Christmas Weekend 2015

Another year, another wonderful Christmas...probably the most magical yet! It was full of family, friends, good food, and festive tunes. Our Christmas festivities began Christmas eve. Santa still had some wrapping to do, there were a few good kitchen dance parties while jamming out to holiday jams, and baking to be done. Except our oven decided to put a wrench in our plan and not work! just our luck!! Didn't stop us from packing up our baking essentials, and our cookie dough and heading over to Gammy's to bake our yummy cookies. After all Santa needed some homemade cookies...until we got home that night and realized we had forgot them! good thing we had other store bought cookies in the house.

It was so much fun playing Santa this year. "Are the kids sleeping? Okay you eat the cookies and drink the milk and I'll go munch on the carrots!" 

Christmas morning was just perfect. Stella ran to the back door to see if the reindeer ate the carrots and then to the cookies and milk to find an empty plate with nothing but sprinkles and an empty mason jar just tinted with milk residue left behind. The rest of the morning was spent opening presents and drinking mimosas. 

Rick and I always said once we had littles all the Christmas day traveling would come to a halt and I'm so glad that we all, mostly the kiddies got to spend Christmas day in their jammies (princess tutus and crowns for Stella) , playing with all their new goodies. My parents and brothers came over for Christmas brunch and Rick's parents and sister came over for Christmas dinner. No oven? No problem. Deep Fried turkey! It was goooo-oood! It was such a great day. 

Santa brought Stella a SollyDolly wrap for her baby. Now we can match and she can also be hands free while we clean ;)

These two stayed up way past their bedtime, ate way too many goodies (Stella did at least ;)),  and had such a great Christmas weekend. I am so sad that all the holiday fun is over. Now we just have to figure out how we are going to get this tree out of the house. I am sure I will be finding needles from this tree until the next Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2015!

and merry Christmas sweet angel...I have been watching your lights twinkle each night on your tree.

New Happenings

Christmas week is upon us! It is so easy to get caught up in all of the exciting Holiday happenings. We have definitely been busy over here filling our house with Christmas magic and doing everything festive! We finally made a batch of our holiday trail mix, had our annual Christmas party with some good ole' fashion white elephant, and my shopping is officially done! Rick and I were even able to squeeze in a round of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation drinking game since both kiddies napped in sync yesterday! Now that's a kick ass Sunday Funday! The movie alone is a classic but throw on some funny rules and grab a nice cold brewsky- that's clutch!

The National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation drinking game Rules:

1. Drink every time Ellen calls Clark “Sparky”

2. Drink whenever someone is wearing an ugly Christmas sweater

3. Drink whenever someone mentions Clark’s Christmas bonus or the swimming pool.

4. Drink any time Clark has an awkward moment.

5. Drink whenever Clark is wearing sports-themed clothing.

6. Drink any time someone refers to Rusty as “Rus.”  Take two drinks if they have to yell it.

7. Drink whenever Clark endangers himself and/or others in the pursuit of the perfect Christmas.

8. Drink any time Clark has “crazy eyes.”

9. Drink every time an advent calendar is opened.

10.  Drink any time the Griswold’s neighbors complain.

11. Drink any time someone or an animal messes with the Christmas tree.

12. Drink any time cousin Eddie says something weird.

13. Drink every time Aunt Bethany speaks or sings or just…appears…

But, on a not holiday note here is a quick update on more general happenings:

As I said before Ricky is now sleeping in his crib at night. We had a good solid 5 nights where he had his last feeding at 8:00ish and went right to sleep in his crib and even slept through the night. I was in heaven! Apparently, he didn't want me to get too cozy in my bed because we are back to waking up one to two times a night and not just for a put the soothie back in the mouth but for a feeding! He is ravenous, practically acts like he hasn't eaten in ages! The teething is also in full force- the gumming, chewing his hands and drool have made their arrival and are mostly likely here to stay for awhile! I learned at his last doctor appt that it takes a tooth on average 2 months to move from the bottom of the gums to the tippy top of the gums. Ugh! Some of Ricky's favorites lately are the bright colors of Mickey, bright colors in the books that we read, the books get him all giddy, and bath time is a hit with both of them. I love bathing them together, until Stella freaks because Ricky pees in the tub! There is just something about freshly bathed babies that makes me want to snuggle and cuddle them like somethin' fierce. Not sure if Ricky was blessed with my dry skin or if it may be from his dairy intolerance but I gave this new Shea Moisture lotion a try and I am absolutely obsessed with it. It makes even his driest patches feel so soft and silky and the smell?? Sooo good! I have also started using it on Stella. Time to stock up on it!

