Up and Out

Just noticed - Happy 100 posts to me!! Took me right at a year!! First Post Ever...

Turns out our little man has reflux, not a cold. Total news to me since apparently reflux can produce coughing and congestion and fussiness. Thank goodness it was just reflux though - RSV has been floating around to every baby I know and I was about convinced that's what he had and we were going to the hospital. (though he didn't have a fever, wasn't really having THAT much trouble breathing, and what I thought was throw-up was only spitting up....)

His congestion was getting infinitely worse this week - cough medicine wasn't helping break it up and he was just so unhappy and pitiful. So I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment with the pediatrician. I didn't want to take him to the doctor because when we went in early December the PA told me there was nothing wrong with and (basically that I was being one of THOSE hypochondriac moms) Well - ha! I was right! There was something wrong with my sweet little son and if he had taken half the time PA Patty did William wouldn't have had to live with it for two months.

The congestion would get better and then worse, better, worse - so for about half of the two months I thought he was doing ok. And when he was worse - I was just trying to hope for the best and secretly enjoying the two hour naps. I now feel super guilty for that - but seriously - how was I supposed to know? (especially when a medical professional writes me off - yes, I'm THAT bitter)

Good news - we'd been doing mostly right. Thickening his bottles with rice cereal - he only wants them that way, so he was self-diagnosing himself - and sucking snot out of his nose with saline water. And now we have to keep him mostly upright for about an hour after eating and prop up his mattress so he's not sleeping totally flat. (She suggested sleeping in the carseat - but there's NO WAY that would fly with pepito...) She also gave us a prescription for baby Zantac and it'll take about two weeks to really kick in.

Hopefully we'll have a super happy baby by then. It was funny - she asked how long he had been fussy and I must've had this look on my face that said forever because I didn't say anything and she said "ok, several weeks". Oops - probably shouldn't be THAT readable! Anyhow - I'm just happy that I'm not crazy, I am a good mom, and he will get better and be happy.

Different note - I had no idea that eating carrots produced bright orange poop. Very surprising.

OH - and if you've got a chance - go check out his newest pictures by Hadley at www.hadleyscott.com - client proofing - access code: meghanrumer. He was teething hardcore that day - but his faces are so cute!

Loves!

Rumer is We're Sick

...atleast I am. And William has a lot of congestion that is slowly allowing itself to be aspirated on. Good thing there is Tussin DM and bonus - long naps. 2.5 hour nap this morning.

So we aren't up to a whole lot. He plays in the walker & jumper occasionally but we aren't venturing outside for walks and I think we are both tired of being inside. Lucky me - I get to go to class and had two exams this week. Fun trying to do that foggy and snotfilled.

But atleast WalMart makes cute kleenex boxes - too bad they don't actually have lotion like advertised. My nose is raw.

Loves.

My Favorite Time of Day

It actually happens multiple times - four to five times really. William is on basically the same the schedule as when he was a newborn - 3 hours give or take. But just recently I've started a naptime routine. I can now tell which fussiness means that he's sleepy -awesome skill by the way, my life is so much easier now!

I scoop him up and head to the big green upholstered rocker in the darkest corner of his room. The lights are out and when he's all cuddled up in me he knows that it's time to settle down. He is an absolutely sweetheart. His head is in the cradle of my arm and he holds my thumb on my chest and that is how he goes to sleep. Everyday. Four times a day. And usually, he just stares up at me as his eyes start to get droopy. It is so special. I wouldn't trade this time for anything. I really look forward to it because, of course, eventually all things come to an end and someday he won't want his Mommy to rock him to sleep or sing Twinkle Twinkle. And probably sooner than that I will have to put him in full-time daycare because of my school schedule. I'm really going to miss my sweet baby time. Moments like this make me feel grateful that I am a stay at home mom.

Not how he usually falls asleep - but this was a sweet moment too.

Loves.

Because I'm Sentimental Like That

...actually - I'm just tickled I finally found the video camera's usb cable.

(but I am sentimental...)

I haven't figured out how to edit them yet, so this is a little long but W gets really cute at the end and our commentary makes me laugh...we're such dorks...

This is from August 15 - he was so tiny!!

Loves!

