Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011

2011 was a wonderful year for our family.  We remodeled two bedrooms as our family grew and changed.  We watched as our little boy turned three years old and our new baby girl was born.  We traveled to the Outer Banks and celebrated as my sister married John.  We have watched Jack become braver and braver in the water during his swimming classes.  We visited the farm and a couple of zoos and have learned many things about animals.  We've celebrated holidays and birthdays and soaked up time with our families.  We've snuggled and napped and loved.

Jan-April 2011
Photobucket
Photobucket

The above collages are just snapshots of our year, but seeing as how I take hundreds of pictures each month, about five per month to sum up our year seemed appropriate:)   

Bring on 2012:)

Happy New Year, Everybody!

Christmas Memories

I know they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes I think that's true.  And as pleased as I am with the way our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day pictures turned out, there are a few things I want to remember about this Christmas that I might forget one day if I didn't write them down.  And time is ticking...it seems silly to write about Christmas at the beginning of 2012, so here goes:

* If I'm being honest, I usually keep Jack in school for a few days over my winter break so that I have some Mommy-time and to get things done around the holiday, but this year, I decided to keep both of my babies home with me the entire time I was off.  And I'm so glad I did!  We had fun together - getting ready for Christmas, wrapping presents, baking cookies, napping, watching movies, playing with new toys, visiting Sport Bounce and the mall - it really has been a blast.  I've loved every minute of it, and I think they did too.  Although Jack has mentioned his friends at school, and I think he misses it a tiny bit - although I think it pains him to admit it:)

* This year we celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our families a tad on the earlier side for us.  Usually we save our family get-togethers for the evenings, but that can be exhausting and hard to do with two, tiny babes, so on Christmas Eve we gathered at noon, and on Christmas Day we began our festivities at three.  It was so wonderful!  The kids were well-behaved, no one was falling asleep, and best of all, we had time with our families, but also time as our tiny, little family of four on both nights.  Loved, loved, loved it:)  Christmas Eve stories and Christmas baths - we've never had the chance to do this before, and it was great.  I hope we do it this way for years to come!

* Jack was at the perfect age this year for Christmas.  His first year he was too little to really comprehend what was happening around him and then the last two years opening presents has been pain-stakingly slow as he wanted to play with each toy he opened for hours at a time before opening his next gift.  We didn't even make it to stockings the last two years, but this year?  Perfection.  He was so adorable.  He'd open something a tiny bit and then say, "Oh.     My.     Goodness.     Gracious," or, "This is just what I wanted!"  He loved looking under the tree for gift tags with a "J" on them, although the whole "From Jack" kind of threw him for a loop:)

* Several times throughout the holiday I have caught our little man snuggling, kissing, and being as sweet as can be to his tiny sister without any coaxing at all.  Just naturally thinking of her and being kind to her.  Makes this mama's heart melt...that's all I can say.

* As I've been soaking up these last few mornings of nursing my baby girl, I've paid extra-close attention to her dewy skin in the wee hours of the morning.  She has the softest, barely-there, fuzziest eyebrows, and I just love to press our little foreheads together or run my cheek over her tiny brow.  I'm also in love with the way that her head drops like a lead weight if you put the pacifier in her mouth as she's falling asleep.  Rests her little head on my shoulder...I can't get enough.  This baby thing is going by way too quickly for this mama who's pretty sure this is the last baby she'll have.  I have to soak up these moments...

* And, by the way, did I mention that I got an iPhone for Christmas?

It was such a perfect, family holiday, and I can't wait to spend many more with the ones I love!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Merry Christmas to Me

That's right:)

On Christmas morning, I found out that my present was on backorder.  Not only we were waiting for the item to be in stock, but we were also waiting for the FedEx man to bring my package directly to our house.

And this morning, right after I put Hannah down for a nap, and I could've killed the person at the door for ringing the doorbell, hence causing the puppies to bark like crazy and Jack to go running through the whole house at full speed, the FedEx man delivered my most special package.  (And for the record, as soon as I saw it was the FedEx man, I decided to let him live to see another day, and eagerly opened the front door - pajamas, sans makeup, and all.)

It was then I signed for the package and went squealing into the house like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert (and for the record, I have Bieber fever.  I can't help it - I like his music.  And his hair.)  And then I realized I couldn't possibly open my present without Brad.  So I promptly called him and told him he had to come home.  He could not:(

So finally, at around 7:30 pm tonight, I was able to open my present.







Oh, happy day.  

(And does anyone else love Apple packaging as much as I do?!)

Now...if you'll excuse me - I'm going to go play with my new phone.

5 Months Old

Baby Bear,

On Christmas Eve, you turned five months old!


Mommy doesn't think it's fair that the time is flying by so quickly, but that's the truth.  You are no longer a tiny, little newborn, but rather a quickly growing little girl.


You weigh about 14 1/2 pounds and are still wearing six month clothing, but probably not for much longer.  At your last visit, you were in the 50th percentile for weight, height, and head circumference.  At this point, Jack was still measuring above average for height and head circumference, but at his current age he is in the 25th percentile for all of the above.  We'll see how things pan out with you, sweet girl. 


You had a little tummy bug this month, so we had to take a step back with the solids; however, right now, you are almost solely on formula bottles minus the one nursing session in the wee hours of the morning that Mommy just can't seem to give up.  You have rice cereal in your bedtime bottle, and on Tuesday we started giving you cereal in your lunch bottle.  For the first time ever, you successfully ate from a spoon Tuesday at dinner time - some rice cereal and sweet potatoes which you liked a lot.  At least, we think you liked it.  You kept making faces, but then opening up that tiny mouth of yours over and over again.


This past month, you have perfected your rolling skills.  You can roll perfectly from your back to your belly, and you do it almost immediately after being put down on your back.  We've even found you this way in your crib a few times (this morning, in fact!), which is rather new.  Sometimes you roll the other way or from your belly to your back, but not consistently. 


You still laugh and smile a ton, and we love it.  That full, belly laugh just fills up our house, and we couldn't be happier about it.


You are very busy taking everything in - sights, sounds, and feeling.  You are easily distracted and love to stop what you're doing and take in whatever is around you, especially Daddy, Jack, and the puppy dogs.  You're always grabbing for something.  You love to tug on Mommy's hair, Jack's jammies, and Belle's tail!


You've started reaching for toys, and I've caught you once moving a toy from hand to hand.  Your fine motor skills are developing, my sweet girl, and I'm so proud of you!  Just the other day, you found the stripes on your tights and were pulling on your own fingers:)  Kept you busy for the better part of half an hour!


You love to try to stand when someone is supporting your weight, and you seem interested in sitting up, but your little back just isn't strong enough yet.  Soon enough, my love.


We're in love with your baby blue eyes, and all of your rolls.  My goodness, do you have rolls!


You are super drooly, you love to put everything straight into your mouth, and you try to blow bubbles as often as you can.


To say we are smitten is an understatement.


Did I mention that you can grab onto your tootsies, but that you haven't yet figured out that you can chew on them?  Jack loved to chew on his piggers when he was five months old, and I'm sure you will too!


You're even cute when you're crying:)  (And have I ever told you that we're in love with your elfish ears? Because we absolutely are.)


We love you, sweet girl.  More than words can say!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Wordless Wednesday


Jack 2008                                     Hannah 2011


Sunday, December 25, 2011

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Joy to the World

May you find love and laughter on this very Merry Christmas...