Stella has been sleeping in our bed for some of the night for the past two nights. It is so sad when your babe wakes up in a panic from a bad dream. One minute she is sleeping soundly and the next she is awake screaming "no no no!" with arms flailing. I literally shot up out of bed and ran up those stairs as fast and I could. Once she wrapped her arms around me so tight I knew I was bringing her down to sleep next to me. i know what it's like trying to fall asleep after having a bad dream. Stella tells me all the time what a good Mommy she is to her baby. She takes care of her baby doll all day. i have lost count how many times a day I dress baby after she undresses her to change her poopy diaper. She puts her night night, tells me to be quiet because she is sleeping and to tip toe around the house, and tries to nurse her baby like mommy does to ricky when she wakes up. She doesn't miss a beat. Since the temps are weirdly warm, we are wearing our warm cozies inside instead. House coats, snow hats and slippers for the win! 

and let me end by saying..."I swear every new article of clothing that I wash and put Ricky in, he has to blow out his diaper to christen it!" 

A New Update and Other Thoughts

Right after I wrote Ricky's 4 month update I feel like so much changed in those few days following. We also had his 4 month doctor appointment and learned of his new stats :) Over all my baby boy is still as healthy as can be...and chubby as can be :) Ricky is now 4 and a half months and weighing in at 17 lbs 9 ounces and is in the 80th percentile. He is 25 1/2 inches tall and is in the 50th percentile for height. And his head circumference? 100th percentile baby...must be that big brain in there!

I began putting Ricky in his crib for his naps and found him to be very comfortable in it. With no preparation or thought before, one night I just decided it was time to give the night a try. So I followed our same nighttime routine, except I placed him in his crib instead of the rock and play. I honestly forgot how hard it was and what an adjustment it is. It was clearly much harder for me than it was for him. I remember laying in bed, just staring at his empty rock and play practically in tears. i feel like i just brought him home from the hospital and he is already sleeping in his crib. The first handful of nights I got little no sleep; I stared at the monitor and worried. those few steps between us felt like miles and miles. The nights have been going great. I am beginning to sleep, and he is sleeping soundly. He is now going to bed around 8p.m after his last feeding for the night. He was waking around 1 a.m for his feeding and going right back to sleep once placed in his crib and swaddled tightly. I really wasn't going to share this because I think I am going to jinx myself, but the last two nights Ricky slept through the night. 8 1/2 hours Sunday night and 10 1/2 hours last night; he fell asleep at 8:30 and didn't wake until 7:00a.m!  I am still a firm believer of a consistent bedtime routine and lots of love before bedtime! So, crib-check!

Ricky has found his voice, and it is so damn cute! He makes these loud screech noises and the facial expressions that go along with them are priceless. Ricky also rolled over from his belly to his back. All of these milestones make me feel so proud. But to be completely truthful, my favorite milestone thus far is the eye contact that he gives me and the smiles that follow. his way of telling me that he loves me. 

A few other thoughts...

Stella's words- "Daddy, I go peepee in my undies Mommy says No No; Mommy pissed!" i guess i really need to stop talking under my breath because someone has really good hearing! 

It really warms my heart that such simple things like wearing her towel like Mommy does are enough to make her little day. It doesn't take much to make her happy. Sitting her on the bathroom counter while I put my make up on and applying a little blush to her little cheeks, pouring a little of my fenugreek tea in another tea mug just for her and sipping it together, wearing my shoes, are all free things that feel like a million dollars to her. She feels rich and I am able to make her feel rich with these simple things. I try my best to make her little day every single day. 

10 days until CRIMAS! As Stella would say!

Our Santa Visit

We went to visit Santa yesterday. All morning, as well as the ride to the mall Stella and I chatted about how she was going to tell him about Tinsel her elf and what kind of presents she wanted for Christmas. Things were great as we strolled into the mall- still chatting about how excited we were to see Santa. I could see from a distance that there was no line- not a single person! I pushed the stroller onto the green turf where Santa was sitting. As soon as I unbuckled Stella and took her out of her seat- the meltdown began! I mean full on sobbing trying to escape my arms! I saw the complete fear in her eyes. I proceeded to unbuckle Ricky and handed him to Santa to show Stella he was nice and gentle and that Ricky wasn't crying. Ricky could care less. I tried to hold Stella myself and sat in the first picture with her, still didn't help the situation at all. I didn't feel any pressure to buy the pictures...they were not was I was hoping and I wanted both kids in it. So I took both kids out and was going to call it quits. However, I decided to give it another try. I knelt down to Stella and had a little chat with her about how she needed to tell Santa what she wanted or else he wouldn't know what to bring her. I asked her if she would sit next to him and take one picture for me. there may have been a little bribe in there somewhere ;)  So we headed back to see Santa for round two. This was the best shot! I'll take it! All in all, it was a pretty traumatizing day for little miss Stella. :) 

As far Tinsel our Elf, she has made it back from the North Pole to our home every single morning! To see how excited Stella gets each morning to find her, makes it all worth it. One of the first things out her mouth in the morning is "I find Tinsel". Totally not going to lie- I am usually doing my Tinsel work in the a.m. before she wakes up. Stella also knows and understands not to touch her because she is magical! Each year just gets more and more fun around here!

