Updates!

I know I haven't blogged in a while. Sorry! Here is a quick update of the four Kasparbauers and what has been going on with us.

Jill: My first week back at work has been an absolute whirlwind. I have a ton of new kids for whom I am offering literacy/academic support, which is wonderful, but finding time to meet all of their needs, plus collaborate with the teachers in my building, plus catch up on professional development, work on my teacher blog, serve on the behavior committee, review notes from my sub, catch up on progress monitoring...yikes! I have been going to bed with Quinn every night because I have been so tired. I love my job and am thankful for it every day, but this has been an exhausting week! I am looking forward to a two-day work week next week and then to hosting Thanksgiving for my parents and sister's family! (Oh, and Black Friday!!)


Randy: Randy is staying busy at work, finishing the basement, working on classes for his second master's degree, and doing some consulting. He has some work trips coming up and is getting organized for those. Randy is now responsible for taking both kids to day care in the morning and making sure that they both have everything they need. He almost always drops them off because day care doesn't open until 7 a.m. and I have to be to work by 7:15, and that's not enough time for me to drive there, drop off the kids and Wes's milk and whatever else they happen to need that day and then get back to work. Since I can leave work at 3:15, I pick them up each day by 4:30. I use the time in between to catch up on laundry, dishes, schedule appointments, organize the day's mail, tidy the house, run a quick errand or two, etc.

Quinn: Quinn recently turned 20 months old! Wow! Her talking has really picked up, especially in terms of speaking in phrases/short sentences. She will say things like "Chrissy Wes car seat" when our babysitter is getting Wes organized at the end of the day, though sometimes only I can understand what she says. I love it when she surprises us with a new word that we didn't know she knew. We have been having some meltdowns lately, but I think that's to be expected with an almost two-year-old. Transitions are hard for her: we struggled just this morning with finishing breakfast, getting changed and dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed, etc. Sometimes when she melts down it makes me feel like a failure as a mom, but I have to remind myself that I am as organized as I can be, and that I just need to be patient with her and support her as much as I can. We are both works in progress, I guess. :-) Her appetite has dropped off a little bit lately, but she is still a very good eater.

Wes: Wes is doing great at day care! He struggled with drinking from a bottle at first and could only do 2 oz. at a feeding, but is up to 3 oz. 3 times a day now. Quinn is having a hard time keeping her hands off of her Wes - she always wants to be all over him! Wes is sleeping much better at night. We have been putting him down at 9:30 and he has been sleeping until 3:00 a.m. I hope he can stretch that out for two hours longer very soon. He is just about ready to transition to his 3-6 month clothes.

I will share pictures of my kids/life very soon. :-)