We have been home almost a month and Evan is adjusting very well. We have finally gotten into a regular schedule now that the holidays are over. He is sleeping very well - goes to bed around 7:00 pm and sleeps until 5:00 am, and then has a bottle and sleeps until 7:00 am. He plays for a few hours, and then takes a 2 hour nap at 10:00 am and also at 2:00 pm. He is eating very well and I have been introducing new foods into his diet every 3 days or so. He loves sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas and pears. He's not too hip on apples or yogurt and, of course, he loves his bottle.
Our first week home, Evan had a pediatrician appointment and had to have blood drawn. He was given a clean bill of health and all his labs came back good. He has a minor iron deficiency and is taking extra iron every day for the next month, and will then be retested for his iron levels. Isabel went back to daycare that week and was back into her regular schedule. She really missed all her friends and teachers at school. She also could not wait to show off her new little brother to everyone. She is a proud big sister.
Evan's second week home he came down with the illness both Isabel and my dad had in Vietnam. The poor little guy was very uncomfortable with a fever, hard cough and congestion. That was a very tough week for both of us - especially me because I had to hold him a lot to get him to sleep. Fortunately, he didn't loose his appetite so I didn't have to worry about dehydration. At the end of that week, my sister and family arrived for the holidays and all the festivities began. Somehow during that week I was able to find a few hours to go Christmas shopping. Isabel was getting more and more excited about Christmas so we had lots of conversations about Santa, what presents she wanted and I tried to balance the commercial by discussing the birth of Christ. I think I made a good impression on what Christmas means to me and I hope it takes hold in her heart.
We celebrated Christmas with my parents and my sister and her family this year at my parent's home. It was a very nice time with everyone and both Isabel and Evan were the center of attention. Isabel was thrilled to see all the presents and started to count how many she had. Plus she loved playing with her cousins, Jackie and Jesse. Evan was just happy to have someone holding him or playing with him all day long. With 5 adults and 2 teenagers, there were plenty of hands around to help out. He also started to crawl on Christmas day. My brother called from over seas several times and took part of the gift opening over the phone. My oldest nephew, Sean, stayed home because he had to work and we missed having him with us ... the first time since he was born 20 years ago.
Now, it is 2009. Evan will start daycare next week - a few hours each day until he is there a full day by the time I return to work. I am planning to be back at work on Jan 22. Until then, I'll use the few hours I will have alone to complete some projects at home. I need to get Evan's room organized and painted. I also need to go through the house & garage and purge things. I also hope to get ready for my taxes and take a hard, long look at my budget. With another daycare bill every week, I need to cut back on some things. Ahhhh, the holiday festivities are fading away and reality is settling in.
