Back To Reality

Well, I'm officially back to work full-time. Monday was my first day back in over 8 weeks! Was that a reality check or what? As I expected, I was a little weepy Sunday night and Monday morning. It was hard to leave after spending everyday with her for roughly 2 months, but it was time to get back to the real world. Before I jumped back into "reality", we spent Friday walking around Mall of America for our family day! Harper of course had to change clothes within the first hour due to a blowout. It's always this same onesie too, I'm starting to think we should just burn it! We wandered around the mall for hours, shopping and people watching! We went home with sore feet, shopping bags and a new iPad! 

The rest of our weekend was fairly low key. Saturday I went to kickboxing for the first time since having Harper. Boy, did it make me realize I was extremely out of shape. We did more squats that I've done in a very long time. Sunday and Monday made for some slow walking for this girl... my legs were so sore! The rest of Saturday we spent lounging on the couch. The Medford's stopped by that night on their way back to St. Cloud, it's always fun visiting with them!  On Sunday we headed to Ridgedale to pick up a cover for our new iPad. Mitch mentioned it should be illegal to go shopping twice in the same weekend... I'd have to disagree. I tried to get as many snuggles in that I could, knowing I had to go to work the next day.

Monday went surprisingly well. Mitch and I laid out a plan the night before, but we all know things don't always go as planned. I barely slept that night since a million things were running through my mind. The morning started with an annoying buzz around 5am, it's been awhile since I heard that alarm. I quickly hopped in the shower and got myself ready. I fed Harper, and was out the door close to the time I had scheduled. I must say, I was pretty impressed with myself! 


Mitch has morning duty with Harper. He gets her dressed, loaded in the car and drops her off at Granny Deb's or Grandma Trish's. I arrived to work earlier than I have in the past. I'm starting to go in early so I can leave earlier. This allows me to beat traffic both on the way to work, and on the way home. It's pretty amazing, I don't think I'll miss bumper to bumper traffic in the afternoons. It was actually really nice to get back to work and see everyone. I jumped right back into the swing of things, and as usual the day flew by. I couldn't wait for 4pm so I could hop in the car and pick up that cute little girl! That night, Mitch and I decided to go out for Valentine's Day and hopefully beat the rush. We had a wonderful dinner at Houlihan's, with absolutely no wait.   

Tuesday was Valentine's Day. We had already exchanged gifts, but I was still surprised with flowers and a card. I am one lucky gal! Last week, Harper and I had "arts & crafts" day and made Mitch part of his Valentine's Day gift. A baby's foot might be the cutest thing ever, so when I found this idea on Pinterest I was on a mission! We spent our evening lounging in the living room finishing season 1 of Boardwalk Empire -- the perfect way to spend Valentine's Day if you ask me!

Grandma Trish's "1st Valentine's" Outfit

Yesterday Harper had her 2-month doctor's appointment. This meant shots. The last time we had visited South Lake Pediatrics she was only 2 weeks old. At that time she weighed 9 lbs 5 oz. We're always joking about her multiple chins and rolly polly body, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Mitch and I were anxious to see how much she weighed since it had been over 6 weeks since our last visit with the scale. Right before the nurse put her on the scale, she asked for our predictions. We were both thinking she'd be around 11 lbs or so... boy were we wrong. She put Harper on the scale and announced our dainty baby girl is 13 lbs 9 oz! She is one healthy little lady! She also grew a few inches, and is now measuring in at 23 1/4 inches. She was a great girl for Dr. Batchelor, and received positive feedback. As we waited for the nurse to come in to give her three shots and an oral vaccination, I snapped a quick photo while she was still happy. She had no clue what was about to happen. :(

Before the pokes...

A baby getting shots may have been one of the saddest things I've seen. Mitch had to hold her arms, and I was on pacifier duty. She let out the loudest scream and turned a shade of red. The nurse quickly poked her three times in the legs and we had officially survived our first set of vaccines. Since she did such a good job, Mitch and I treated ourselves to ice cream after! When we got home she was smiley girl she always is which was refreshing to see. She had two band-aids on her legs, but they didn't seem to phase her.

Our brave lil' girl! 

She is making new noises all the time, and is really starting to smile big when you talk to her. It's so fun to see. She is also trying very hard to suck her thumb. We're trying to stop that habit before it starts! She continues to change in her looks, and I thought it would be fun to compare Mitch and I at that age to what Harper looks like now! You can be the judge!

Baby Mitch

Baby Tristan

Baby Harper

Overall it's been a pretty smooth transition back to work, and we're all adapting to our new routines. We don't have much planned for the weekend. I think family time and relaxation is certainly in our future.

Until next time...

The Helleen's