T minus 4

Only 4 days left of maternity leave. Yes, I have already shed some tears over it. Of course, I've only gotten about half of the projects done that I wanted to while I was on leave, but I've taken full advantage of the extra time with my boys. We've gone on lots of trips to visit family, hosted many visitors, and enjoyed plenty of playtime at home. It's been fun watching Gunnar grow and learn. We've spent lots of time together making art, digging in the sandbox, sliding, swinging, cooking, playing with trucks, laughing with the tickle monster, singing, and dancing. Of course, we will continue the fun after I go back to work, but our weekend time will become just that much more precious. Levi's been a champion of a little brother, just going with the flow and smiling constantly. And we thought Gunnar was a laid-back baby... Levi smiles at the drop of a hat and fusses only when he's hungry or tired. All in all, my leave has been everything I wanted it to be. And I even took some time for myself, visiting the gym regularly and running with my neighbor. I raced in my first triathlon since before Gunnar was born, and I've been going to physical therapy to get my post-pregnancy body back in alignment.
Life seems to be traveling faster than ever these days. Erik took another trip to Italy last week, but fortunately I only had to be a single mom for a few days. Grammy and Pop-pop made a special visit to help out with the boys and to celebrate my birthday. Grammy even made me a scrumptious cake, which Gunnar helped frost, and Erik made my day by sending me roses. Yesterday was Gunnar's first day in underwear (we made it through the day with 2 pair of underwear and 1 pull-up - not bad for a beginner!), and Levi ate his first bowl of cereal. Gunnar had his 1st dentist appointment last week (not sure about the dentist's toothbrush, but loved the suction straw!), and Levi had his 4-month checkup (he's 75th-80th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference). We had our first parent/teacher conference at Primrose this morning and found out that Gunnar's been fooling us... he doesn't even ask for his pacifier at naptime! However, at home, life almost comes to an end if we don't have 2 pacifiers in bed and one in the car. Gunnar, I hope you'll forgive us by the time you're old enough to read this... your pacifiers are about to have a tragic accident. We may blame the squirrels for putting a hole in your car paci. And the other pacis may be getting mailed off to needy babies. I'm sorry, buddy, but your daddy and I have been enablers for too long. An intervention is needed. And I promise we're doing this because we love you! Stay tuned as the drama unfolds...