Since I've been on maternity leave, we had a little extra time to make a family trip to Salem and visit grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. It was great to get to spend a few days in the embrace of family - several of them meeting Magnus for the first time - and to have our Christmas exchanges in person. There was sled-riding (see video), lots of good hanging-out, meals and drinks together, and we had some happy hands-free time with Gramma Karen and Grandpa Jim taking on a bit of the Magnus duty (THANK YOU!). Arlo has talked non-stop about the time he spent with his cousins McKayla, Mariah and Alayna - and they seemed to enjoy it too. We all got spoiled with gifts and Arlo's already mastered the new world map puzzle he got a week ago. What a great trip!
As the last few days of leave wind down we've been getting more and more anxious about getting things done around the house that are hard to find the time to do. We're also trying to get ourselves ready for the shift - while Arlo is pretty fond of his brother at times, he's also a little jealous at other times and especially if his Daddy is the one holding Magnus. So we're trying to get Arlo ready for sharing Dad and Magnus ready for missing Mom and Sam ready for having his hands full. Not to mention I will need to get my head back in the game and start thinking beyond how to entertain a toddler or what we might want to make for dinner! I honestly don't know how Sam does what he does as a stay-at-home dad, and I'm so thankful we've been able to share the parenting duties during my leave. We have enjoyed 11 weeks where our first and only priority was being a family and being healthy and cozy together. However, while the transition might be tough, I think we agree it's time, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, albeit gradually and perhaps with fewer late nights!
Enjoyed having all of you here,Got to hold Magnus & play with Arlo. Miss all of you very much.
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