I think I've walked 10 miles this week

Turns out my kid prefers to take naps in the stroller. Atleast that was the case on Thursday. I walked twice, saw every street in the neighborhood I wasn't scared to walk down, and I'm pretty sure it was in excess of five miles. And for all of that - he slept maybe a total of 40-50 minutes. The second time around we got "adventurous" and ended up having to go up some pretty steep hills...oh my. Though I'm happy to do it since it makes him happy. He just sits contently and looks at the world. And when he gets tired of the scenery, he takes a little nap. I really need to find the headphones to my iPhone - atleast then I could jam out to something other than Baby Einstein.

Me & My Button

I've been trying to not be so stressed that I'm not getting anything accomplished all day. Really I just started yesterday. He was beyond upset because apparently he needed to poop - all this "real" food is sometimes too much for him I guess - but he screamed bloody murder for 2 hours. And there was nothing that would make him happy except for cuddling & rocking with mommy. So I had lost the hour walking, then two hours holding him, and then another hour walking again. I needed to study, do laundry, sew a window treatment for a friend, wash bottles, clean the kitchen, put his laundry away, etc etc ETC - and couldn't do any of it. I just abandoned my day, let it go, and decided not to stress. My baby needed me and I needed to be there for him. It was kind of a relief to let it all go. (though I still have to get all those things done...) That's my mom moment of the week - enjoy. :)

He doesn't know how to play with it yet - but he loves to stare at it turn

We are starting to have a routine which is awesome. First thing in the morning is a bottle watching Curious George (LOVE!), followed by playing in his room, and then naptime anywhere from starting at 9-9:45. If we're home and not trying to run errands this is much easier. He wakes up from that nap, change diaper - I can always count on a poopy one by now if he didn't manage one earlier, get naked, and it's baby food time, followed with a bottle. We play some more but usually in the walker or living room. Then Daddy comes home for lunch and we try to stay awake for him but he's usually down for another nap around noon-noon30ish. (like that new word?! ha) Wake up from that nap - more baby food and then hopefully a walk at the park or our neighborhood if mommy has her stuff together. Then around 4 -4:45 he usually wants another nap - but not always. Around 5:45 he decides he wants his nighttime bottle and daddy gives it to him and puts him to bed. It's nice to finally have some kind of idea about what's going to happen all day. The details of eating and napping always change but the general idea works. (unless he decides to not nap all afternoon which has happened a couple times and we're all miserable...)

Superman! This is how we play and it's kinda a mini-workout for me!

I think I mentioned this before - but he has found his feet and he thinks he is the bees knees. It's so funny. And it's becoming increasingly difficult to change his diaper and put clothes on him because of it. OH - and I don't think I've ever mentioned that we have a yumyum song. I figured out early on that when he's fussy eating that if I sing to him it calms him down. I used to sing random songs - but Sam is so much better at that than I am - so I started singing YumYumYummy to the tune of "Hello my baby, Hello my darlin, I don't know the rest of the words.." It is seriously like magic. He recognizes it and calms right down and will focus on eating. I'm pretty sure my in-laws think I'm nuts, but it works and that's all that matters. Plus, I think it's kinda of sweet that we have a pseudo-secret song like that.

Look Mom - Feet!!!

On a side note - school is kicking my butt (not really - I made a 98 on my first lab quiz!!) but I'm terrified of the two exams next week. More terrified because I'm sitting here blogging instead of studying but y'know...

Loves!

Watching William

I am absolutely fascinated by my kid. It is truly amazing everything that he has figured out how to do. Right now - I am enjoying watching him use two hands to play with toys. He's actually been doing this for several weeks - but it just occurred to me today that it was really really cool that he figured it out. It's really fun to watch him try to play with the balls on the mobile I made him. He stares at the feather balls and then very deliberately reaches his hands out to try and catch one. Seriously adorable. You can just see all the wheels in his brain turning trying to make it happen.

Another new, but nearly as fascinating, thing he does is object to toys (wet wipes) being taken away. He gets so upset and it's kinda cute in a I-wish-I-wasn't-having-to-hear-him-scream-but-this-is-a-developmental-milestone kind of way... And yesterday - he was laying on my tummy and dropped a toy and went after it. It was the first time he's done that and poor guy managed to roll off of me a little to suddenly and hit his head on the crib leg. I felt awful - he was wailing - it was bad. But it's just red today and not swollen at all. So, it's official, he's ALL boy. Can't wait until he is TRULY mobile - that's going to be interesting.

I fall in love with him everyday

I just realized there has been a hernia update and you didn't get it! It's gone!!! Now he just has a loose skin belly button which is so much cuter than the crazy protruding one he had for months!! So I guess the doc was right - it would right itself in time. Kid just had to get some ab muscles! Here's hoping it doesn't return and we end up having surgery when he's 4 anyway...

