We always knew Brayden was anxious to get moving, but we never really thought he’d figure it out so fast: he started crawling and pulling up a few days before Christmas, and less than two weeks later he was beginning to cruise around the living room holding on to tables and chairs. Fortunately, he can now pull up to see out the front windows, and that keeps him occupied for half an hour or so at a stretch, so that works out well for me. He’s had some sleeping issues on and off for the past month or so, but those seem to have worked themselves out now and I can once again say that both my boys are good sleepers. Hallelujah!

Christmas is over, the family is gone and Chris is back to work, so it seems the holidays have ended early this year. I’ve spent two days cleaning up the aftermath and I still have more to do, but by this time tomorrow all should be back to normal.

There were lots of comments from the group about how much better this Christmas was than last year, but that wasn’t hard: last year almost everyone came down with stomach flu. Even newly-pregnant Janette stayed healthy this time around (although she did need a steady supply of pickles). Justin warmed up to the company very quickly and was actually pretty good about dividing his attention amongst the crowd, and Brayden was happy with anybody. Brayden started crawling just before Christmas, so he had to be watched every second (no wonder no one had time to take many pictures!) Overall, a good time was had by all.

Yay me: I’ve officially lost all my baby weight! I’d like to think it’s because I’ve been jogging almost every day, but it could just as easily be from chasing two children, one of whom is just mobile enough to be a problem. However it happened, I feel good, I’m fitting into my old clothes — and I have to celebrate this now before I get into the Christmas munchies.

Brayden is starting to pull up, so nothing is safe anymore. We were cruising along for a while there cause Justin plays pretty well on his own and Brayden was happy to crawl around and explore, so I could usually find a few minutes to fold the laundry or unload the dishwasher without worrying too much (although I’d still have to keep watch so I could pull Brayden away from danger areas). But now Brayden’s at the stage where the only way for him to practise the skills he needs to learn (standing, pulling up) is with someone right there at his side helping him. This is when the really exhausting stuff starts. Let’s hope he’s an early walker!

More than once over the past week I was tempted to attach the soother to Brayden’s mouth via duct tape so we could try to get some sleep. For a few days there we were going into his room to find his soother for him seven or eight times in the course of a night. He was also kind of cranky during the day, and not napping well…and I was at the end of my rope. But then I made a slight change in his diet (no more cauliflower!) and things have improved dramatically. So we’re all friends again.

The snow is here and I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it’s much prettier when everything is white than when it just looks dreary and grey. On the other hand, it’s doubling the time it takes to get the kids packed up and out the door.

I’m sure every mom has a story like this: when we went to Justin’s play group the other day, I had to get both kids into their winter coats, boots, gloves and hats. Then I had to pack shoes for me and Justin (there’s no carpet at the rec centre and I didn’t want him slipping on the floor) as well as a snack. Then I needed the stroller and a separate bag packed for Brayden cause I leave him with the babysitting service. Once we got there, I had to get both kids OUT of their coats, hats, boots and gloves, and since Justin’s play group changes rooms halfway through, I had to haul all that crap down the hall and into a new room. I don’t need to pump iron; I’m a mom.

I thought I’d be a good mom this morning and let the kids play in the snow in the backyard. So I got Justin all dressed in his snowsuit, and I got Brayden into his coat…and then realized Brayden had wet his pants. I couldn’t leave Justin in the backyard unsupervised, so he had to sit by the door (remarkably, he did exactly that — but he probably couldn’t move too well in all that stuff anyway) while I took Brayden upstairs. That of course involved stripping him down, changing his diaper and his clothes, and then bundling him all up again. By the time we made it outside we had about 15 minutes to play before it was time to come back inside and get all that stuff off so I could go feed Brayden and start lunch. You might say it’s hardly worth it, but since the alternative is being cooped up in this house all day every day, it is DEFINITELY worth it.

