Alone Time

Ayden slept in a little today and when David got up to get ready for work, I did too.  Between Ayden sleeping in an extra half hour and David reading him a couple of books right when he woke up, I had time to knock out half of my morning routine before Ayden became my sidekick.  The result was pretty amazing.  By the time 8:30 rolled around I had already completed all of my usual morning to do's and we had taken Maverick for a LONG walk.  I have toyed with the idea of getting up before Ayden many times before but it is just so hard for this night owl/non-morning person to do.  The day really is so much better when I go to bed early and wake up before Ayden though...

Running a few errands before lunch.
Who is this big kid??

Reading books and relaxing before nap.
He's saying, "Tickle tickle, Mommy!"

I had a midwife appointment today so after Ayden's nap I did a little housekeeping.  While I was putting away some clothes, Ayden found Polly in his crib.  He climbed in with her and was covering her up and pretending to sleep with her.  She tolerated this for a good 15 minutes before deciding she was done.  When she headed upstairs, Ayden followed her.  I figured she'd go to her hiding place once she got up there and that he'd come right back down but a few minutes passed and all I heard from up there was silence.  I was sure I would go up to find Ayden in our office "typing" on David's computer; but when I snuck up the stairs to catch him in the act, this is what I found:

Just putting together his farm floor puzzle.
No big deal...

I was not about to interrupt the rarest of occasions when Ayden actually plays alone (and appropriately!) in his play room.  I encourage it everyday but he just really loves to have a playmate.  He'll play alone in the same room with me while I do my own thing but going upstairs all on his own and playing for a while is just not something he typically enjoys.  A few minutes after I snapped that picture I heard him banging on his drum and then playing his harmonica.  Then he turned on the demos on his keyboard and came down to get me with his "dancing shoes" on (a pair of dress up cowboy boots).  I guess dancing is where he draws the line on going solo.  He likes to have a dance partner I suppose. It lasted for about 10 minutes or so but it is a start.  A glorious glimpse of what it is like for a child to entertain themselves.  I am hoping that he starts doing it more and more and that maybe it will be a normal occurrence by the time Logan gets here.  A mama can dream, can't she?? Thank you, Polly, for being the white rabbit for Ayden to follow so he could go enjoy his wonderland all by himself!

My midwife appointment went well.  I was measuring at 25.5 weeks (I will be 24 weeks on Wednesday but it is normal to measure as many as 4 weeks behind or ahead).  I have gained a total of 15lbs.  My blood pressure was a little high for me but still within normal and my PH was 1 point higher than usual too.  Both of those things can fluctuate so she just said we'd keep an eye on them to see if they continue to be that way over the next few visits or not.  I have not been having any swelling or headaches so we really aren't concerned.  Something that improved, however, was my hydration level.  She said that looked great which was a first.  I have a hard time staying hydrated so I've been really focusing on that lately and I guess it has paid off.  My lower back has started to ache which I never had with Ayden's pregnancy but I did not have a toddler to carry around all of the time back then either.  My midwife also said that Logan's position was a little posterior which can cause some back ache but he was head down and his heart rate was 140.  He had the hiccups for  a while during her visit as well which I always love.  Another fun thing that happened was that I was able to hear his heart beat on the fetascope.  I was never able to hear Ayden's with it so I loved hearing his actual heartbeat rather than just hearing it on the doppler.  We went ahead and did the doppler too for Ayden.  David gets home late on Tuesdays so he has had to miss our last couple of appointments which has really bummed him out.  She is working with us though and we've scheduled our next appointment for a Thursday so he should be able to be home in time!  We are just so thrilled that everything is going smoothly but really, time could TOTALLY slow down if it wanted to...  

After our midwife left, Ayden and I headed over to the farm and watered our orchard and checked on the new bees.  I need to get an entrance reducer for them because they were having to defend their hive from some pesky caterpillars.  The good news is that they were, in fact, defending it.  That means that they have decided to call it home (which also means that the queen must have made it in!).  The bad news is that they are wasting time and energy on defense rather than pulling comb, raising brood and making HONEY!  The bottom board we are using is one we borrowed from my mentor.  It is homemade and not quite tall enough to fit the extra entrance reducer that I have.  I'll have to go by tomorrow with my gear and stuff some grass and leaves in for now until I can pick up a new bottom board.  The joys of beekeeping!  Never a dull moment.  I did not take my phone out to the farm when we went so I missed a great photo opportunity of Ayden watering all of our trees with the hose.  He watered each and every one and did a great job!  He looked so cute holding that huge hose and he's seen me do it enough times to where he knew just what to do.  We already have a little pro orchardist on our hands!  David and I always talk about how neat it will be to see what our kids adopt as their favorite enterprise on the farm.  Maybe he really will become our orchardist...  Only time will tell.

At what age did your children start playing by themselves appropriately? 

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "May Goals!"

And two years ago today: "Daddy, The Baby Whisperer"

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