He is starting to THINK about rolling over from back to belly which will end changing table happy time. We won't be able to leave him anywhere! Not really looking forward to that but I suppose he has to roll before crawl before walk - so I guess I'll learn to live with it. (Not that I really have a choice!)

Saturday after breakfast we went to B&B's to flip flop the dining room and formal living room. I only tell you this because I'm posting pictures of Bill & William. It's adorable - Bill is collecting pictures of just him & pepito for a "William & William" album. (and he thought of this all on his own - I melt!) (However, I still think it's funny that he forgets that William is also named after my Dad - too bad Sam wouldn't let him be a two namer...) anyhow.

obviously talking about very serious secret "William" things

Positive development - William has rediscovered an appreciation for the jogging stroller. Thank goodness!! We went out earlier in the week all bundled up and then again yesterday when the weather was gorgeous. He just sat there and absorbed all the scenery. Not a peep or fuss out of him. Let the workouts begin! (ha - I had M&M's for lunch...)

I also think that someone has stolen my kid and replaced him with a happy quiet baby. It's kinda ridiculous. The screaming and general fussiness has been replaced with sitting in the Graco stroller quite contently. I feel like I'm sitting on a time bomb - but it never went off! I think the teething is giving him a break but it's wonderful. Except that I knew what to expect when he was unhappy all the time. I have no idea what to do now that he is perfect.... Atleast once daily I am convinced that he is sick because he's sleeping/quiet... Silly me! I'll enjoy it while it's here though!

Loves.

My Sweet Monster

My kid is a monster. How is that for honesty?! haha No, seriously, he's teething and it's killing me. I'm sure it's killing him as well because until yesterday he hadn't stopped screaming and crying. Poor little guy. Hadley pointed out that if teething happened to adults we would all be begging for the good drugs. So I totally feel for him but I feel for my sanity as well. It's so hard to be all for being a stay at home mom when he's not happy at being alive and awake. I also feel 100% helpless. There is NOTHING I can do to make it better. I give him tylenol, orajel, rub his gums, let him gnaw on whatever piece of me he wants to (he enjoys my nose at the moment) - but I can't make it better.

(and my husband just told me not call him a monster - but since I'm saying it affectionately I think it's ok. and also since he's not at home all day dealing with it...just saying.) Love you honey!

As y'all know - I'm not a touchy feeling mom. It didn't bother me when he screamed at shots, went back for surgery, screamed at the anesthesia - but at one moment this week, I really felt bad that I couldn't do anything. It was brief, but it was there. And thank goodness I don't feel like that often. How in the world do people function feeling like that?! It was awful! Anyhow - there - I'm not super-robot-mom - I am actually human and feel things. ;)

Atleast he's super cute. And he WAS in a great mood on Thursday. All cuddling in to me and sitting happy with me on the sofa. And that totally made it all better. Plus - Hadley kept him for me while I went to do my Junior League placement and when I came in the door he started smiling and laughing. Hadley said he hadn't done that the whole time - he was just happy to see ME. (omg - I adore that kid) Nothing like that to make everything bad disappear for a second.

Different direction - he's still a finicky-ish eater but he LOVES some bananas!!! Gets all happy and opens his mouth and definitely doesn't let too much of it fall out. I've been making his baby food - well making what I know he likes (so far just apples and bananas) and it is surprisingly easy. Next up - sweet potatoes and maybe carrots, even though he hasn't tried the latter yet, but we have them so why not?! He DOES NOT like peas. I think I did finally get him to eat the jar but he wasn't happy about it. Covered in green. Ooh yuck. (that's for you Hadley ;)

Sleeping is still pretty much catnaps all day which is slowly killing me but whatever - I'm used to it now. It's making studying really difficult though, I will say that. He is still pretty much sleeping through the night but he wakes up early (4:30-5:00) and thinks that it's time to play. So unfortunately, pepito is learning to cry it out every morning now. He usually puts himself back to sleep and he will usually sleep until after 7:00 because of it but our rooms are so close that it's hard for US to sleep through it. Hopefully he'll grow out of it. If he didn't want to go to bed so early that would be helpful. But, without fail, he's ready for bedtime feeding sometime around 5:45 - 6:15. And lord help you if you don't give it to him!! Atleast we have the 4-6 hours after he goes to bed. (unless I fall asleep on the couch at 9 like last night and miss all that quality time with my love...boo)

I'm trying to think of anything else interesting - but I'm pretty sure he's the same as the last major update. Likes to stand, put everything in his mouth, still refuses to roll over from back to belly, recreational yells, loves being naked, etc.

