Daily Dimples

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Pictures with Santa

So proud that it is only December 4th and we have already gone to visit Santa!

Ryan wasn't a huge fan of him last year so I didn't have high hopes. That and the fact that it typically takes him about five minutes to warm up to anyone. I hyped Santa up all morning long and when we were on the way to the mall he was telling me how he was going to tell santa he wanted a choo choo train.

We sat Grayson down first and he was happy as a clam. Little G was even giving out smiles! He just looked so comfy up there will big ol Santa. I had Ryan in my arms and when he got up close he latched on to me hard...the photographer was like...when you set him down just get out of the way as fast as possible. So I did. And he screamed.

And then Elmo came out.

And happiness was restored!

Grayson was smiling a lot but apparently not at the same time. For half the pics his shirt was covering his face...and then when Elmo came out he couldn't stop staring...you know that stare with big ol eyes and no blinking...that's that wide eyed face you see above! lol!

Heck Ryan started chatting up a storm and didn't really want to leave...perhaps next year he won't take so long to warm up to him!

Cookie Exchange

I love this time of year...I constantly have Christmas songs stuck in my head...and I constantly belt them out for my boys to hear...even if I don't know all the words...which I don't. I love the holidays. All the decorations, cheer, events, family fun and parties! One party I look forward to every year is Nat's Annual Cookie Exchange. (Remember last year? So yummy!) This year she hosted the party on a Sunday afternoon, which worked out very well (as you can tell by the attendance). It is not only an exchange but a competition - yes, awards are given! And who judges? Everyone...since there were over 20 types of cookies the taste testing was a very serious task!

And the awards:

Best Tasting: Carmelitas

Most Festive: Bethies Treats

Most Original: Nutella Hazelnut Cookies

Most Creative: Ooey Gooey Rocky Road Cookies

I made Oreo Cheesecake cookies and although they didn't win any prizes I thought they were pretty darn good! I will be making them for Santa :)

Lindsey and Susanne

Jackie and myself

Nat's "work" friends. lol

Yay! Cheers to the holidays!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Dear Grayson (three months)

I swear you are such a HAPPY baby but every time I bust out the camera you get so serious!

Dear Grayson,

You are my little chunky monkey! You have leg rolls...and I love them! You are fat and happy...well for the most part. This past month has been a bit of a surprise for us...you went from being a good sleeper...to sleeping not so much...You have us on our toes and we can't seem to figure you out! I think you are just letting us know that you are your own person and that you want to do things your way :)

So serious

This was the closest that I got to a smile

You are an incredibly happy baby...we get some serious smiles!

Still trying to figure out your "schedule". I was feeding more on demand but I have decided that wasn't working for us because I don't think it was doing any favors during the night. We are following the eating every three hour routine we did with Ryan - eat, play sleep and you seem pretty happy with that. Happy baby, happy mommy.

Evenings are a little rough because you are a bit cranky and you are only happy if you are nursing...so getting dinner ready is a bit of a challenge. I typically nurse you for the last time at 6:30. Then we head upstairs for your bath, baby massage and night time bottle. About half way through the month you started refusing this last bottle. This caused mommy some major stress...we could not figure out why you would take a bottle any other time but refused it right before bed. Not only did you refuse it but you were ANGRY! We tried everything but every night it was a HUGE battle and we would just end up putting you to bed with maybe just an ounce in you. Then we realized that you were probably not that hungry since you had just nursed an hour before and that you were probably just tired. So I dropped the 6:30 nursing and started giving you a bottle of milk instead...much happier. Too bad we didn't figure this out until the end of the month. I wish that fixed all of our "issues" but we are still working on the best routine for you.

Over the past month you have totally regressed on your sleeping and we cannot figure out what is going on. We moved you into your crib at 10 weeks and I wish I could say we were all sleeping better but it is actually much worse. You do your largest chunk of sleep from about 8-12 (only four hours! ugh)...then the rest of the morning you are up to nurse every two hours. You don't go back down in the crib easily so this basically means that by the time I get you down you sleep for about 45 minutes before you are up again. It makes for some very long nights...

Some nights you also seem to be in pain. We don't really know what the issue is but you will wake up SCREAMING...not like an I'm hungry scream...like an 'I am in pain scream'. It seems to be a gas/acid reflux issue and we are still working through it. Hopefully we will get it all figured out soon!

Even though you keep me up all night when I see your cute little smiling face it makes everything so much better!

What have we been up to this past month:
- Trip to Houston
- First Thanksgiving
- You met Claire (Uncle Steve's girlfriend) for the first time
- First Turkey Trot
-You rolled over from tummy to back (only twice so I don't think I can count it as mastered)

Other items to note:
- You spit up after every feeding, sometimes a while after but it doesn't really seem to bother you (except perhaps at night)
- You still have beautiful blue eyes and I think they might stay that way...guess we will see!
- You are wearing size 2 diapers
- You are wearing size 3 - 6 month clothes
- We went to the doctor (to talk about your "sleep" issues) and you weigh 13lbs

- You really dig the bouncer these days

- You stil aren't sure what you think of the swaddle. Some nights you are fine with it and some nights you absolutely hate it.

- You like to sleep on your side

I kinda just want to snack on these little toes! So adorable!

Here's to hoping (and wishing and praying) we get something figured out next month!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Project 366 - week 38

Sunday, November 25th: Decorating the Christmas tree

Monday, November 26th: Happy baby!

Tuesday, November 27th: (pic from Monday) Playing at park after school - Ryan loves acorns!

Wednesday, November 28th: (pic from Tuesday) Tummy time

Thursday, November 29th: Happy baby sleeping

Friday, November 30th: Choo choo train at safari park

Saturday, December 1: Playing with my happy little guy

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Guest Blogging

Today I am guest blogging on one of my favorite blogs - The Domestic Wannabe. Check out our 'Day in the Life' post here. If you are visiting from Ashely's blog - Welcome!

Thanksgiving 2012

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Dallas and had a wonderful day with friends and family. We started the morning off by doing the turkey trot! The weather was perfect so we had a great time. I think I am starting to feel my age - my knees hurt so badly afterwards! I could hardly walk down our stairs! Yikes!

On our way to the trot - in the back we have Grayson, Macy (my brothers dog) and Ryan! Kevin appears to be giving a fake smile but thats because he was concentrating on driving.

Ready to run!

Uncle Steve and Ryan

Ryan wanted to hold Gigi's hand the whole time...it only worked for a little bit

After the race Ryan chowed down on some greek yogurt!

Uncle Steve with his girlfriend, Claire, and Macy - so cute!!

After the trot we headed home to get cleaned up and ready for an early Thanksgiving dinner. The boys napped while I made Paula Dean's Gooey Pumpkin Butter cake and prepped my appetizers (I made a meat & cheese tray, garlic baked brie, and Claire made the grape, goat cheese and pecan medley. The deviled eggs are courtesy of Bryan...they are kinda his thing.)