The 'Ei's Have It: Lovin' Leave

Well, I'm writing from the other end of the rabbit hole as I've been back to work for a full week now (it's been almost three now, did I mention blogs take longer to finish these days?). The good thing about my job is that there is often no option to ease into anything, so off the band-aid came and now we're four weeks from the end of the school year, so I think we'll all be able to make it. Here are a few shots from our three months of sleepless fun.

Easter snuck up on us this year, but we enjoyed our first as a family of four.

Ei's and ears.

We feel like he gives her this look often...

...but she perseveres.

She may not be a morning person...

But fortunately she's always a Wesley person.

Convinced that he dressed to match her.

Happy Easter from the Eicholtz Family!

Four generations of snuggle.

The bunny cake decorator.

Auntie Erin inroductions = success! (Wes was happier than he looks here.)

Easter snoozes.

We propped Wes up for the basket photo shot with his daddy's childhood bunny.

Pluralize that, buddy.

This is what happens when your maternity leave involves a plus-one five-year-old girlie-girl.

Hey there, blue eyes.

Oooooh, yeah.

This guy loves the spa life.

So...

sweet.

Check me out...

Solo shots...

Oh wait.

Allie and I try to take advantage of school breaks to make our way to North Carolina for some southern relaxation with Grandmom and Grandpa. I distinctly remember making this maternity leave trip with our little bundle of Al in the backseat. This time I had a backseat co-pilot and another little bundle next to her and they were excellent roadtrippers.

Sweet snuggles.

Getting in some putting practice.

Talent can't be rushed.

The River Landing crew has been praying hard for our boy and it was a joy to introduce him to his NC supporters.

This kid's 'super' chatty.

And apparently a 'super' big fan of his sis.

Storytime with the Eicholtz' grandkid component just got a little more crowded!

Back in VA, Wes continued to be inundated by big sister lovin' (gentle and not-so-much) and we tried to field-trip as much as possible while we still had the 'what day is it today?' maternity leave mentality.

This may be as close to sleeping in as we get these days, but we'll take it.

We've seen that look before. Fortunately, he goes with it.

Picture proof that I was a part of the maternity leave as well.

Well Hello There...

Handsome!

On the few Saturdays that it didn't rain, we hit the soccer field.

Wes is often ready for church before we are.

Did we mention he loves his sis?

The crazy squawking of the turkeys at the farm had him cracking up.

Farm photo.

Sibling selfie, courtesy of Allison Eicholtz.

Fortunately for everyone, the Grandmoms are taking charge for the first three months that I'm back at work, so Wes doesn't have to go into daycare until late July. The biggest benefit, besides grandparent bonding time, is that we get A+ follow-through on his physical therapy exercises that are pretty important right now for his development. As it turns out, even going back to work, there are still smiles to be had and weekends to be cherished, so we'll count ourselves blessed.