Photo Dump Wednesday: Fun holiday weekend

And just like that,  12 weeks have gone by. I am now back to my regular work schedule. Getting up for my hour long commute to work yesterday was a struggle made even more so because I was only getting a total of 5.5 hours of sleep each night due to my pumping schedule and now am now getting 4.5 hours. Insert <ouchie> face here. Needless to say, I really look forward to my morning cup of coffee each morning.

J did great getting JAE and JOE ready for the day and I am very grateful that he is a hands on dad. He also sent me a picture bright and early since I leave home at 6:15am in the morning. The picture totally made my day and made the separation anxiety I was feeling a little easier. JAE and JOE's childcare provider was also very thoughtful and sent me several pictures throughout the day. I also got a lot of text messages from friends checking in on me as well as work friends who stopped by to make sure I was OK. All of this truly made the separation anxiety a whole easier to handle.

In anticipation of going back to my regular work schedule, J, JOE, JAE and I all had a fun filled weekend starting last week Friday. 

NOTE: The pictures are loaded in the opposite direction so if you want to see the timeline of events, please scroll down and view from bottom up :-).

On Saturday, a friend of ours had a birthday party for her daughter who turned 4. She had the coolest idea for a party favors. She got wood letters of everyone's first name and asked each guest their favorite colors. Then she painted the letters beforehand. On the day of the birthday, she had a ton of craft stuff and each person got to decorate their letters. 
JOE's favorite color is purple and I said she could do yellow for JAE since she looks good in yellow :-). I did most of the decorating for their letters and I think it turned out great! I plan on putting it up in their room.

I also took a ton of pictures of JAE and JOE last week to ensure that I'd be able to view them this week. Looking at them now makes me miss my babies :-). 

JAE is growing so fast!

She now imitates you if you stick out your tongue or smile at her. A fun milestone.

I love all her facial expressions. 

I don't think JAE's hair will be as curly as JOE because at this point with JOE, her hair was fully curly. But only time will tell. 

Last Friday, J took me out to lunch to celebrate my last day of maternity. It was a fun lunch and delicious lunch. Ummm...except for the overly spicy (hot) wings which we ordered. We thought we could handle it but clearly, we couldn't hang. This picture was taken BEFORE we started eating. I forgot to take one of the wings.

My view...

The watermelon lemonade was AWESOME!!! Both the drink and the watermelon were delicious!

JOE loves to hold her sister. 

And JAE doesn't mind. 

JOE and JAE watching the iPAD. 2 important milestones here. While I was pumping that morning, JOE came over and wanted to sit with me. When she did, I felt her feet were cold. I asked her if she wanted to wear her socks and she said yes. I was pumping and didn't want to risk losing my precious gold if I got up. JOE quickly said "don't worry momma, I'll get it!"
She got them from her drawer and then proceeded to put them on on her own! I was surprised! I didn't even know she could do that. 
The other important milestone is that she also put on her pants on her own without any help. We still have to help her with her shirts but I consider these good milestones :-). Go JOE!!!

Yes, JOE is already photobombing her sister. While I was taking this picture of JAE, JOE jumped in. I love them so much!

We are already half way through the week and I am off on Friday to attend a family member's wedding. I am glad that the first week back to work is almost over. Its been hectic but also not as painful as I thought it would be thanks to the awesome support system I have. 

Enjoy the rest of your week!