Monday, December 28, 2015

Christmastime Was Here

Well, today is December 28th. I last blogged on December 3rd.

The Best Blogger Award of 2015 goes to Jenny of So.Many.Words. Blog!!!

Or not.

Sorry, y'all. We are just in the thick of it over here. I really think that having an infant AND going through the holiday season is it's own brand of insanity. It's not bad, but it just adds a level of complicated. A happy complicated, but complicated nonetheless.

So let's do a quick little recap, shall we?

Christmastime was here.

We decorated and Ellie loved all of it.

She had her first dance recital:


She totally nailed it and was so enthusiastic she had us crying with laughter. At the end she said, "Mommy, I do that one more time."

Grant and I took advantage of the grandparents being in town and headed out to an ugly sweater Christmas party with some friends:


It was so fun to go to a social event. I didn't realize how badly I needed to get out of this house!

Ellie also had a little Christmas program at school. She sang a song about Mary and Joseph riding on donkey and she wore a Biblical costume and it was all just a little too much. 

Between the dance recital and the school program, I am finding that our Ellie girl is quite comfortable on the stage. Her maternal line is full of performers and drama queens, so I'm not all that surprised, but it was just so fun to see her step into those shoes. Welcome to the fun of performing, Ellie girl. Wait till you get a laugh for the first time... then you're destined to a life of entertaining for sure!

We also enjoyed one of our favorite yearly traditions which is going to look at Christmas lights in River Oaks with my BFF Lindsee. She sat in the backseat this year between my two (sleeping) kiddos as we looked at the grand homes and fun displays. Every year I pick a house, stand in front of it, take a pic, post it to social media and say "Merry Christmas from my home to yours!". Most people know I'm kidding but some don't and it's always funny to get the "I didn't know you were a bajillionaire" reactions. 



Christmas Day was sweet. It was hard not to be with our family in Louisiana, but with Jack being not even 2 months old it was just a little too difficult to coordinate travel logistics. But we had a sweet morning here at the house with cinnamon rolls and coffee and our babies. Here's Ellie after she opened her gifts:


She's been asking me for a "neck-a-lace" for a long time now so she was thrilled when she pulled this pink one out of her stocking. She also received a little Doc McStuffins animal vet kit and some Sofia characters. She also got a craft set, some Chapstick of her very own (I'm tired of her smushing mine down to a nub!) and some new games for her LeapPad. It was fun to watch her open them!

Jack got some rattles and some pajamas and some Baby Einstein toys. He seemed pretty pleased as well. We are so thankful to have him with us this Christmas. Here he is enjoying his loot.... or staring at the ceiling fan. Either one!


We spent the rest of the day at my parents' house with my sisters and the kiddos and my wonderful mom and dad - and it was just a really nice, relaxing day. It was approximately 90 degrees outside so it felt super Christmas-y and seasonal as you can imagine. 

The weather is trying to redeem itself, however, as today there should be a windchill here of 32 degrees. MAKE UP YOUR MIND, TEXAS. 

Thankfully, we spent the Sunday indoors taking down Christmas and tackling house projects that we have been meaning to get done. The utility room is cleaned out, the papers in the office are filed, Grant cleaned the closet (BLESS HIM) and I did about 2 months worth of laundry. Okay, 2 months might be an exaggeration but it ain't that far from the truth.

Jack is going to be 8 weeks old in a few days and we are just madly in love with that boy. Even at 4am. I'm working on a "Newborn Must Haves" post that I plan on publishing in the next few days - there have definitely been some things that we just couldn't live without. 

I couldn't let December come to a close without posting an "I'm alive" post - so yes, I am alive. I'm sorry it's been so long. I usually write when the kids are sleeping and I'm feeling inspired. It's a RARITY that they are sleeping at the same time and due to the lack of sleep I am inspired next to never so I seized this opportunity!

Happy last week of 2015! 



Thursday, December 3, 2015

Newborn Days: The Days are Long But the Nights are Longer

Tomorrow Jack will officially be one month old. On one hand, I feel like he's been around a lot longer than that. On the other hand, I can't think of what we've been doing for a whole month. We haven't gone anywhere! We haven't done anything!

Oh yeah.... I've been sitting in this house snuggling this little bubby:



It's been sweet. Combined with the frequent feedings, the cold and rainy weather, and the fact that Jack hasn't gotten any shots yet, we've been spending a ton of time cooped up in the house. We've had such sweet family time.

The tree is up,


The stockings are up,


And Ellie is finally healthy again!

That was the cold that just would not go away.

We have ventured out a few times... to my parent's house for Thanksgiving, to BabiesRUs for a few necessities.... the other day the kids were both asleep in the car:



That lasted for over 30 minutes. That was a straight up gift from God. I mean it. Sleeping babies and Christmas music and no talking. It was glorious!

A lot of people are asking "so.... how's it going?" Here's what's going on around here:

Jack is a really good baby..... about 22 hours of the day.

Between 7pm-11pm he usually has a few very unsettled hours. Lots of squirming and fussing and crying and screaming - it's hard to get him settled down. I'm not sure what exactly is happening but by the time I feed him his next bottle he usually calms.

He wakes twice a night to eat and will usually go right back to sleep. Every once in awhile if he slept a whole lot during the day he will have some wide awake hours from 2-4am and he wants to have a staring contest.

He also is on some kind of cruel schedule where he will only poop between the hours of 12am and 4:30am. Never during the day. Only in the middle of the night. It's very special.

At night he will go 4 hours between feedings and that is a blessing. I am quite tired when Ellie comes down to visit at 7:00am, however I do a really excellent job of parenting and I give her the iPad and she plays for an hour while I sleep a little more. Some call that laziness, and I would agree. MAMA NEEDS TO SLEEP.

As of right now, Ellie is at school, Grant is in his office working and Jack is in my office with me while I'm writing this blog.

He's sweet.



I'm eager for the next few weeks - I feel like babies kinda turn a corner around 6 weeks and a lot changes. I'm ready for less frequent feedings and perhaps some sleeping longer stretches in the night. I'm also ready for him to "play" with me - the smiles and the giggles and the cooing. It's my favorite.

But for now, I'll take the snuggles!