We also made our gingerbread house that Tinsel brought Stella and we baked a batch of holiday cupcakes. Stella loves to put the sprinkles on them. 

I said in a previous post that Stella sings holiday songs all day, everyday! Here are a few short clips. Santa may or may not have gotten her a karaoke machine :) And Santa may or may not regret that one day..haha

Just two weeks left until Christmas!

totally off topic...but those yummy baby thighs! 

The 2015 Tree and other Holiday Shenanigans

In between cleaning off Stella's little art projects that Rick and I found around the house, we definitely added a bit of Christmas magic to our home this weekend. This really is the most wonderful time of year.  I have always loved this time of year, but with littles it makes it that much more magical. Stella is in awe with everything to do with Christmas and sings Santa Claus is Coming to Town all.day.long. I swear it's on repeat. This weekend we checked off a few things from our holiday bucket list. Family pictures for our holiday cards, check! Picked out our tree and cut her down, check! Decorated our tree, check! Tinsel our Elf has been here each morning since December 1st! Woohoo to me, and that will be another post! 

On Saturday we took our holiday pictures in the morning and headed over to the tree farm in the afternoon. It really was the perfect day to pick out a tree. It was beautiful. Sunny and cool. Stella was amazed by all the trees, so amazed that she ended up playing in the dirt!  After a bit of a walk to find the perfect tree, we knew we wanted a big one, Stella pointed to one and said 'this one Daddy, cut it down!"

Oh this tree. It will always be remembered.

We decided to go with a Norway this year because the branches are stronger and would hold our heavier ornaments. Not to mention I loved the shade of green and the smell was much stronger. This tree was big. Rick said he could cut off a few inches and it would fit. Not only was it big in height, but it was full, all around!

So Rick cut her down and Stella gave it her almighty pull. Her words exactly- "too heavy!"

Not quite sure how we got this sucker in the house but Rick and I carried it in, barely.  Four cut up arms, a ripped shirt and sappy hands later she was in the house. holy needles. We managed to get the heavy beast in the stand and untied her, Griswald style. Stella was mesmerized. It did not look that big at the tree farm! And if that wasn't enough we didn't like the tree in that spot and moved it to the other side of the room. 

The tree was finally up and in the spot. I began to strand the lights on her and got three quarters of the way and ran out. I sat on the floor next to the tree to try and change a bulb on a dead strand of lights. The tree came crashing down! Holy mess! With the tree already in the stand I was no help to Rick standing it up. basically I was not strong enough, since the stand kept sliding. Rick's Dad came over and helped him get the tree back up and they wired it to my curtain rod anchor. 

Sunday afternoon I managed to sneak out by myself to pick up more lights. We hung the lights again and ornaments. Stella did help with the lights at first.

But eventually had more fun playing in the tub of Christmas crap than actually decorating the tree. After wrestling the tinsel, the only thing left was the star, which we weren't even 100% sure it was going to fit. Rick stood on a tall chair, held onto the curtain rod and carefully leaned in to place the star. The effing wire holding the tree snapped and broke the curtain rod holder! The tree was once again loose and top heavy!  Another phone call to Rick's Dad. They moved the tree fully decorated and had to replace the curtain rod anchors. All said and done, our tree is star free! You can't make this shit up! 

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree

We will be cleaning up needles and tinsel for the next 365 days, atleast! 

And for the record, all of Stella's coloring tools are under lock and key and require supervision! 

Happy 4 Months Baby Boy

Dear Ricky,

I feel like you have changed so much in this past month. You are rolling over, you are grabbing things and putting them into your mouth and your reactions when people talk to you and say your name are adorable. So many times when Rick, Stella or I talk to you I feel like you try to talk back to us. I am so excited that you are here and get to enjoy this holiday season with us. It is going to be so much better because of you :) Watching you and Stella interact gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling inside. She loves you so so much and you make it known that you love her too. Happy four months baby boy. We still think you are just the perfect little addition to our family ;) 

All my Love.

Mommy

Weight: a healthy 16 lbs 11 oz

Height: We will find out December 14th.

Head Circumference:  

Appetite:  You are a very efficient eater.  You are eating about 4-6 ounces every 3-4 hours; same as last month. It takes you no longer than 15 minutes to nurse until empty; however it takes you much longer with a bottle. You usually wake up once a night to nurse but lately (I am blaming it on your cold) you have been waking up twice. 

Clothing Size: You are currently wearing some 3-6 month and 6-12 month clothing and you are in size 2 diapers.

