44 Weeks

Week 44 has been busy, Mr. Spaghetti. It is your first New Year's Eve and at 7.30 pm I am sitting here listening to you cry in the room downstairs. Traveling and sleeping haven't really mixed well for you this time around. Having your first cold this week hasn't helped much with the sleep. You've had 3 days of stuffiness and restless sleep, but seem to be all better today.


Thumb sucker? Yep, you've been jamming that thumb into your mouth. You did it every so often when you were itty bitty, but this seems to be a more regular thing. I also wonder though if it is a teething thing because I sometimes see you gnawing on it or your other fingers.


You have stayed with your Gammie while Daddy and I have gone skiing a few days this week. You've been very sweet to Gammie, showing her how things are to go and you even tossed in a few naps.


We've gone for a hike in the snow but you're yet to get a hold of any. I think tomorrow may be the day for that. Seems like a good way to start the new year.

Vail, so far

I just love those eyelashes

• Both guys have colds
• Freddie ain't sleeping
• 2 days skiing (for me, 4 for Charlie)
• A bulb syringe for his nose, yuck
  
• 1 long hike
• Not enough snow
• New Years cards mailed (and received I believe)
  
• A birthday celebration (Happy birthday, Eoin!)
• Hardly any photos
• "Beer thirty" observed daily
• Balancing large meals with large salads
• New ski socks with pink stripes
  
• Helmet heads all around
  
• People magazine-athon
• Cousins
• 2010 planning
  

Freddie's First Christmas

You started your day digging in Gammie's cabinet.

Mama didn't take any pictures today, but I think that's a sign of a good day, filled with chasing you around.


We spent lots of time cuddling too. You are such a love.


You got lots of goodies: books, toys, a bike seat, and a helmet.


You were into the books.


The helmet? Not so much.


Your mama is a real skier now with fancy new skis and boots. We're off to the mountains and I cannot wait to get you into the snow.

43 Weeks + 1 day

Well, dearest, I missed your Thursday photo shoot so we're a day late. We are in Denver this week for the holidays so things have been hectic. You're handling everything in stride.

Most notable at 43 weeks:

• You are a waving maniac. You sit straight up in your stroller at wave at each and ever person we pass in the park. It's the queen's wave.
  
• I am sure if these photos do it justice, but you flash a cheesy grin as soon as you seem the camera. You're a ham.
  
• You're carrying on conversations with your babbling, complete with expressive hand gestures. Is that the New Orleans yat shining through?

That's all baby doll. It's been a long day, and we're enjoying every minute of you.

I just love my guys

We Love the Hornets

Our team's not so hot this year, but they've got time yet to warm up I suppose. We still like going to the games, complete with beers and hot dogs. Tonight we made it in time to meet James Posey before the game and listen to some Trombone Shorty at the pregame festivities. Tonight's celebrity sightings: Kim Kardashian and Deion Sanders. Surely both are in town for tomorrow night's big Saints v. Cowboys game. Reggie Bush better have been at home in bed, resting for tomorrow's game, leaving Ms. Kardashian to find fun in NOLA by herself!

Visiting Santa

Freddie and Ian visited Santa at the mall. Last year Ian would not go near Santa. This year he was perfectly fine sitting with him and I think it was because he was highly entertained by Freddie wailing over on Santa's other knee.

The photographer was able to get Freddie to stop crying just for a bit but then when he looked up at Santa he just lost it again. No love for Santa this year.

42 Weeks

It's official...you will not sit down, or sit still, at all. Period. Not even for a picture.


I'll make do since you're just so darn cute.

Jamming in another goldfish

I will go ahead and say that I think you've got the Mama and Dada applied to the right folks. I also think you say "Heeeeeeyyyyy!" and "dog" but I am not certain of that just yet. You are certainly saying something and your eyebrows are just a going along with your mouth, moving up and down.


You are interested in everything, especially the tiny stuff. You spot something and you make your way to it and slowly pull out your right index finger to examine it. I am very interested to see what you'll do in the snow next week.


You're still dancing and my favorite move is the "shake a leg". IF you are crawling along and hear a beat that you like you'll stick your leg out and wiggle it around before moving on. You'll also get your head a bobbing. I, of course, get right to dancing when I see you doing it.



You love your Daddy and I love watching you love him. Everything stops when you hear him come home in the evenings. You lean over and crane your neck to try to get a glimpse of him as he comes around the corner and into the room. And then when you lock eyes...oh boy.

Christmas: Part I

Since we'll be out of town for Christmas day and there are a few gifts under the tree for Bug we decided to start spending some time over the next week unwrapping.


He was *very* interested in tearing off the wrapping paper.


Sometimes it was large pieces at a time, but a good bit of it was his precise placement of his tiny little fingers on the edge of the paper and taking just a small piece at a time.


He knew exactly what to do when he saw his gift from Santa.


Music video release date pending, but you know it's coming!

