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Welcome to a piece of our sweet journey of life. This blog is about our family life-- my husband, my type 1 diabetic sixth grader, my spunky fourth grader, my first grader little girl, and myself! Enjoy!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Michael's First Thanksgiving!

Yesterday was such a fun day as we celebrated Thanksgiving!  We are very aware that we are truly blessed, and this year it was even more evident.  Last year on this very week, Aaron returned home from a 8 month stint for work out of state.  We counted our blessings that he was finally home, and we prayed for a baby. 

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:


 
How can you resist that chubby cuteness?  Impossible, I tell ya. Plain impossible.

 
Here's a better view of the top of the hat.  Aaron and I sometimes now refer to Michael as our little Turkeyhead baby.

 
Michael shows off his coolness to his Daddy

 
Mommy and Michael enjoy the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade befor heading over to the grandparents' house.

 
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.

 
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! :)
 
New Product I LOVE LOVE LOVE:

  • 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
 



Friday, November 16, 2012

Back in the Saddle Again

Welp, I got on the lonely train and debated whether or not to continue this blog.  It seemed that now that my little one has arrived, it’s not as much fun for people to read about the ins and outs of our lives.  But, just recently, I’ve had a few people ask for the blog to continue.   One said that even if no one else reads it, she finds joy in it and it’s a good history for Michael.  Well, that was enough to spark interest again for me.  I will do anything for my little boy, and if this is a good history of his early days, then the blog writing will continue!


As I promised (two weeks ago… sorry), I will share the news of the 2 Month doctor appointment.  Michael weighed nearly 14 and a half pounds.  He was 24 and a quarter inches long.  He’s even bigger now, of course, because that’s what babies do best—they grow.  And grow. And grow.


I am one proud Mommy.  Michael is such a joy!

 I bought him a super cute Thanksgiving hat and I will post pictures soon of him wearing it.  At that time I will also bring you more up to speed with our daily activities. :)  Michael and I plan on doing some Christmas crafts... I'm sure he'll love it.  I'll be sure to snap some pics of us in action. In addition, I plan on spending some time entertaining Michael by cleaning and organizing our home.  I'm incredibly curious to see if I can make it as a minimalist.  Less is more, and that mainly means less clutter to keep track of.  That way, I'll have more time to spend with our little cutie patootie.
 

Until my next post (which will hopefully be full of creativeness and cuteness), here are some pictures of our smiley lil guy!


 
Enjoying Daddy's goofiness before bath time

 
Sweet boy for Grandma Chips  (This is one of my favorite pictures of all time)

 
Being a little ham in the kitchen with Mommy

 
So fun to help Mommy in the kitchen on Saturday morning!


 
Michael LOVES putting his fingers in his mouth!  I treated him to a chilled teether this past week and he thought it was the bomb!  :)  It's SO much fun to be his Mommy!
 
 
 
Thanks for catching up with us.  Check back soon for an updated post to include the Thanksgiving hat, and the start of Christmas crafts!  Much love, Reba