separation anxiety

So, this last week was my first week of classes. I have to take 4 four week classes (all in the same four weeks) this summer as part of the requirements for this grant I am receiving that will fund my tuition for the next four terms. It's really an excellent tradeoff because this means that I won't have to work during that time and can just go to school and spend the rest of my time with Isaac. However, it is from 9-4 Monday through Thursday, in Eugene, where we don't live yet. So, Isaac stayed home with dad for the first three days while I commuted back and forth and didn't have enough time to pump on a lot of the breaks we had. That was a little uncomfortable. Still, Henri greatly improved his baby-sitting skills and is now an expert. They had fun together. And, we got to snuggle in the evenings in Isaac's favorite way, seen below.

On Thursday, Isaac and his Grandma came with me to Eugene and went to see Grandma Hurliman and Aunt Christy and Uncle George and all his little cousins. Evidently on Wednesday and Thursday he slept a lot when I wasn't there. I think it was because of a broken heart. He was sad that his Mama wasn't there. Yesterday we made up for it though by spending the whole day together. I didn't get one iota of homework done. I hope today works better as far as that is concerned, only because I have one 3-4 page paper due Monday and one 4-5 page paper due Tuesday that really should get done this weekend. I think this weekend will be the most intense, because in a way we are trying to do all the things we should have done before class this week as well as the things we have to do before class next week. Monday and Tuesday kind of breezed by though. It probably helped that we got out early on those days and I got to come back home right away. On Highway 99, a bunch of hay blew onto the road from the fields and you had to slow down driving through it. The next day, I saw some ODOT guys parked on the side of the road, looking up at the telephone poles. Huge bunches of hay were hanging from the telephone wires. You knew they were thinking, "How the heck did all that get up there?"

On Wednesday though, I really missed little guy. That class did not get out until 4. I've read that a study found that on average, women who work part-time are happier than women who work full-time or are full-time homemakers. The first part of the week, I would say I agreed. It is nice to get out and learn more, and feel like you are going to be helping others too, but still spend time with your baby. However, by Wednesday, I realized that this must be referring to women who work part-time after their babies are a certain age, maybe three months or something. I felt like I must be missing out on something really important that was happening. Evidently Isaac did start to chuckle while I was away, and now he does these funny half-laughs. They are like the start of a laugh, and then he just leaves it at that. So, now he has lived up to his name. I guess it wasn't that hard. Isaac means "he laughs". Yes, it is a verb. I think it's awesome to have a verb as a name.
Thursday was better because Isaac came down with me so I got to see him up until right before class, at lunch, and right after class. I love this boy. He just smiles when he sees me, but I can tell he missed me too. I am really lucky that after these classes are over, I have until the end of September to give him my undivided attention. It is really nice not to have to work, as I already said.
Here's a picture of Isaac when he was at home playing with Papa. He was having lots of fun, as you can see! He is starting to get a lot more calm when necessary things must be done. This includes fingernail clipping and nose clearing. For the fingernail clipping, I decided I would show him it was okay by clipping my fingernails in front of him. He was a bit more compliant after that. Also, yesterday his nose was so plugged up that he had to breathe fast, but I was nervous to suction his nose because in the past he hated it. However, we got back from my doctor's appointment and he had been breathing hard all the way back, so I decided it was time to suction his nose whether he liked it or not. He was actually really relaxed, and just watched me. I think he was glad his nose was finally getting cleared out so he could breathe, and so he didn't fuss. He is just getting to be a bigger boy every day. Speaking of that, I brought him into the pediatrician's because his intestines had been making some super-bizarre noises. He checked out fine, though. They weighed him and he is now 11 lbs 15 ounces. I think that's a healthy weight gain. It doesn't seem like as much as the last time, so he's probably adjusting a little more.

Well, I guess I have to start writing that paper sometime. Now seems like a good time.