The official Christmas post

This was the second year for our lovely faux Christmas tree. Before we bought that, we didn't really have a tree to speak of. Pitiful, I know. The tree is pre-lit, which makes it super quick and easy to put up. We put it in our living room this year, so it was constantly calling William's name, begging him to unplug it or take an ornament off. The tree looked a little funny during the day because we only put a select few ornaments on it (nothing breakable), and there were very few at all within William's reach. Of course at night, all lit up, it looked just as magical as any other fake, skinny tree.


I tried so hard to get good pictures of the boys in front of the tree. It was impossible because a)You can't trust William with the baby yet b)Ryan is still very floppy c)We wanted a picture with a dark room and bright tree but couldn't get the camera settings right.


Buster likes to think he owns the place.


Hey good-lookin'!

We went to Tallowood for their 4:30 candlelight service on Christmas Eve. I was worried about how the boys would do. Ryan slept through the whole thing in his carseat (whew!), and William was well-managed by Mikey and Grammy. The superstar of the service was William's big bag o'snacks. The multi-colored goldfish kept him quiet anytime he got tired of looking at all the people, fun colors, and musical instruments. Afterward, we went to Olive Garden. Apparently we weren't the only ones with that idea. William did great - again, if you just keep handing him food, he is usually happy. Ryan somehow managed to stay content and asleep until the moment we stood up to leave. Then he started to freak out. We contemplated driving home and then realized he would scream the whole way. That's not a fun way to spend Christmas Eve! So Mikey, Ryan and I joined William in the back of the ole minivan and watched some "Finding Nemo" while I fed Ryan. It was actually a lot of fun and something I will always remember from this Christmas.



A friend gave us "The Night Before Christmas" the year William was born. She said her dad used to read it to her and her brother every Christmas Eve, and it was a really special memory for her. We decided to do the same thing. Unfortunately, we forgot last year. We were in Connecticut, so that's my excuse. We picked up the tradition again but didn't remember until pretty late in the evening, and it was tough to catch the boys' attention. Oh well, I got a few pictures out of it. I think William will enjoy the story next year.


As you can see, the boys lost interest, but Mikey soldiered on!


I snuck out of the bedroom to snag a picture of the tree after Santa came. I just barely missed him. I heard the reindeer take off from the roof and knew it was safe to come out for a photo.

We told William about Santa this year. Pretty much all we said is that Santa brings presents. He definitely understands the concept of presents ever since his bountiful second birthday in November. Of course I wanted him to have some magical reaction when he came downstairs and saw all the presents under the tree. He was definitely interested, but he isn't old enough to have that fun Christmas anticipation that makes Christmas morning so very exciting.

The first thing he gravitated toward was a green ball that's kind of like a Koosh ball but even cooler. I think he would have been happy if that was his only present.


After that, he noticed the big daddy of them all - his "bike." He was enamored with it from the start. He kept saying "Thank you Santa my bike." It was too cute. We let him ride it all around the house that day. Thankfully he hasn't mentioned bringing it back inside.


And just like that, a giant mess is made.


This little cutie does not like hats, so I had to act fast.


We took a picture of William next to his stocking on his first Christmas to show how teeny-tiny he was. We decided to take a picture of both boys with their stockings, and William reached over to hold Ryan's hand. Melted my heart.

After tearing apart our living room and playing with our loot, we had breakfast and Skyped with CC, PawPaw and Uncle Michael. It's always hard for me to spend Christmas away from them, but I am so thankful that Skype brings us all together in an instant.

Grammy and Grandpa's house was our destination for the rest of the day. We enjoyed a lovely Christmas dinner (I bounced and shushed Ryan while he cried through most of it), but the food was great! It was a very low-key day, which is just what the doctor ordered.


Playtime with Grammy


William wore this same onesie on his first Christmas, although for some reason I didn't put him in pants! I have to trust that it wasn't cold that day, or else I was out of my mind. Blame the sleep deprivation.


Aunt Amy loves playing with William, and the feeling is definitely mutual.


Family photo in front of the tree. Mikey is so tall you can hardly see the tree, but it really is there!

One of those days

No, not one of those days. I'm having the kind of day that makes you feel grateful and very, very lucky. The recipe for this type of day in my world consists of:

Low expectations for the day
1 part happy William (this is a crucial element)
A dash of alone time
A heaping helping of naptime for Ryan (even better if he puts himself to sleep)

Ryan has been sick, although he's not been too down about it. Because he's under the weather, I decided to put us on house arrest as much as possible this week (we can't do it on school days). The thought of staying home all day with a two-year-old and a newborn is rather daunting, even for someone who is supposed to be good at that sort of thing. William likes to be on the move. Plus, we have been inside a lot due to crummy weather. If it's pretty out, we will at least shoot baskets in the back yard and play in the sandbox. That usually helps keep bad moods at bay.

I woke up this morning wondering how I would entertain both kids all day. Not to mention the fact that William was quite anti-Mommy for much of yesterday. He would tell me to go away whenever I came upon him and Mikey playing together. Really warms a mama's heart, let me tell you.

I should have realized, though, that today is a new day. Don't bring yesterday's baggage along for the ride. William woke up on the right side of the bed and has been an absolute doll. He kept wanting to climb into my lap to read and draw on his Magna Doodle. He laughed heartily when we Skyped with my mom and Michael, and that crazy CC kept ducking out of the picture and popping back in. He talked on the phone to Mikey and said "Hang out" when he was asked what we had done today. He sang "Happy Birthday" to Michael at lunch (five months late, but who's counting?). He played nicely whenever I fed Ryan. He asked to give Ryan a big hug before nap. Basically, he was a charming little fella who made the day easy as can be for his mommy.



And as for the littlest member of our family - he put himself to sleep not once but TWICE today. As in, I haven't had to rock/bounce/shush/do a dance/hop three times in order to get him to nap. I just laid him down and let him be. William didn't do that for many, many months. I have a feeling that Ryan is more likely to fall asleep on his own because we are actually giving him a chance to do so. I am not sure I ever gave it a good shot with William because I had all the time in the world to devote to him. But with Ryan, sometimes big brother needs something, and the baby has to be put down for a bit. I am also reading a sleep book that is helping me recognize the need to put Ryan down before he gets fussy and over-tired.



Now, both boys are snoozing away. I need to do some dishes and laundry (there is never a time that I don't need to do dishes and laundry!), but I wanted to write about this lovely day so I can look back on it when I'm having one of those days.

Oh, and both pics are over a month old. I know better than to have a post without pictures. I have to reward people for reading through all that!

For you non-Facebookers

I posted most of these on Facebook, but for the few people who aren't on there or don't check it...these are the professional pictures we had taken when Ryan was two weeks old. A friend that I met through my mom's group is a photographer, and she is sweet as can be. It was really nice to have a very understanding mom taking pics in our house. The shoot took forever because I had to coax Ryan to sleep, feed him when he got fussy, and get William to cooperate when he was needed. Plus, Ryan christened her beautiful white blanket with every bodily function in his daily arsenal. She didn't bat an eye. Check out www.faithfulstepsphotography.com to see more of Christina's work.