5 Months

I thought each month when I posted the latest "month" birthday for Leo that I would be freaked at how fast time is flying by.  I am starting to think that is not the case.  I remember right after he was born I would sit and feed him in the rocking chair looking out the window at the long summer days.  Those summer days turned into chilly fall ones, followed by snow and Christmas lights.  It seems like such a long time ago that he was born, but at the same time "how is my baby already 5 months?"

Leo is finally eating solids.  Daycare got him to eat oatmeal and he is eating bananas at home.  I am hoping this eventually slows down his milk intake as he eats so much that I can barely keep up!  He is rolling over and is starting to sit up.  He is constantly talking, laughing, smiling, and kicking his feet.  His toothless smile lights up a room.  He has also started this really high pitched girly scream which is pretty funny.  He still doesn't have a schedule and is up 1-2 times per night.  Sometimes he wakes up screaming he is so hungry.  Hoping the solids help a bit. He loves spending time in his jumparoo and his favorite person in the world is Gwen.  As much of a pain in the ass as he is, there is nothing in the world more amazing than watching him interact with his sister.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Pictures

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

This was the first year that we would not have any family visit or visit any family for Christmas.  When I realized this last month I was actually heart broken.  Why didn't anybody want to spend Leo's first Christmas with him? 

In the end, it turned out to be a great weekend.  The 23rd I got to bake cookies with Gwen.  We made chocolate meatballs and Gingerbread Girls/Boys.  On Christmas Eve we fought the crowd and saw Santa.  We then had our neighbors over and Emily/Tom for dinner.   It was very low key.  We ate ham, mashed potatoes, mac-n-cheese and green bean casserole.  All the food was delicious and most of the company was great...........with the exception of Gwen.  Seriously, it was BY FAR the worst I have ever seen her.  She was horrible all day.  At one point during dinner I had enough so I swatted her on the butt (which I RARELY do) and threw her in her bedroom.  She was screaming so loud.  I seriously debated whether or not Santa would come.  It was awful.  I figure it is from the anticipation of Santa because she was great on Christmas day.

On Christmas Day Gwen looked out at the tree and saw a slide.  She was so excited.  It was so wonderful watching her as she unwrapped all of her gifts.  We of course had to open everything right then and there..........she even stripped down to put on her ballet outfit we bought her to go with ballet classes.   Emily and Tom had spent the night so they got to enjoy watching her as well.  We did a great job with the gifts because there weren't so many that she was overwhelmed.  We got through them in like 2 hours.  After gifts we had mimosas and a cheesy ham/potato casserole.  We then went sledding with the neighbors.  It couldn't have been a more beautiful day.  After sledding came naps (both kids napped AT THE SAME TIME) and lots of playing with the new toys. 

Leo enjoyed his first Christmas.  He got his first car which is controlled by a rattle.  He loves it.  He's mesmerized when the car moves.  He also got to enjoy rides down the slide with his sister.  I felt a smidge of sadness because we will never have another "first Christmas" with one of our children.  Oh well, now it will only get more fun :-) 

A Visit to Santa

Two kids have made me a procrastinator so on Christmas Eve morning we headed to the mall for the annual Santa picture. Gwen is now 1-3 with Santa....she didn't cry this year and either did Leo!!

Gwen told Santa she wanted a castle and then gave him a hug. I can't wait to see her face when she opens said castle!!

Enjoy pictures from today:

Makes Me Laugh Every Time

The Polar Express

The Polar Express is a beautiful story about a train that takes kids to the North Pole to see Santa.  At the end all the children get bells.   When we had the opportunity to take Gwen on the Polar Express, we jumped at it.  How wonderful and fun.  The one thing that was never mentioned in the story is how after the train, on the way home, in the middle of nowhere, in pitch black darkness, and 27 degrees you would hear what sounds like water pouring in your backseat when in reality it is your 3 year old throwing up all over herself.  Mind you this happened 15 minutes into a 2 hour trip home.  Thankfully, she happened to throw up all in her jacket so it didn't get all over my backseat......or smell.  Luckily we were right by a "point of interest" turn off.  The only issue was the freezing cold/pitch black dark.  On top of this fun, Leo was screaming because he had to drink cold milk (he managed to suffer down 3 oz).

That fun evening led to Gwen throwing up a few times at home (luckily she passed out and slept the rest of the car trip), followed by the stomach flu hitting the rest of us.  It was a rough weekend.........damn train!!

Anyway........the Polar Express was cute.  They had Christmas Carols playing, cookies, chocolate milk, a bar, and everyone saw Santa.  The train smelled of old people. That was my only real complaint.  We all had a great time (we went with our neighbors.....Aiden is Gwen's good friend).

Enjoy some pictures from this semi-enjoyable Friday night :-)

He Loves His Sister...........Most Of The Time