We spent 4 days in Washington with my family for Christmas. It was a whirlwind, but we definitely enjoyed ourselves! Although, lesson learned - no more 10pm flights, the little guy's schedule is WAY off...still.
Krispy Kreme for breakfast.
Yum, sugar!
Lots of Grandma and Grandpa time (although, sadly my dad was REALLY sick Christmas Day and its basically circulated through my family since then)
Marshall's first time in the hot tub (don't worry - we turned it down to 90 degrees so it was like warm bath water). He enjoyed the "pool" several times over the weekend.
Sleeping!
Lots of wrapping paper for baby enjoyment!
Lots of snuggles.
And lots of time enjoying Marshall's first Christmas.
It was a rather chaotic Christmas - my sister in-law had knee replacement surgery 3 days before Christmas, and ended back in the ER Christmas morning with an infection - and got checked back into the hospital for 3 days. My dad had a terrible stomach bug Christmas Day and ended up in bed all day, my mom got sick Christmas night ... and after we left my sister, brother and niece all ended up with the same bug! It was very similar to the bug we had a week and a half ago .... sure hope we didn't spread the germs! I was still very happy to spend time with family, and was happy to see some extended family that we don't see often.
Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas!! I'm ready for the New Year!
A lot has happened in December, and I'll need to do a more comprehensive post - but for now, I'm just posting one photo. Not a great photo (as usual) but here is our annual holiday photo (taken at my company holiday party on December 9th). Previous years photos here and here.
Also, our three year wedding anniversary was yesterday. We didn't really celebrate, but it was yesterday nonetheless. We went for a nice dinner as a family of three at Macaroni Grill. We had plans to go to Pappadeux's (spelling??) instead but with the snow coming down hard, we decided it was best to stay close to home. Maybe next year we will actually do something.
Well, we are busy preparing for Christmas and our trip to be with my family in WA for the weekend. We are super excited (and busy!) - so until after our trip.....
So I know I set a goal a while back to do 100 posts in the next year ... and thus far I am failing miserably. To reach that goal, I would have had to do about two posts a week, when I am still averaging about one post a month! I still would like to reach this goal - so I guess I better start blogging more! 3-4 posts PER WEEK would be ideal, but lets not get our hopes up. :)
Folks, this is crazy .... I have a 5 month old child. He truly is more of a child and less of a baby these days (or at least to me). He eats food now (not just formula). He LOVES his peas and carrots and sweet potatoes. He bounces in his jumperoo like a kid on crack. He adores that toy- see proof in video below. He sleeps on his belly every night, and I've come to accept it. He scooches all over the place on his back - and I keep checking for bald spots on the back of his head because of this. He doesn't fight sleep as often anymore - and bedtime has become quite lovely, in fact. Getting up in the middle of the night is not quite the norm anymore, and surely staying up an hour in the middle of the night is very rare these days. He loves being read to, but really - he loves to reach out and touch the pages of the book (cardboard pages have become a necessity). If we are eating dinner at the table (or restaurant) - Marshall prefers to be in on the action too. He wants to sit on my lap during meals so he can be there. He likes to pull plates and drinks toward him. His "really cool toys" from the early days like playmats and regular bouncers don't get used as much anymore. He can sit up in the corner of the couch by himself for quite some time. One of these days he'll advance to no support while sitting - hopefully by Christmas. His teeth are coming in - and I fully expect to just see them arrive one day out of the blue. He is in a very cuddly phase right now - and I love it. He still prefers Mom for sleepy/cuddle time and Dad for play/giggle time. He is my sweet, sensitive boy and we can see his personality emerge more and more everyday - and I love it!
Will captured this photo. Marshall has always been the most finicky sleeper. He must be cuddled to fall asleep most of the time (unless in the car) - but in the middle of his jumping craziness it went silent. Shocking!! He actually fell asleep on his own!! We have reached a new phase, folks.
Both M and I have been sick this past week, and the next few photos show that. This first one is particularly sad. Don't mind the sicky, drooly grossness on his chin. Poor kiddo.
Post-bath. This is one happy kid. We've been using the "soothing bath" with the menthol smell. Its wonderful for sick babies. :)
Sick mom and baby at Olive Garden for lunch. Nothing like soup and breadsticks when you feel crummy!
He wasn't so sure about the no hands thing.
This video was taken Thanksgiving day...
I noticed today that this blog used to consist entirely of photos of Will and myself. We no longer take photos of just the two of us anymore. We rarely take photos together at all anymore. Another goal - get more photos of the husband and wife - not just baby. Probably should get more photos of daddy with baby too, and not just mommy with baby - haha. I also pretty much suck at taking photos of events now, too. Another goal - take more photos during events of people other than just Marshall. We got a total of two pictures on Thanksgiving. One which was just the food - and the other of just the women who made the food. Haha.
Let me tell you, just three words - crock pot stuffing. Yum-O.
I will forever make stuffing in a crock pot only.
From left to right - my sister Janelle, sister in-law Shannon and mother in-law Sheryl, then me. The boys didn't get a photo. Sorry boys! :)
Thanksgiving this year was pretty awesome. Low-key and delicious. Will and I even got to take a nap! With Marshall's sleep schedule, and the fact that he doesn't usually nap longer than 30-45 min. we never nap. Will's mom and sister watched Marshall for us while we napped after our huge dinner and it was heavenly!
The next morning, my sister Janelle and I did the Black Friday thing. Well, at midnight and 5 am we did the Black Friday thing. Kohl's at midnight (for a new crock pot) and Home Depot at 5am (for a new pre-lit tree). Yes, I got one the the last ones! Black Friday while having a baby under 1 is difficult. Marshall didn't go with me, but just knowing that I couldn't sleep all day after shopping all night was the tough part. Thankfully, we were not out all night and luckily its only one day a year.
I love Thanksgiving - but I love when Thanksgiving is over, because I can then officially start celebrating Christmas (because I technically start before Thanksgiving, but it is finally acceptable the following day!). I will do a better job of documenting Christmas than I did of Thanksgiving. Well, at least I'll try. :)
