The Emergence of a New Normal

Every time we have a major change in our family, it takes a while to figure out how to find a new "normal." With Selma (our dog), we were terrified to leave her at home alone for the first year of her life, so we figured out which restaurants we could take her to (with outdoor seating), which parks we could let her off-leash at, and which friends houses she was welcome at. With Zosia, it was that times ten. It felt like we had to re-plan our entire lives around her. But with both of those family additions, we eventually did return to normal, or at least found a new normal that was wonderful.

So, here are some milestones that I am happy to report that we have reached with Lily:

• We went for our first long full-family walk after dinner last night. It didn't hurt that it was in the sixties and totally gorgeous out.
• I took all three girls (Zosia, Lily, and Selma) out for a walk by myself this morning, and all three of them were well behaved. ;-)
• I took Lily to the store this weekend.
• Zosia, Lily and I have been out and about-- we have gone over to friends houses, the playground, and the coffeehouse together.
  
• Zosia, Lily, and I picked Ben up from work the other day and ran some errands together.
• We all gardened together (and by that, I mean that Ben was gardening, Zosia was pretending to garden, and I was doing the little gardening I could manage with a baby strapped to my body).

These may all seem insignificant, but it just takes a while to figure out all of the basics. Do I leave Lily in her carseat or put her in her sling? If she wakes up, do I let her stay up, or try to put her back to sleep?

Luckily, everything has been smooth and easy so far, and I'm excited about reaching some more milestones-- going to restaurants together, going away from home together, doing a daytrip together. It is feeling like we're getting back to normal-- plus one.