Loves.

I'm addicted...

...to my sewing machine. I seriously wish that I could sew everyday all day. And I wish I had the ability to sew everything I wanted. Slowly but surely... I'm not sure I will ever get the guts to sew myself clothes - but wouldn't that be nice?! What's so nice about all this is that previously I was trying to save up the money to have all these things made. I have a wonderfully talented workroom but even the wholesale cost of having stuff made is out of our limit at the moment. And while it would be ten times more "professional" that what I can do - we are very happy with the quality I am able to do - especially since it means that we can have what we want now!

Anyhow - here's the sewing that adorns our house.

These were my first thing ever sewn. I didn't use a pattern - just good common sense. It was so funny - I had plans to sew it on Saturday but was so excited that I couldn't sleep - so I got out of bed at 11:30 and sewed all night (well, probably until 3 or so.) They took me awhile because I had to figure out what I was doing, and cutting fabric is so stressful, but I love them. The ferns are extra fabric I had bought "just in case" for Nana & Grandaddy's little cottage but we never needed it and the green chenille-y fabric was a remnant I picked up on super clearance sale at a local fabric store. The best part - the down pillow fillers that we already had because of previous pillows that didn't work in our new, condensed, house. I knew my obsession with all things interior would come to good use some day!

These were the fourth home decor project I attempted. I have had this fabric for three years. I bought it to go with my most favorite floral fabric, which I have had plans for the entire time we've been in Columbus. The "plan" for this lovely plaid has changed several times over, but I love these pillows. I didn't press out the seams like I should have so they kinda sink into themselves, but I don't mind that and I might actually like it a little bit.

This is my most favorite floral fabric. I had 37 yards (birthday present in 2008) to make draperies for our living room at Forest Ave (technically draperies for every house we've lived in in Columbus, but yeah.) I made these as a surprise for Sam when he was gone to Mexico. I ended up staying awake most of the night to get them finished and installed the night before he got back. I was so pleased with myself. I was absolutely terrified to cut this fabric, though having so much extra yardage, even when the draperies for the rest of the room are done, made it a little bit easier. They aren't quite perfect...I was cutting the fabric on the floor in front of the doors (the only space large enough to roll out the fabric) and it was difficult to cut a straight line, so the bottom hems are a little off but I still love them and they block the view of our neighbor's driveway nicely. I did line these with a light white cotton and that was a success in and of itself. So much extra work! (and stress to get it just right) We're a little sad that we lost the light that these french doors brought in - but the privacy is worth it!

These are in our master bedroom. The fabric is a gorgeous chocolate and white toile with peacocks!!! I absolutely love the print! We got it on sale at the same fabric store as the green fern and green chenille and it's gorgeous. I didn't line these though. It was the second project I attempted and I wasn't up to the challenge at the time. Luckily, lining isn't necessary at all because 1. they aren't functional 2. hidden behind so much furniture 3. the window faces a very tall fence and will never be seen from the outside except for a heating & air guy 4. we haven't opened the blinds since we moved the bed to this wall. The most difficult part of sewing these was the length and amount of fabric I had to feed through the machine. I didn't realize how much the fabric would weigh and how much that would affect how easily I could sew the hems. I just went a little slower and all was fine. In the master plan - there is a chocolate cornice board with white molding and our bedding will be white with chocolate "hotel". I've even talked Sam into letting us make an upholstered headboard (NO FOOTBOARD!!!). All of this is on the major out in the future plan but for the moment we are really enjoying just having window treatments at all. I wish more people would realize what a difference they make in softening and "finishing" a room.

Just a different view of the same.

Just this past weekend I got up the nerve to try and make little jumpers for William. The first attempt didn't go so well - didn't realize the pattern wasn't going to tell me EVERYTHING I needed to know - but the second and third attempts turned out so cute!

Second jumper - fabric was a 1 yd remnant on sale 70% off. I might have paid a dollar for it and how cute is this?! It's a little big so I need to adjust the straps but omg - I could die. I love the plaid corduroy!!

