He's Ho-ome!

Welcome Home Daddy!

So, I didn't really advertise it when he left, but if you read the blog regularly you could gather over the last five and half months that Jesse was gone for work. Well, he's back! I'm so excited to see him play with Fletcher and I'm looking forward to an extra set of hands around here. Over the months of his absence, I frequented places with drive-thrus and didn't run quick errands because I wouldn't want to take him out of the car for a quick trip into a business. Now, one of us can stay in the car while the other runs inside for something! It'll also be great to have one of us unload the car and get things put away and let the dog out while the other tends to Fletcher. Just simple things like that will hopefully save time in the long run and I won't have to be thinking 5 steps ahead all the time.

However, if you know me, I'm clean, but not exactly tidy. There is a difference. I may clean but still have piles of things all over the place. Too many projects and too little time, I could argue. Out of the two of us, Jesse is much more tidy (and clean). It is very nice and he helps out with everything, but I think Fletcher's natural state of exploration may drive Jesse nuts at times. I imagine the toys will be swept up more frequently and mealtimes will be an eye-opening and patience-seeking experience. So will the constant establishment of baby boundaries and redirecting. But needless to say, we are just thrilled to have him re-enter our daily lives and look forward to having complete family time together again!

Jesse left when Fletcher was 3 months and 3 weeks old. He was barely starting food and had only had rice cereal. He was still falling asleep in our arms. He hadn't even rolled over yet. He had a toothless smile. He still fit well in the infant car seat. He wasn't sleeping through the night and wasn't really on a nap schedule. He wasn't saying any words. He wasn't sitting up in his stroller. He was just a lot of cuddles, laughs, squeals, and love. Daddy was his favorite man on the planet. Here are a few pictures of them just before he left.

This was the night before he left.

Now, at 9 months and 1 week old, Fletcher is eating anything and everything that I will let him and that he can put in his own mouth, while I try to squeeze in more via spoon. He will say bye to the bottle soon. We're in the middle of weaning from nursing. He sleeps through the night most of the time. He's currently cutting his third tooth. He's says "dog" all day long and is working on "Da-Da" or "Daddy." He's army crawling and cruising along furniture. He sings and dances. Most importantly, he's still a lot of cuddles, laughs, squeals, and love. Daddy is still his favorite guy on Earth. He'll just have to get adjusted to Dad-in-the-Flesh instead of Flat-Dad on the computer screen! And might I add...I'm so glad I live in an era with Skype! It was so important for Jesse and Fletcher to regularly see and hear each other during his trip.

Here they are now!

Here was his last Skype session with Dad:

Here was his first personal encounter with him in 5.5 months. I was glad my friend Kristy told me to bring the camera. She said her daughter looked at her husband with a big question mark because it's just not the same as a computer screen. Looks like it was the same way for Fletcher!