FRIDAY!

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, Friday is by far the best day of the week right from the start! It's the day that the weekend begins, it's "jeans day" at Mom's office, it is a slightly shorter work day and Mom gets to play the hero by picking up the kids from daycare! And Friday just got even better as we've introduced a couple new events: pizza and movie night!

Since our visit to Aunt Ronnee & "Un Matt's" house, Brady loves to watch Toy Story in the big bed on the portable DVD player that Poppie got him. So even though we're not on vacation, we're bringin back the fun for one night each week! Our first movie night was a massive hit as we managed to fit all SIX Wrights in the bed. That's right! The dogs joined us, too! I'm already looking forward to next week!

Here are some pictures from our weekend.

First Day of School / Back to Work

Everybody did great today! It was Cate's first day in the infant room, Brady's first day in the Early Preschool class, Daddy's first day with an employee on maternity leave, and Mommy's first day back at work. Cate reportedly napped and ate her bottles. Although he got off to a rocky start, Brady stopped crying and started having a great time in class. Dad did, in his own words "ok, it was kind of hectic to begin with." And Mom received a lovely "welcome back" from her colleagues. I was so busy, I didn't have time to be sad!

It was a true comfort to see Ms. Jen in the infant room. It felt great to hand Cate off to her. It was also helpful to see little Grant and Carter happily kicking around in class.

We dropped off Brady in his new classroom first. I held it together despite the fact that Brady's tears started almost immediately and he reached up for me and cried "mama!" It was a little harder in the infant room as I put all Cate's supplies away and asked Daddy if I could hold her before we left. I didn't want to, but I also held it together through the Starbucks drive thru window. The flood gates opened promptly after that. It didn't last very long, and I proudly wore Cate's drool spot on my shoulder the whole way to work!

Time Still Flies

It feels like yesterday I was typing the last blog post of my Brady maternity leave. Here I am again, but it's Cate going to school for the first time tomorrow. Again I have the framed pictures of my babies packed up in my work bag. Again I have the baby's school bag packed up with her name labeled on everything inside. Again I'm wondering how I'm going to get everyone dressed and ready and still get to work on time. And again I'm planning to reward myself for this emotional turmoil with a big, fat Starbucks coffee.

Maternity leave was a gift! Despite the logistical and emotional challenge of adding a child to the family, the days were joyous. I will always remember the one-on-one time I spent getting to know my little girl, spoiling her with perhaps too many cuddles and kisses. I will remember fondly the days I opted to stay in my jammies and hold Cate on the couch as she slept - while Emma used my hip as a pillow. I will remember the excitement as 4pm approached, not only because Ellen came on TV at 4pm, but because I would soon be picking my boy up "early" from school.

The second time around I planned to slow down my maternity leave by refraining from too many errands and housework. I was successful in self-management but it turns out this did nothing to slow down my leave. Time still flies. And I still feel like I could have squeezed in a couple more cuddles and kisses. But I don't regret skipping all the naps I was told to take. I much more enjoyed keeping my eyes wide open and marveling at my little Cate.

Life is a Beach

GeoTagged, [N32.20569, E80.68192]

It's a beautiful day at the beach! Hot as Hades, but lovely. Brady just finished eating the goldfish crackers (pronounced "goldpish") he dropped in the sand. I can't wait to see that come out the other end! There will be no mistaking where he's been spending his days!

We are visiting Grams and Bubba in Hilton Head this week. Uncle Andy, Aunt Hunter, Sawyer, Bennett and Georgia are here, too! We've been busy biking, beaching, boating, swimming and playing with this great Lightning McQueen car Grams picked up for Brady. Cate has been kicking and squirming, cooing and LAUGHING! (She started laughing last week when Grammy was cleaning her hands.)

Today at the beach Brady wanted to hold Mommy's hand and play in the surf. He also enjoyed counting pelicans, splashing Daddy and throwing his shovels in the water for Dad to fetch! That Daddy is so trainable.

Now we're off to get smoothies before we go home to cuddle and kiss Baby. Ciao! - or as Brady would say "goo-bye!"