Third attempt. This was also a 1yd remnant and I know I paid less than a dollar for this one! I made it in a smaller size because the other was so big, but turns out it's a tad small on him so he won't get to wear it very long. But he was the cutest thing at church on Sunday!! Smocking outfits beware! ;)

Thank you for indulging my newfound love. I hope that maybe you won't be so scared of what you can do yourself. I was kicked off the sewing machine when I was 12 because I kept "breaking" it and had avoided sewing like the plague until this year. (thank you Sara for helping me learn!) It's not difficult at all and actually the hardest part is probably learning how to thread the machine correctly. Turns out - that's where most of the problems with sewing start. Keep the manual to your machine!!!

Have fun with it! It's supposed to be enjoyable!!

Loves!

Etsy

I love you.

I will post on sewing - but here's a little bit of what I have been doing with my newfound love.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RumerAndCompany

You know your baby girls need one of these!! ;)

Pass around and share please! I would love reasons to make dozens and dozens more!

Loves.

Late New Year's

So I am 100% behind in this post, I know.

We went low key this year for New Year's eve. Grilled steaks at a friend's house and did the whole countdown for midnight - we were all pretty impressed with ourselves for staying up that late. Especially considering that we have pepito with us. He did pretty well for not being put down in his own crib. It took a long time for him to get to sleep and then we woke him up with all of our loud countdown fun (we were at the complete opposite side of the house and there had to have been atleast 5 plaster walls inbetween us, but I guess we were having a LOT of fun) So we had to leave pretty much immediately after 12. Not a bad thing. Next year we will definitely get a babysitter though.

And we managed to start a tradition. Last year we spend New Year's with Hadley, Bobby, April & Will - and did the same this year - so it's official - we have to keep on doing it. Fun times! And for the few in the know - it was nice not to have to steal spoons to feel like we got something out of the night this year!! ;)

New Year's Day - I'm assuming was low key as well - since I don't really remember what we did. I think we cleaned the house and went to Target for school supplies (more on that later!). We went to Bill & Becky's for dinner and was there a football game on? I seriously have no idea what we did....

New Year's Day - his outfit has a pirate ship on the front - he's not a jailbird ;)

We didn't really make resolutions this year. Sam & both want to start running but that's going to be a more time management issue with pepito. I want to be more present - but I'm constantly working on that, not just because it's a new year. We want to get as much done on the house as possible before we have to refinance late spring. But I don't know - I don't really feel a whole lot like making humongo unattainable resolutions. Just not in the mood this year. Plus, they're kinda silly anyway. Either you do them and you're awesome (but you probably would've done them without making some crazy big statement) or you don't and feel like poo all year. So that's how I feel about that. :)

We are starting to transition William into his 6-9 month clothes. Mostly because I had forgotten to do laundry so he was all out of 3-6 for the moment and he got lots of cute new clothes. He finally fits into his 3-6 month jeans - so cute today! He's up around 16 lbs now - so he's right on his schedule. He switches sizes officially about 2 weeks before what the size says. That's kinda nice. When we were pregnant everyone said to bet on being a size ahead - and I was so worried that we were going to be constantly buying clothes and nothing would fit and it would be a ($) nightmare. But so far so good. My little boy is always a size behind in pants - so they will fit forever and everything else is on time for the most part. I'll take it. We're really trying rein in our pepito spending this year and this is certainly helping.

He loves staring out the window

He is eating lots of baby food now. Yesterday, we went taking care of Hads, whose back went haywire, so he was just on the bottle and he ate like a horse. 10 oz for breakfast, then 7, then 8, etc. It was wild. And Lindsey said that her baby did that and took it as a sign to start giving more baby food. So today he got 2 - 2.5 containers, one in late morning, and early afternoon. Note to self - do NOT do the prunes - atleast all concentrated. It was every where - on the front end and the back end. Absolute craziness. He liked them though... I tried peas - but he was SO not into it. He was so excited to be getting yummy food and then shut his mouth after the first bite. This afternoon we did applesauce and that was fine. He's not been super excited about anything except bananas. So I guess I can safely go ahead and make that in bulk.

This is what happens when he thinks he's a big boy and can feed himself. Little does he know this picture will resurface at a very embarrassing moment later in life...

I am going to try and start making his baby food. Not for any crazy hippie reason - just think it would be nice and definitely cost effective. 52 cents is sure to add up eventually. And it's freezeable - so that will be good. Hadley even let me borrow these trays that make a perfect 1 oz cube of frozen food. Maybe I'll start this weekend. Baby needs bananas.

