september 1st 2011 - Two action packed hours

I have already been back at work for almost three weeks, and you know what that means three weeks closer to next summer break!;) It is a big difference from being able to spend every waking minute of every single day during the summer with Damien, Alicia, and Linda. Now I have been getting home around 17:00 (5:00 pm) or later. When I am working I am in a zone, but when I start to bike home all I think about is seeing and playing with the kids. It is like I get a second wind when I open the door to the house. I know that I only have about 2 hours before the kids are going to be knocking out, so we have a lot of fun and excitement to pack into those two hours. My absolute favorite part of my day is when I walk through the door to the apartment and Damien looks up at me from his play mat. He instantly gets the biggest smile on his face, he then stands up and sprints to me. He doesn’t stop either, it is like he tries to tackle or hug me as hard as he can. I pick him up and give him a big hug and a kiss, as he laughs and squirms around. Then I put him down and he runs away from me, but it is not over. He quickly turns back around and runs back to me and gives me another big hug. This goes on about 3 or 4 times. It feels so good to be missed and loved by him.
I then walk over to Alicia who is generally in her chair eating dinner with Linda, or just playing with Mr. Octopus. I get real close to Alicia and say, “Hello Alicia.” She then gets a big smile on her face. Afterwards I take Alicia out of her chair, pick her up and swing her from side to side. She always laughs (and sometimes snorts) uncontrollably. The next little activity that goes on, is a fun one. Damien usually runs back to me and I pick him up high in the air, walk into the bedroom and drop him on the bed. I then make it so that he bounces on the bed by pushing down hard on the mattress so that he goes up and down. His laughter is definitely contagious. After I bounce him I quickly go and hide, and he carefully searches for me. I always pop out of the closet, or behind a wall and jump out and grab him. This scares him in an extremely funny and entertaining way. As I grab him I bring him back to the bed and bounce him on it again and again. This goes on for about 5 rounds.
After all of the hide and go seek, I come out to Alicia and put on some dance music. As she is sitting in her chair I dance with Alicia to some great dance hits. I do this by grabbing her hands and lifting her arms up in the air, and then moving them side to side. Then I move on to holding her legs and moving them in a running motion. It is fun and great exercise for Alicia. We go for two songs and then I usually take her out of the chair and dance around with her for one more song. She definitely likes all of the quick movements, the music and the excitement. Next I might build some block towers with Damien, which he always knocks down or I kick a ball with Damien.
All of this activity takes us up to bath time for Alicia and Damien. Bath time is a wet and wild activity. It is always Alicia’s favorite activity of the day. We put Alicia in her bathing chair, and Damien into the tub next to her. Alicia splashes her arms, kicks her legs and smiles and laughs. Damien usually throws all of the toys out of the bathtub. He also likes taking his little sand bucket and pours water on Alicia, which she enjoys. One funny thing that Damien has started doing this week is that he blows on Alicia’s stomach and makes the zerbert sounds. Both of the kids, and Linda and myself find this to be hysterical. They really love each other.
After about a half hour Damien is ready to get out of the tub. We take him out, get him dressed for bed, give him a bottle, and turn on Dora for him. Meanwhile we continue to give Alicia a bath for another half an hour. We then get her ready for bed, give her medicine, and a bottle. While Alicia is getting fed by Linda, I pick up Damien and put him on my lap and watch an episode of Dora. This is another great part of my day, because Damien never use to let me hold him. It is so cozy. When the episode of Dora the Explorer is over, I bring Damien to Linda and Alicia and he gives each of them a sweet kiss. Then we say, “Say good night to Dora,” and he waves to the TV. Then I take him into his room and ask for a kiss. He then takes out his pacifier and gives me one last kiss. I ask him where his bed is, and he points to his bed. I put him down, as Linda is putting Alicia to bed in the same room. I then go over to give Alicia one more kiss, and we quietly walk out of the room. As I close the door, I am thinking that I can’t wait to get home tomorrow to do it all again.
It is such a great feeling to know that I have been missed by the kids, and that they both recognize and appreciate me when I get home. I love them so much!


A tired Damien is getting ready for bed


Mommy and the kids cuddling with future little brother