It's Christmastime now!

We just finished a fantastic Thanksgiving week down in Houston with the family. We had a wonderful time with everyone, but after we got home we realized that all of the Thanksgiving pictures aren't on our camera. I'll post some of those whenever I can convince someone to send me some. In lieu of those pictures, here are some of my family preparing for Christmas.

N LOVES our Christmas tree. He's a wonderful Santa, but it's hard to get him to pay attention.

N loves hanging out in E's chair with him. Here they are chilling out.

When he can hang out in the buff he tries to. He's not just pulling socks these days - he tries to take it all off. I'm concerned I've got a streaker on my hands. A naked baby at the very least.

Here's our tree. It's all set up at the bottom of our stairs. I think it looks pretty good for a first iteration. Special thanks go to J for helping me pick out ornaments.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Six months!

How is N six months old already? Check out his latest moves... He's a sitter now! (And apparently really happy about it. Disco moves.)
Sometimes I think he's shocked that he's capable of doing this.

To celebrate his six month birthday, he went to bed as usual and E and I shared a glass of wine. (With baby monitor.)

He's also starting to learn the sippy cup procedure. He's terrifically bad at it, but he likes to play with the cup nonetheless. He gets some out of it - but he's not overly thrilled with the juice/water mixture. (3/4 water, 1/4 juice - we call it wuice.) I figure he'll get into it as he gets better with the cup.

Last, Promised Land Dairy has released their holiday flavors. I've never tasted milk so fantastic. It's like a milkshake, but it's 2%! On top of that - cinnamon vanilla! Come on, it's like heaven.

Can I get a witness?

911 operator: 911, what is your emergency?

Me: Um, I just witnessed a car accident. On Forest Lane near Garland High School.

911 operator: Were you in the accident, ma'am?

Me: Er, no. I just saw this one car change lanes into this other car. Do I need to go back? I left the scene.

911 operator: No ma'am. It would be helpful if you could tell me what happened though.

Me: Well, the tan car swerved into the black SUV. You're sure I don't have to go back or something? I don't really want to - I'm running late.

911 operator: No, really, you're fine. Just give me your name and telephone number so the insurance companies can contact you if necessary.

Me: Okay. Here they are. And really, I'm not going to get a ticket or something?

911 operator: You're sure you weren't actually IN the accident?

Me: Oh yes, I just saw the whole thing.

911 operator: You're fine. Really. Thanks for calling.

Me: Right. Uh, yeah. No problem.

Baby bellies - a new delicacy

I've recently found the best way to make N laugh. It requires chowing down on his belly, but he LOOOVES it. See the above.

Things I never expected to do

Last week I had to head to DC for work. It was the first time I'd left N at home overnight without me. I was terrified. I think the whole thing was much more traumatic for me than for E or N. Or Zoee, for that matter. How could my little man really survive without me for a week? Seriously? He doesn't need me overnight?

E pointed out that he sleeps overnight. Really. For like 10-11 hours. (I know, we're super lucky.) I guess he really doesn't need me to sit around waiting for him to wake up, so really the worry was unmerited. He didn't forget me either and E had a good time with all the male bonding. It was good for all of us.

What I never expected to do was flash pictures of my child at random strangers. I was sitting at the Jet Rock cafe in terminal C of Washington Reagan airport when the woman next to me asked how my burger was. I told her it was tasty, and the next thing I knew she and I were commiserating over a beer about our children, breastfeeding on business travel, and how weird it is to be able to just sit and have a meal without any demands on you, even if it is in the airport terminal. By the time we finished our burgers I knew that her name was Pam, she had two kiddos, she worked construction, and she was from Pueblo, CO. She had seen six pictures of N, learned about my plans for breastfeeding, and knew that my husband was doing a great job with our kiddo.

It was a little weird, but at least it took my mind off the torturous hours until I could actually get home. And hey, if I ever make it to Pueblo I know I could look her up and get shown around.

Super Sick

This is E. I just wanted to put a non cute post up because ... well because I can. Clostridium Perfringens, A.K.A the "Buffet Germ." It struck A and me. Friday evening and let me tell you that food poisoning is something horrible. I haven't been that sick since I was 10. If I had to equate this to a similar feeling it was like I went out and drank heavily for 5 days straight but didn't get to have any of the fun and all of the bad after effects happened over the coarse of 6 hours. The next morning felt a lot like the scenario I just described as well, but that's getting me too far out of my timeline.

A and I had a nice date on Friday. I had been working a lot and finally had caught a break in my schedule. Besides, who wouldn't want to go out and have lunch with a beautiful woman while our childcare needs were being taken care of by paid professionals? So out to lunch and around town we went. 6 PM came around and I had to lie down while A took care of feeding N. 8 PM came around and I had to go talk to the comode. A was feeling pretty good at around 7:45 and decided to have a turkey sandwhich; the smell of said sandwhich drove my stomach over the brink.

My sweet, sweet wife was trying to take care of me, but I thought I had the flu or something contagious so I kept shooing her away so that there would be one unsick adult capable of taking care of Mr. N. 9 PM rolled around and A found out that a turkey sandwhich wasn't such a good idea. We were a sad and pathetic couple. Luckily we have 2 bathrooms on the first floor of our house. This was very fortunate indeed. At around 2 AM we both started feeling better. By better I mean we were all out of fluids to expel and no longer felt like we had to do a 5 yard dash to the bathroom every 30 minutes. If the 3 AM mark had rolled around I think I would have had to play the "Grandma come get my baby because I'm too sick to change a diaper let alone hold my head up for 15 seconds" trump card. But no such card play was needed.

N was fine and not traumatized by our neglect in any fashion. He slept like a baby throughout our entire episode. A and I managed to keep our sense of humor through the night as well. Several jokes were made and we even had a "Whose trip to the bathroom was the worst" contest at one point. The judges declared it a tie.

The next day was Halloween and Nonna, Pops, and Gigi came to see N in his outfit. We pawned off as much N duty as possible on them. They were happy to do it and we were happy to allow them the opportunity.

Besides the grandparents taking care of N the next day, I have to say the next best thing to have happen is that our diets are going AWESOME. I lost like 5 pounds in one day!!!

N's first Halloween

This weekend we celebrated Halloween with the family. Pops and Gigi came up and Nonna came down. We all had a good time - especially N. He LOVES flirting with people, so getting out and having a ton of people ooh and ahh over his cute monkey suit was right up his alley. Here he is at Rockwall's Scare on the Square grinning his little head off.
There's only so much he can handle before he needs a nap though. He took a break from trick or treating for a little nap.

We had a good time. It was great to see the parents and N loved all the attention. Successful first Halloween!