On the big news - I started school this Monday. I'm taking Anatomy I at Columbus Tech. It's a lot of work but I'm really enjoying it so far. I am planning on applying to Columbus State's nursing program and WHEN I get in - it will be two years. So - Summer 2012 I will be working again - if all goes to plan. Pretty darn excited. It's difficult right now trying to read and study and take care of pepito, but I'm managing. My advisor told me not to buy the books until I went to class but my professor was under the assumption everyone had bought them. So Tuesday monring I rush out to get the book and managed to read 86 pages while feeding and putting William down to nap. At one point he was crawling up and around the back of my neck while I was reading. I felt like SuperMom for that one minute. I think I might be able to handle this afterall.

My first day of school - I think the angle makes me look like a bobble head...

and, yes, that's our Christmas tree that we forgot to take down to the recycling area...ugh. it's still there.

Next wonder blogging installment - sewing! I've been meaning to talk about this since I am seriously addicted to my sewing machine - and writing it right now will mean that I have to. :)

Loves.

William by Numbers

Our sweet little William is five months old today. Everyone says it but it's amazing how fast time goes by. And I was thinking - when you're five months pregnant I felt like I had been pregnant for FOREVER! Yet - I definitely don't feel like we've had William for FOREVER! (most days anyhow...some are longer than others...) Just thought that was interesting.

Let's see - in the past month William has:

Rediscovered his affinity for razzing - only this time it's accompanied with actual spit. Hilarious when he gets going but the amount of liquid coming out of his mouth is astounding.

We moved up to size 3 diapers. Not sure his little body was quite ready for it but we needed to buy some and didn't see any sense in buying 264 diapers in a size that was almost too small and we don't like to waste money buying smaller packs. So - he has purple harlequin diapers that look humongous on him.

He really likes to walk, stand, generally be on his feet. He loves playing in the jumper especially now that his shoes fit.

EVERYTHING MUST BE TASTED. It's crazy - he can now grab at things and they always go in the mouth first.

Naked time still rocks.

He got a walker for Christmas and he thinks he's king of the world - until he runs into a corner, chair, wall, small object that impedes his progress.

The swaddler is not always the saving grace it used to be.

He can roll from his tummy to his back but not the other way around.

The word BOOP always produces a smile and usually laughter. Hence - we now call him Boo Boo. Poor guy - let's hope it doesn't stick.

We had a brief stint when he refused to sleep through the night. He remembered how only to be bombarded by the holiday musical houses - we're still trying to recover for the most part.

LOVES FRUIT. Apples & Bananas are the fave so far.

Is getting more hair and it's definitely going to be some kind of red.

Daddy is still the expert at bedtime. Mommy is the expert all day. ;)

Is still constantly amused by recreational yelling. It's not funny anymore.

Cannot ride in the car without Baby Einstein Mozart cd and a ridiculous amount of toys suspended from the seat handle.

Most days - we don't have to change his outfit. He hardly spits up or wets through his diaper.

Pooping still rules our life. He MUST poop or my life is miserable (and I'm sure his is as well)

Loves his paci. He knows how to take it out and put it in backwards. We're working on that slowly...

He most certainly teething - no teeth coming through - but thank goodness for tylenol and orajel. There are days where we wouldn't survive without it.

I'm sure there are plenty more adorable and noteworthy things that he has done in the past month - but I'm done.

Happy Fifth Month Baby Boy!

Loves.

A Very Merry Christmas

I realize I should be doing a New Year's post but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I also realize I should probably post more than 1 picture for William's first Christmas but we took literally 500+ pictures and I just can't choose. So here you are - My family in front of the tree on Christmas morning.

Side note - I love that I have a family now. You get married and you think - wow - we are our own family now - how neat. And it's just that neat. Family took on a whole new meaning when we had William. We are our own little entity and that warms my heart. Not that Sam didn't warm my heart but it's just different. Huh - really didn't explain that very well did I? Oh well. Back to the task at hand.

I woke up at 4:00 am in anticipation of William wanting his paci back in his mouth. Didn't happen and I couldn't talk Sam into getting up to do Christmas until 6:00am when it occurred to him that we could do our Christmas much easier without baby. That was fun. We always got up early to do Christmas, just us, and then went to Waffle House and then to the Rumer's house for more family Christmas. (did I mention I love Christmas!?!) I was so excited - I just laid in bed thinking about how much fun it is going to be when William is more excited than I am and runs in our room and MAKES us get up to see if Santa came. That just sounds like the best thing in the world. (insert sappy mom here - enjoy - it rarely shows up)

Pepito woke up promptly at 7:00, I swear you could set your clock to him most days, and he sat in my lap and I opened presents. He got lots of cute things, none of which was as interesting as the red metallic ribbon I wrapped them with. Love him.

