel uncomfortable having a female teacher change our child’s diaper if we had a son?

I, for one, am tired of all the bad rap that male teachers who teach elementary school kids and younger get. What’s with the notion that these teachers are probably creeps. Unfortunately, it is stereotypes like these that probably keep good, qualified male teachers out of nursery and primary classrooms.

I’m not saying that there aren’t a few bad male apples out there, but there are plenty of female teachers who can join that group too. So, it’s a bit unfair in my opinion to assume that we should only keep a watchful eye out for male teachers.

But anyway, how did the first day go, you ask? Are we going to have the same problems that we had at the last place? So far, it doesn’t look like it. They’ve clearly stated that they want parents completely out by the third day. And in our case, it was the first day.

That’s right! Once Caitlyn got to the school, she turned to Mommy, said bye-bye, and seemed to mean it. The teacher suggested the wife try leaving and for the next hour and a half, Caitlyn spent her time exploring the place without crying. The next step is to see if she’s willing to eat lunch there by herself.

Mummy + Daddy

Play pals

So fresh and so clean, clean!

 

Someone loves the camera!

Cheese!

 

Two loves: Caitlyn and coffee

Hamming it up for the camera

  

Time for Baby No. 2?

One question we’ve been asked quite a bit over the last few months is if or when we’ll be having another baby. Personally, I don’t know if I’m mentally ready to deal with a newborn that needs you 24 hours a day. Caitlyn’s just recently become more independent and less needy, and I’m kind of enjoying that. Why throw a wrench into it? However, that’s a selfish and not an altogether good reason.

I suppose there's always concerns about how we'll deal with it financially, but the main argument as to why I don’t think we’re ready to have another baby yet is because I don’t think the wife’s health is up to par yet. If taking care of one is already a handful, I can't picture a second one making things any easier.

Being a full-time mom has taken a toll on her and she’s constantly worn out, mentally and physically. I’ve told her that if we’re to have another baby, she needs to be capable of carrying it around in her for nine months, which means she needs to start exercising and taking better care of herself.

We had more than enough health scares with Caitlyn the first time around, and with the wife being older, chances of something happening during the pregnancy only increases. Having your body being fit and healthy is one way of decreasing those odds.

However, that’s easier said than done. The wife’s thrown every excuse in the book at me when I ask her about exercising. First, she’ll say that she has no time to exercise because she has to take care of the baby, but when I offer to take care of the baby after work so she can go run for a few minutes, she’ll reply that she’s tired and all she wants to do is watch some TV.

And if all else fails, she’ll argue back that I’m the one that needs to exercise. While it’s true that I’m not the best shape of my life, I’m hardly the one that breaks out in a sweat and runs out of breath after walking up four flights of stairs. Plus, I’m not the one who will be carrying the baby inside me for nine months.

A pair of running shoes that I bought her a long time ago to encourage her because she didn’t have any has gone unused, not because they don’t fit, but because they’re not fashionable enough, according to her. Even a trip to several shoe stores this past weekend left her shoeless because she didn’t like how any of them looked. As if how a shoe looks determines if it’s good for running.

However, all bets might be off after this past weekend when, during a moment of passion, we went for it. So much for thinking things through. Not sure if this was a one-time shot or if we’re actually trying for baby number 2 now.

Either way, I’m now looking into buying a bike with a baby seat as a form of exercise for us. But even this seems to have hit a brick wall when the wife voiced her concern about how clumsy I am. Sigh.

Twisty straws are fun!

Three Amigos

 

Get into my belly!

Time to add Auntie Serena to the club!

 

Whatchu looking at?

Aren't I cute as a button?

Hug from Auntie Monica

Going for a stroll in the park

Feed Me

As with any proud daddy, I coo and ahh in amazement at any little thing Caitlyn does and think she’s the awesomest little being on earth. Even a fart garners a round of applause from me. But if there’s one thing that she truly deserves praise for, it’s being able to sit quietly and feed herself.

Plenty of parents have problems getting their kids to eat or to sit through an entire meal or to feed themselves, but not us. I can put Caitlyn’s meal in front of her, go watch TV in the living room and then come back 20 minutes later to find her quietly finishing up her food, mess-free. It’s something that still baffles me since she cannot sit still for anything else. As much as I’d like to credit our awesome parenting skills, I don’t think we really had much influence. She just likes eating, which is the complete opposite of what she was like when she was little.

And for something so little, she can definitely put away her food. A typical meal might include a full bowl of rice filled to the top with veggies and meat, some soup, and then fruit for dessert. Half the time, the wife’s worried there’s something wrong with Caitlyn because she eats so much in one sitting. And the other half, she’s worried that she’s not getting enough to eat.

I’ve seen Caitlyn eat more food than some kids two or three years older than her. But for some odd reason, she doesn’t seem to pack on any weight regardless of how much she eats, which means she’ll definitely be the envy of her friends when she becomes older. And I’ll finally have a buddy to frequent buffets with.

Snack time

Clowning around

Sharing a laugh

Come to Mommy!

 

Whee!

Hanging around

 

Check out my battle scar

Great weather = happy baby

Cute as a button

Yummy!

Beautiful big eyes

Wood definitely isn't softer

Helping hand

Nothing like free help