Advent calenders

So, I know the season of "Advent" is the beginning of the church year and the Advent calender is symbolic of the anticipation and hope Christians have for the new year. I've had many years of religious education and colored my fair share of advent calenders and wreaths in elementary school. But hey, who's to say I can't reinvent a new use for the trusty Advent calender?

It appear as though the toothbrush is replacing the spoon as his favorite toy.

We've been trying out an Advent calender filled with little treats as we search for some traditions for our family. It was tough to find small treasures to fill each of the 24 hats/mittens. Those are pretty small little spaces. Maybe when Freddie gets a little older it will be easier to fill with magic. After all, what a young child finds to be interesting and magical is rather abundant, and more often than not, teeny tiny. Think shiny pebbles, sparkly rings, interesting string....things that would certainly make him happy now but would make Mama fear he'd choke. Thie year it was mostly finger puppets and tiny trucks.


Note to self: each child will need his/her own calendar. Nope, maybe the kids can share but Charlie will definitely need his own calendar.

Our second calender has really tiny pockets. They looked just right for notes so I filled it with just that. I think it's more like a gratitude calender, naming something I love about my life with Charlie each day. I suppose maybe this would be more appropriate in November as we approach Turkey Day, but I didn't get down the boxes with the calender until too late in the month. Maybe I'll make a Turkey themed pocket calender and we'll start another tradition. Anyone up for a craft project?


So as to not forget, this year's notes (Charlie, DO NOT READ THESE. You'll read them soon enough:

• Charlie’s big hair in the morning makes Erin smile. Even if she’s not smiling on the outside, she’s smiling on the inside for sure.
• Thank you for loving Bug so much. I so love sharing parenting with you.
• Thank you for understanding what makes me crazy and doing everything humanly possible to keep that side of me under wraps, but still being loving and caring when my crazy patch is showing.
• I know that Bug and I are your #1 priority. I can feel it and can see it in your actions and your choices. Thank you.
• Thank you for letting me sneak in an extra hour of sleep in the morning. It helps me feel better and I love hearing you and the Bug downstairs together while I lie in bed.
• Thank you for decorating our house and making our home cozy during the holidays. It feels special.
• Thanks for making us smile every single day.
• Thank you for doing the gross stuff…taking out the trash, scooping poop, bathing the dogs.
• I love your blue eyes.
• Thank you for agreeing to all of our self-portraits. I love looking back at all of them.
• You always tell me how beautiful I am just at the right moment. Thank you.
• Thanks for telling me all about your research. I love how excited you get, so it doesn’t matter if I understand what in the world you are talking about.
• You make the best pancakes, bacon, and bloody mary dinners!
• I like when you tell me I am a SUPERSTAR and that you are proud of me!
• Thanks for always asking how our day was and wanting to know all of the *details*.
• Thank you for asking about my seminar and how all of my planned activities went over. You’re a good listener.
• You make me feel appreciated when you tell me what a good mommy and wife I am.
• I like getting surprise text messages from you during the day. It’s nice to know you think about me.
• I love all of the jewelry you’ve picked for me, especially my wedding ring. (not a hint, really!)
• Thanks for turning on the heater in the bathroom before I get there.
• I like when we hold hands in the car. I even like your squeeze and release maneuver. It makes me smile.
• Thanks for insisting that I buy cute clothes and shoes for myself. I will be following those orders soon.
• I like when we play games. Of course I like to win, but it also makes me feel good to see you win every once in a while too. Love the competition!
• You give the best hugs. Thanks for making me slow down to enjoy a hug or two each day.

Lovin'

• Ornaments from our travels
• Baby toes
• Warm blankets
• Soups
• Dinners with friends
• Christmas cards
• Who Dat fever
• Christmas music
• The pitter patter of crawling knees
  
• Afternoons with nothing planned
• PJs all day long
  

41 Weeks

You are trying your best to climb lately and your feet are leaving the floor some days.


Give me my cup back, Mama. I worked so hard to grab it.


Now you'll let go of the furniture all together and stand for a second or two. It's all because you need BOTH hands to play or to remove the hat on your head.


Napping has been tough because you stand up in your crib s soon as I put you in and just stand there and pout until I come for you.



I do like finding you standing in your crib in the morning after a long nights sleep because you are standing on your tip toes, peering over the top of the crib, grinning at me.




You are officially hooked on being rocked to sleep. Yep, all my fault. I can't help myself. This week we took a nap in the chair together. It felt so nice to just close my eyes with you curled up on my chest.



Your new love is goldfish crackers. You really like to bang on your tray and watch them bounce around. It is even better to watch them fly from your tray to the floor if the doggies are nearby.



I'm thinking you're going to be right handed. I am also thinking you're going to have a thing for loud music. You love banging and dancing or banging and watching us dance is even better...it gets lots of giggles.



It is hard to believe that you'll be a year old in a few months. I have been thinking about that a lot lately. This has been the fastest year of my life. Sometimes I just want time to stop because everything feels pretty perfect lately.



We love you. You are my Buggers.