Then we headed to Bill & Becky's to do family Christmas. William got PLENTY of attention and at this point we were still able to keep his nap schedule on track, which makes for a very pleasant baby. Not to mention he was super cute in his Christmas Outfit. (I have a feeling I might be glossing over this whole holiday just to get it all in - I'm sorry ahead of time) We had dinner, beef tenderloin yum, and then headed home to pack up the entire house to go to Cleveland.

We took the Xterra just so we would be able to fit everything. Seriously, as much as I would have rather taken the fuel efficient car, there is no way we would have been able to get everything in the Fusion. I swear there was a kitchen sink somewhere in there. It was definitely chaos trying to pack. Sam & I hadn't packed because we knew we were going to want to take some of our Christmas presents, William was only sort of packed, and we hadn't even broken down the pack and play yet. So that took awhile and our house paid the price. I hate coming home to a dirty house but ugh. Finally got pepito fed enough to travel and off we went without incident. No traffic and it was lovely.

Got to my mom's house at night and then did Christmas the next morning with my brother and Lainey. James had to work and Meredith was on a flight back from San Diego so it was pretty low key and that was fun. William really like tissue paper this time around. And watching us play guitar hero. Those were the highlights. The non-highlights were poor little guy desperately needed to poop and he was NOT happy about it. And the nap schedule was starting to get messed up here. Not too bad but apparently he doesn't do well with excitement and sleeping in new places. Ate dinner with the grandparents and aunt & uncle, hung out some more, and then packed up again to go to my Dad's house. 90% sure we took my mom's kitchen sink too.

Dad's house was already full of people. Kathleen, Colin & Kellie, and Meredith were there and that was super fun. William walked in to his present already set up and ready to go - so we plopped him down in the walker and he loved it. Went straight for the metal bar with his mouth. Really funny. I'm sure he thought that was the whole point of his new toy there for a minute. He did figure out he could move around in it, but only backwards. He hasn't figured out going forwards yet. We sat around the island cutting up and talked my parents into letting us play beer pong. I have never played before - so that was super fun. (I think my team won both times but I can't be certain...)

William didn't want to go to bed at all. Luckily my Dad & Sara volunteered to make that happen so Sam & I could have some fun and not have to argue with him. Poor guy I think he was scared when he woke up in yet a different room and a different crib and it took him hours to get over that. Best part - he slept in the pack and play in my parents room - so we didn't have to hear him AT ALL all night. It was great.

We wake up - do Christmas with the family. Total craziness with five kids, three spouses/girlfriends, and one baby. Love it! I can't remember what William liked most this time, but it was probably wrapping paper and not one of his super fun toys. Or he might've been asleep - he definitely sleep through extended family Christmas later that day. The whole thing. Missed it all. That was his one good nap of the entire weekend. He slept for two hours in my arms. We were so off schedule - it was crazy. Though - our schedule was very fluid to begin with but it was totally shot by the third day of Christmas. Oh well.

We went shopping in Atlanta on Monday while Daddy & Sara kept pepito and then laid low on Tuesday and left Tuesday night. It took forever to feed William that night. He had 11 ounces and still wouldn't go to sleep. We finally had to put him in the car awake and hope for the best. Luckily - it worked. The car put him to sleep. Again - we traveled without incident, no traffic, nothing. Got home to Columbus late, put pepito in bed and refused to unpack the car except for the basket of bottles and papasan vibrating bouncy seat. Those were necessary. Our suitcase - not so much. Probably need the kitchen sink but we were too tired to deal with it.

We're slowly getting back to our routine - William is taking catnaps more than anything - but that's, unfortunately, not unusual. I think all the stimulation and the constant switching of houses just really had him on edge. Not sure how to undo that because we have to see all the family but maybe next year it won't be such a big deal because he'll be older. Let's hope anyway.

So that was our Christmas. William had fun, I got 9 of my most favorite albums for Williams pictures, Sam got an airhog and some serious germ-x stuff, and we can cloth our child without buying new clothes. Which is important because he's oh so close to switching sizes on us.

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas surrounded by their most favorite people.

Loves.