Fun sayings & back to work

A few things Natalie has been saying lately so that I don't forget...

* it's not working - she uses this for everything...the other day we gave her half of a small cup of milkshake and she was tipping the cup so that nothing was going in the straw and kept saying "it's not working". Too cute! Other things that don't work: if she's having trouble with a buckle, a toy that is out of battery, a lid she can't get off, blocks that won't go together, etc.

* stuck in there - she also uses this for everything! When putting on her pants, her legs get "stuck in there" if she has trouble getting her foot all the way thru. Same thing with arms & shirts. Snacks in her snack cup that won't come out. A blankie that is snagged on something. A book under the pile of toys that she can't quite reach.

I swear she learns and repeats new things everyday! She is starting to learn all about Christmas and it's fun to watch her reaction. She's discovered Christmas lights and points them out everytime she sees some. She learned Santa at this weekend's parades (more on that later). I can't wait for the rest of the season's activities!

Her rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star:
Twinkle, Twinkle, a star
How I wonder, you are
Up above
World so high
Like diamond
In the sky
Twinkle, Twinkle, a star. Yay!

I've been singing little parts of Christmas songs to her this week and tonight she was singing "Jingle Bells"..

On a slightly sad note, my maternity leave is officially over :(. Tomorrow I start back to work part-time. Rhys will rotate days home with David and I, and she will go to daycare once a week for now. Ease her into it, and hopefully avoid some germs!

I have mixed feelings about going back. I'm excited to interact with adults, take back my responsibilities with my clients and have some balance in my life. BUT, I will certainly miss my baby girl, well both of them. It's hard to be a working mom!

The transition ought to be interesting. Rhys needs to learn to take a bottle. She did fine around 5 or 6 weeks when we tried, so we didn't really focus on it much and then around 10 or 12 weeks, she decided she didn't want a bottle, at all. It is madness any time we try, so I figured it'll just have to be a rough few days and she will decide she is hungry and maybe a bottle isn't so bad. At least that is the plan. Tomorrow night might be rough, but I'm going to try to hold out and make her take a bottle. It should be interesting...!