Milestones: You rolled over from your belly to your back!! You are also grabbing things on your own much more and bringing them to your mouth. And when you are lounging in your swing or bouncy chair you always try to pull your upper body up to a sitting position. I am not sure whether or not the drool has anything to do with teeth...but the drool!! And we officially put you in the Einstein; your feet just touch the ground. You will be jumping before we know it! 

Thoughts:  As exhausted as I am to wake to soothe and feed you at 4:00 a.m, I am so thankful that you are laying right next to me waiting for me to do just that. 

Our routine:   Lately you have been waking up around 6:30ish(with smiles!!) and I feed you(around 7:00) while Stella is still asleep and we are still in bed. After you are done eating Stella is usually waking up for the day as well. We head out to the living room so you can play on your play mat and stretch a bit. You play until about 8ish and then take your first nap. We will be making the transition to your crib for this nap! You nurse again around 10ish and if it is bath day you take your morning bath after this feeding. Your next nap is around 11:30ish. With play and sleep inbetween your feedings are around 1:00, 4:00, and 7:30p.m. I then settle you down for bed.  I still give you a dreamfeed around 10:00/10:30p.m before I go to bed. I wake you up in our dark bedroom to feed you and change your diaper and put you right back down.  You typically wake once a night to eat between 1 and 2, but lately you have been waking up a second time around 4:00a.m. Because of your cold at the moment and all of the good antibodies in the breast milk I have been offering the second feeding when I hear you stirring at the second wake time. 

Any big changes: You took your first nap in your crib! I placed a pillow in between the mattress and the spring board so you will sleep on an incline. The acid reflux can be a beast and this should help with that. This is all very similar to what I did with Stella's crib. On another note, you had your very first cold this week. :( Since you are so little yet all I could really do was keep you as comfy as possible. Doctor appointment, warm baths, saline solution, the NoseFrida, boogie wipes and lots of snuggles. 

Your favorites: Some of your favorites at the moments are:
1. eating
2. you still love being carried in my the sollybaby wrap. 
3. ice cold teethers!

4. Your play kick mat and the mirror attached to it. 

5. When Stella or Mommy sings to you, especially Rudolph.

6.You love kicking your feet in the bathtub 

I find it so interesting to go back and read Stella's monthly updates as I write Ricky's. Just for the hell of it, here is Stella's 4 month update.

One on One Time

I love when all three of us play together. Stella and I are either playing something like store with her cash register, hopscotch with her Minnie mat, or Play Doh and Ricky is sitting with us on his play mat or in his Einstein gnawing away on a teether. Stella and I are always talking or singing to him while we play to include him and to make him smile.  Right now Rudolph seems to be his favorite song. Stella is always by his side, showing him his toys and trying to place them in his hands. As much as I love this time, I also love when I get one on one time with both kiddies. I think that quality, undivided attention is so important for both them and I. There are certain times of the day that I try my best to have that with each little. To be completely honest, it doesn't happen every single day.

Ricky usually wakes up before Stella, so him and I have a little bit of extra snuggle time in bed where he nurses, I sing him songs, and we just lay together sharing smiles. This is really a good way to start each day- those cheeky smiles get me going every single time. When I hear his 'i'm awake over here' squeaks and roll over to an ear to ear smile it melts my heart over and over again. When he moves to his own crib I am really going to miss this bad. I either prop him up on my legs and we look face to face or he lays in his boppy pillow and I lay right next to him. Most days I am able to get them to nap in sync but there are days that he is up when she naps. This is also another time during the day where him and I get play time in the living room. I sit him in his bumbo chair or Einstein and we play. I put toys in his hands and we sing songs. On nice days we may sit outside on the front porch and rock together in the rocking chair. These are the times that I get to hold him most and cuddle him. He is growing so fast I want to soak up all of these moments as much as I can.

Ricky naps throughout the day where Stella and I get play time just her and I. If Ricky is sleeping in his swing which more times than not he is at the moment, we play quietly like play-doh, have tea parties, read books, color or have a picnic. I love this time with Stella because of the age she is at. We interact, have conversation and actually play...these really are the days. It's amazing how much she can learn from our playtime together. Ricky also goes to bed for the night around 7:00 p.m. After my kitchen is cleaned up from dinner, I am free game ;) Rick, Stella and I play until she goes to bed for the night. She really loves this time. Rick and I also try to do certain things with just her like he takes her out in the evening to feed the deer-she loves this! And if one of us runs to the store we may take her for the ride and stop for a quick donut.

As much as I don't want to rush time or speed things along- I am really excited to watch them interact and play together when Ricky gets a little bigger. I can see it now "Mommy! Ricky keeps touching my things!" "Mom, Stella won't share her girlfriends!" Haha