The sun is shining (a rare thing for the Okanagan in November) so I’m in a good mood. Of course, it helps that both kids slept well last night and are currently napping. We can’t seem to go for more than three or four weeks without both boys coming down with the sniffles, and Brayden was pretty miserable this time around, but the worst of it seems to be over now.

Brayden is seven months old now (how did that happen so fast?) and spends most of his time creeping around. He desperately wants to crawl. He gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth, but hasn’t quite figured out how to get in gear yet. I’m pleased to see he’ll eat anything at this point, but we’ll see how long that lasts. Justin is actually not as picky as he used to be but he’s still not big on trying new foods, unless of course I use the magic ingredient. He’ll eat almost anything (fish, chicken, steak, eggs, potatoes) if I put it in applesauce. Once upon a time that bothered me, but I’ve been a parent long enough to realize that anything you can do to get the food into him is just fine. And hey, applesauce beats ketchup.

We had a highly successful visit with the Kingwell grandparents this past weekend. Justin is inherently shy, even with people he knows well, but he warmed up to Grandma and Grandpa pretty fast once they offered to play ball with him. Brayden flirted with stranger anxiety a couple months ago but seems to be OK with just about anybody these days, so all was well. The grandparents swore they enjoyed their time here but admitted they looked forward to going home to a quiet house where they could get lots of rest — I don’t know if it would be any different if we had girls, but our boys seem to be always on the go (particularly Brayden, who never ever ever stops moving). Both kids had some unsettled nights while our guests were here, but last night they both crashed for upwards of 11 straight hours — you gotta love that.

Part of why Brayden had such a good snooze is probably the fact that he had his first swimming lessons last night. I wasn’t there, but Chris tells me the little guy had a blast splashing around in the pool. Justin still likes to play in the water, but he stopped enjoying swim lessons about a year ago. I guess he’ll learn to swim when he’s ready.

I do enjoy being a stay-at-home mom. Really. But it’s not like every day is a bed of roses. Take today: my dishwasher’s broken, it rained all morning, Brayden skipped his morning nap and Justin refused to eat lunch. Both boys had better have a good snooze this afternoon or Mommy will go ballistic.

We didn’t do much in the way of Halloween celebrations. We originally thought we’d take Justin to the mall to do some trick-or-treating (we didn’t really have a costume for him, but he has a spider thing he likes to wear on his head, so that would’ve been OK) but the timing didn’t work. He didn’t seem all that interested in the kids coming to the door either. One of my pet peeves: why do all the dress-up holidays (Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s) have to happen in the winter? Growing up in Saskatoon, I remember so many Halloweens when our choice of costume was dictated by what would fit over our snowsuits.

It’s such a cliche, but it’s true: the second child just doesn’t cause the same level of anxiety. I’ve started leaving Brayden with the babysitting service at the rec centre while Justin has his play group there, and it’s working out really well. With the first baby, I was extremely reluctant to leave him with anyone, certain that he would be forever traumatized by being without his mommy for more than half an hour. With the second kid, I didn’t so much as get the name of the babysitter. I just dropped him off and fled. And you know what? He didn’t care.

Justin has recently become amenable to learning some of the things I’ve been trying to teach him for months: how to use a fork, how to drink from a real cup, even how to use the potty (we’ve got a long way to go on that one, but hey, one step at a time). I guess all toddlers do eventually grow up, although I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever miss the stage when they need Mom so much. It seems like a lot of work now, but I know a time will come when they won’t want me around at all — and that thought makes me hold them tight whenever I can.

After more than two years as a stay-at-home mom, I’ve been feeling the need to prove I still have marketable skills. Note that I didn’t say I want to get a job. What I really want is for someone to want to give me a job — it’s a validation thing. To that end, I’ve applied for a couple positions that look interesting, not really expecting anything. But then tonight I got a call about one of them, and now I’ve got a phone interview on Friday, and I don’t really know what to do. I wouldn’t actually take the job even if it was offered to me, so maybe the right thing to do is bow out. It’s enough for my ego that I got the interview. I’ll have to ponder this for a bit.