And he just keeps on going....

It seems Jamey has gotten to the point where I can't keep up with the developments he has! One day he is eating rice cereal; three days later he is able to down an entire container of Gerber carrots in one sitting. (Not, of course, without getting a large amount on his face, and not without saving a little under his chin for later.)

As if that weren't enough, last Thursday, on the day before I was set to go back to work, he performed yet another trick to comemorate the day, when he mastered rolling over from his back to his front. A few months ago, he managed to flop over from his front to his back, and recently had figured out how to settle onto his side. However, the actual roll all the way over had been eluding him.

Using his stuffed giraffe Carter as bait, I got him to tilt his head back, forcing himself onto his side. I then cheered him on and watched him slowly roll his way over. Finally, he figured out to tuck his arm underneath him so that it wouldn't get in his way. That day, he was still having a few issues pulling that tucked arm out. That is not a problem anymore, though! Now, he just rolls over like a barrel and pulls that arm right out. This evening, I actually watched him roll over and stare into space as he wrenched his arm out from under him! I am not sure, though, if he has decided that he likes being on his belly.

I remember that Jess told me that once they figure out how to go to their belly, they never want to stop. And boy, was she right!!!!

And the last trick of all-- Jamey fed himself a bottle. We have taken to using his high chair as a seat for him to sit in while we do things in the kitchen. The other morning, Glenn leaned him back in the chair and handed him the bottle. We had known for a while that he had the strength to hold the bottle, but until that point, he had just opted to be lazy and let us hold it for him. But no more!

Back to Work!

Last Friday the day finally came when I had to return to my other "children". The ones who had apparently been missing me so badly. The ones who I really hadn't been thinking about for a while. Of course, with my return to work, came the inevitable two questions-- 1: Did you cry? and 2: Are you happy to back?

For one thing, I am happy to say that I did not cry. People often looked at me like I was lying when I answered this question, but I think Glenn put it best when he told the people he worked with, "It's not like he is at a regular daycare. He is staying with someone who was there the night that he was born." I hadn't thought of it that way, but he was completely right. This wasn't just another daycare and it actually wasn't just some friend of ours. This is a person who I consider to be a close friend. A person who was there in the waiting room the night he was born, waiting to hold him. And it is a person who has been doting on him since, and bringing him together with her own son, teaching him to say Jamey's name, which he does with joy.

And as for whether I was happy to be back, it actually is a little hard to explain. It wasn't as though I was overjoyed to be going back to work and the little bit of stress it brought. It wasn't as though I were clammering to be around a throng of teenagers all day, as much as I do love them! But at the same time, it was good to get back there and start picking up the pieces of the classes I had left behind. I had a feeling that they hadn't been learning exactly what I would have hoped, and I was right. As well, I knew that my job would bring me a different sense of accomplishment that I had been missing. Being a Mom is an incredible accomplishment, because I am sustaining this little life with what I do and the choices I make. However, at work, it is a different sense of accomplishment. A place where I make a list and I actually create a work. This was especially true of going back to doing the yearbook.

The two days so far have gone really well! My AP's, who have known me for 3.5 years, were overjoyed to get back to some of my routines. They had gotten quite used to my way of doing things. And all my classes seem to be very friendly. Quite possibly the best compliment I have been paid by one of my new students so far, a compliment that proves to me that I have come back and gotten right back to where I want to be, happened this morning. With ten minutes left in German 1, one of the guys said, "Wow, this class has gone by so quickly! That is awesome!"
For those of you non-teachers out there, when a class goes by quickly, that means that the student was drawn in and really interested. I couldn't ask for more!

And as for Jamey, he loves staying with "Tante Monica" and Christopher. He bounces, he swings, he plays, he laughs! This evening at dinner, he especially loved hearing her name. Whenever we would ask him, "Do you like hanging out with Tante Monica?" he would giggle. We tried to say other names like "Tante Idi" or "Tante Marla", but the only one he would giggle for was "Tante Monica." Hm!