Happy New Year/Let's Catch Up On All The Things

I've been incredibly delinquent here, I know. I become aware that I need to write when blog posts begin in my head while I'm driving, in the shower, taking a walk. Then it's a matter of actually sitting and writing. Actually, that's not the hard part. The hard part is making sure I have some new cute pictures! Seriously. That's my hang up with writing. This blog is not really about food anymore, it's about life, and I feel that if anybody reads it's because they'd like an update on our life and really, they just want to see some cute pictures of Caleb. I don't blame them. I'll try harder, I promise. Sometimes though, I might just write without pictures. My dear friend in Virginia does that and I love reading her posts just as much. So I'm reminding myself of that now.

We had a wonderful Christmas, a really wonderful Christmas. This was the first Christmas day I've spent with in-laws and frankly, it was magical. I was slightly worried ahead of time: at 29 years old, this was going to be the first Christmas I spent without my parents. Would it feel like Christmas? Would I miss them and the snow and our traditions terribly? The answers came easy. Yes, it felt like Christmas. Yes, I missed them (a little) and I did miss the snow but it was Christmas. It was full of the people that I fell in love with (yes, I fell in love with all of you, not just your son/brother/cousin/nephew/grandchild) three years ago. These people played with my son, let us sleep in, let me leave early to accommodate naps, babysat so I could go shopping with my sister-in-law (my partner in crime in that family) showered us with gifts and generally made it one of the most wonderful holidays I've ever had. I was rested (taking the baby monitor made all the difference in the world!) and relaxed. My son was so taken with his extended family that he didn't ever noticed the lit up Christmas tree covered in tinsel. We were all happy and at peace, and Caleb slept like a rock at every nap and night from all the playing!

We came home from North Carolina on a mission to close on our house before the end of the year! At 1pm on December 31st we started signing our closing papers. I haven't mentioned the house on here, but this has been in the works since before Thanksgiving. We are so excited. The house is perfect for us, not too big, not too small, a large yard with a garden, garage for Brian's shop, etc. We move next weekend (more family! Caleb's first birthday!) and cannot wait.

Caleb turns 1 in a week and that deserves a post (with pictures!) all it's own. Suffice to say, the time has gone WAY too fast, but I can't say I'm especially sad. Caleb gets more fun to be around every day. He has become this 24 lb walking mass of happiness and love. I'm biased, but I'm not exaggerating. Yes, we've got moments with glimpses of the tantrums ahead, but in general he is a happy, loving kid. His new thing is hugs. For the people he knows well, his family, teachers and us, he walks from person to person giving hugs and kisses. In the ten minutes it took me to get him out the door at school the other day, I watched him give out 4 hugs- 2 to me, 1 to each of the caretakers. Who gives 4 hugs in 10 minutes? Wouldn't be amazing if adults did that?? Now when Brian and I do the welcome home hug & kiss, Caleb runs over to us, hugging our legs, like "let's make this a family hug, guys!" He has brought so much joy in our lives in the past year, it's a million times better than we ever imagined.

I'll stop here, we've got a busy weekend of us prepping for the move. We are not exactly fully packed...

Quiet Weekend

When my friends started having babies I was surprised by how often they mentioned an illness running through their house, or cancelled plans to stay at home and be quiet with a sickly kiddo. Now that I have a kid, in daycare no less, I completely understand. Babies love on other babies and share their snot and bam! You're at home all weekend. When Brian and I got married, our understanding was that church is a non-negotiable: you have to be dead or puking in order to miss church. Caleb's getting over a cold + ear infection + antibiotics = poop = awful diaper rash = random crying & refusing to eat. Also maybe teething? We can't quite tell. Anyway, our visions of Lessons and Carols at our church on Sunday morning went straight out the window and we had a quiet weekend in. We did drag Caleb to Home Depot on Saturday afternoon, but that's it.

It ended up being a fantastic weekend. We had some new friends over for pizza on Friday night, then played with our baby, shopped for Christmas presents and rested up. Here are some snapshots from our quiet weekend at home.

 Teaching Caleb the ways of Saturday Fantasy Football prep. And yes, he's gnawing on a pizza crust there.

 Caleb's Christmas Eve jammies, purchased at Target. Also, turns out Target is SUPER quiet on a Sunday morning- who knew??

 

Brian's favorite time of the week: the countdown to RedZone coverage!

 Daddy, come play with me! Mama's no substitute.

 Daddy, more pizza peeezzzzz

Not Ashamed

Sunday afternoons have their own rhythm in our house. Hanging out in the nursery at church always tires Caleb – so much stimulation – and he often naps immediately after lunch. This usually means he’s up by 3pm, which means we’ve got him for 3 to 4 hours before bedtime. We love playing with Caleb, but on the weekends he’s still a 2 hour awake time baby. He stays awake longer at school, but without all the school stimulation he sleeps more on the weekends. So Sunday afternoons after naptime can become a long hard stretch where he’s tiring by dinnertime. I’m usually trying to make dinner, which leaves Brian to entertain our tired baby boy. Yesterday I pushed to get dinner into the oven for a long roast just as he was getting up from his nap. It’s my new goal- make something in the slow cooker or a long slow roast so I can focus on playing and helping with Caleb. We skyped with Nana and Papaw Whale for an hour, and it was still only 4:45 when we started to feel a little helpless. Caleb was starting to get fussy and we had given him a snack and his sippy cup, read books and pulled out new toys. It was too early to do dinner. I finally said to Brian, “honestly, this is when I would turn on the tv if he were older.” Brian agreed and I said “you don’t think he’d sit though the Charlie Brown Christmas Special…do you?” 

Now look. I read the NYTimes every day, especially the parenting section. I read the blogs. I’m aware that a lot of tv stimulation isn’t good for kids, especially babies. But here’s the thing: If Caleb’s awake, he won’t stop moving. Sometimes I just need him to rest his tiny little body. In my defense, this wasn’t a case of tv babysitter syndrome. I got Caleb’s pacifier and blankie and we all cuddled together on the couch watching a beloved children’s Christmas program. Caleb would bounce up and down to the music, occasionally laughing at something – I don’t know what considering he doesn’t understand more than the word “no” or his own name, but he found something amusing. It was such a nice family time and he sat quietly, resting for another round of play and dinnertime. Dinner was its own struggle- maybe he has a tooth coming in? Or his tummy hurt? All he wanted was his bottle and bed, to be honest. 

But now I’ve got this nice memory of the three of us hanging out together on a Sunday late afternoon, showing Caleb A Charlie Brown Christmas for the very first time, him clutching his blankie with his tiny hands sitting on his Daddy’s lap. And there’s no way I’m ashamed of that.

Giving So Much Thanks

I could write a really long post about our trip back to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to spend a few relaxed days with my family. It was emotional to sit in our home church again. I was so glad to see a couple really good friends. Caleb adored hanging out with our family. He ate everything he could get his chubby little hands on, and I mean that - he really prefers to eat with his hands! Turkey, green beans, blueberries, mashed potatoes, cranberry relish. These were all big hits. He took his first steps on Thanksgiving day, and I was so glad we were all there to witness it. My stylist and good friend, who's been cutting my hair since I was 17 and did my hair on my wedding day, gave Caleb his first, much needed, haircut. We had fast, uneventful drives to and from Wisconsin. There was so much to be grateful for.

On the ride, Caleb was a total champ, sleeping most of the trip.

I'm coming for you!

Double fisting french fries. He loves them. We're great parents, obviously.

*Brian and I got new phones on Black Friday, so I'm somehow missing most of my Thanksgiving photos!