Well, here we are one year later and we have a feisty, adorable, little boy who brings more joy and laughter to our lives than we thought possible. Although it is much harder being a parent than I ever thought it could be, I wouldn't trade it in. I prayed so much for a child during the year 2011. I am ever ever thankful that God granted my request and blessed us with a happy healthy child. For us, 2012 has zipped by! (I'm sure if you were to ask me in February, or April, or at any other point along in the pregnancy, if I thought the year was going fast, I would've said "not fast enough"). But now, I'm finding myself wishing to slow down time just for a moment. Michael is growing up so fast and I'm equally loving it and grieving it. It's so fun to have Michael interact with us more and more each day, but I know he'll be grown before we know it. So I'm trying to soak in all the baby-ness and newness he brings into our world each day.
As promised, here is Michael in his Thanksgiving hat:
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How can you resist that chubby cuteness? Impossible, I tell ya. Plain impossible.
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Here's a better view of the top of the hat. Aaron and I sometimes now refer to Michael as our little Turkeyhead baby.
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Michael shows off his coolness to his Daddy
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Mommy and Michael enjoy the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade befor heading over to the grandparents' house.
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On Wednesday evening before we went grocery shopping for Thanksgiving (yes, we were that family who waited til the last minute and had to battle the crowds) we put Michael in his high-chair for the first time! Obviously, he LOVED it! I think he likes being on the same eye-level as we adults. :) We sat him in it on Thanksgiving morning as we ran around the kitchen preparing side dishes. Although he won't get to try out any baby cereal until after his 4 month appointment, I like being able to put him in this chair and give him some toys to grab at on his tray.
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Here's our sweet "Christmas spirit" baby and Daddy. We had to do part of Michael's Christmas photo shoot early since he probably won't be able to fit into his Christmas outfit at Christmastime.
Here in the southeast, although we've had some pretty crisp cool days, yesterday proved to be summer-ish weather. Boo. So, Michael spent most of his first Thanksgiving dressed in only a diaper, and sitting in his high-chair at his Nana's house while food was prepared. He sported his Turkey hat in the morning, and conked out in his bouncy seat between Aaron and myself while we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Nearly falling asleep in my arms while his bath was being prepared, Michael had a relaxing end to his busy day. We snuggled him up in his striped baseball-playing giraffe footie and brought him home to his cozy bassinet.
As always, Michael continues to melt our hearts and makes us yearn to be the very best parents we can be!
To give you an idea of what Michael is up to these days, I've compiled a short list of some of his favorite activities:
- Putting the fingers of his left hand in his mouth. (It's rare to see him stick his right hand fingers in his mouth)
- Blowing raspberries and bubbles! He LOVES to do this as his response in conversations.
- Daytime naps while being held or in his swing. This is relatively new. I used to be able to put him in his bassinet during daytime naps, but no longer! Unless he is super tired, he prefers to be held or in his swing for daytime naps.
- Grabbing at toys
- Staring at his feet
Tummytime....ha! NOT. Michael despises this activity. You have to kind of trick him into it either by laying down and propping him up on your shins so he can see your face, or by holding him like he's flying. Hopefully, he'll do better at tummytime on the playmat and baby quilt. I don't fault the little guy, though. He's got a lot more weight to lift up off the ground! :)
- Johnson's Hand and Face Wipes
These wipes are so fabulous! They contain no alcohol, so they are safe for wiping off little baby hands, faces, and neck rolls (of which Michael has a-plenty). They also smell wonderful, like Johnsons&Johnsons baby products. These are now a diaper bag staple, but I don't just use them on the go. Michael's diaper bag resides in our living room unless it's time for a road trip-- so sometimes, I snag a one or two to wipe down our little guy's face or his hand after it's made it's way to his mouth. This way, it's quicker and smells better than grabbing a paper towel.
Future Family Activities that we look forward to doing this weekend
- Having GG and Popa over for dinner tonight.
- Home Alone marathon (we have both Home Alone 1 and Home Alone 2 on DVD and I'm so excited to begin our Christmas movie festivities today!) (By the way, "Home Alone 3" and "Home Alone 4" do not count to me as real Home Alone movies, therefore, they will not be watched as part of this marathon).
- Potential vehicle shopping (to find something bigger to accomodate our growing family). When we bought our compact car, it totally worked for us at the time. The space was adequate, the gas mileage was fantastic, and we liked the look. So now, although the gas mileage is still out of this world, and although the car still looks super sleek and cool, the size has become a major factor for us. We need a vehicle in which we can properly have the car seat fit in the exact way that it should, and we'd like a vehicle in which we do not have to decide between stroller or Costco trip. We'd like to have enough space to always keep the stroller in the vehicle, and still be able to go to Costco (or even Winn Dixie for that matter).
Michael and I have not made it to Hobby Lobby yet to buy supplies for our Christmas crafts. And I don't think Black Friday is the day to accomplish this. That's what Saturdays are for. :) I will definitely post about our progress though, and of course, I'll include pictures along the way. :)
Until next time! Much love, Reba
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