Christmas!

This has been a very special but very unusual Christmas for us! It all started on Christmas Eve when Chad and I were supposed to go to a Christmas gathering at my grandparents' house in Azle. That day we both came down with a nasty stomach bug and were totally incapacitated. My parents came and picked up Graham and took him to the party, which was good because we were both too sick to take care of him! I was very disappointed to miss the party. My mom came and stayed the night that night in order to help us with G. What a long night! Being sick like that is miserable. The next day we both were better but very weak. We enjoyed watching G open his presents but the sound of the paper tearing really scared him! He cried though most of the unwrapping. He got some very special gifts including some hand-made building blocks from my dad and a laugh and learn house from us. We were thankful that my parents were able to be there to help us with him while we recovered. On Saturday, before he even got to our house, my brother Jon got the stomach bug also (my other brother Britt went to California for Christmas). My mom ended up getting it on Sunday. Everyone stayed the weekend at our house, so my dad started to call our house "the hospital." Somehow, Graham never got sick, and I am so thankful. It was a wonderful time of togetherness even though most of us felt rotten. My illness almost caused me to not be able to nurse little G anymore because of dehydration, but thankfully my milk supply is back up and all is well! We are looking forward to Chad's mom and Tom coming to visit this weekend (and hopefully no one will get sick!). I have uploaded some pictures and 2 videos. One is Graham opening his present from us - he was very upset because of the tearing noise. The other one is G clapping. He learned how to clap on Christmas Day!!

Crawling....well, kind of

Graham is officially mobile - and at 8 months it is about time! Chad and I have been having to do some major baby-proofing the last few days! I don't think that baby-proofing is something you can really do until you see what your baby wants to get into. You can't really call what he's doing "crawling".....maybe more like scooting. =) Another new development is his ability to transition from tummy to sitting up and back again. We had to, therefore, lower the mattress in his crib. He is doing so many new things right now, it is so much fun!

First Christmas

So today since my son's first Christmas is coming up, I was thinking about my first Christmas. I don't remember it, of course, but I've always loved to hear the story of it. Mom and Dad - I hope you don't mind my sharing.

So my Mom and Dad decided, for some reason, to drive from Colorado Springs to Searcy, Arkansas on Christmas Day with a 6 month old baby. That was apparently a bitterly cold winter. Their VW van broke down outside of Little Rock. With no cell phones (of course) they had no choice but to get out and start walking. Luckily, a nice family on their way to Little Rock picked them up. My parents had to wait at their house for my Grandpa to come pick them up. My parents awkwardly watched as this family had Christmas and opened presents. They did, eventually make it to Searcy!

Later, my dad had to head back to Colorado Springs on his own for work. My mom flew back with me later. He drove back in the recovered van, which had been striped. With no heater, no radio, and no money, he drove most of the way with snow chains on going about 20 miles per hour. He drove straight through, and when he finally arrived days later, he immediately went to work at the hospital! Crazy.

Hopefully G's first Christmas will be a little less dramatic.

On a side note, Graham has lately been trying to get up on his hands and feet (not hands and knees). So we'll see if he soon starts crawling. It may be the bear crawl! He has certainly found his own unique ways to do things, and I'm loving it!

Update

Wow, It's hard to believe that today is December 13th! In 2 days G will be 8 months old! He is such a good boy. He has 2 teeth now (bottom front teeth). He is not crawling yet, but he uses his own creative ways to get around! He rolls and pivots and sometimes he even bounces forward on his bottom. He is nursing 4 times a day and eating solids at breakfast and dinner. He likes all kinds of foods. He eats a lot of baby food, but he likes real food better and gets little bites of whatever we're eating. He is sleeping 11 hours a night and taking 3 naps a day (sometimes 2). I'm not ready for him to drop that 3rd nap yet! We are so excited to enjoy our first holiday season with him.

I am uploading a couple of videos for you grandparents out there!

Christmas stocking

Last Christmas when I was about 5 months pregnant I started making Graham a felt applique Christmas stocking. I am proud to say that today I finally finished it! I don't think I knew what a project it was going to be, but I'm glad I did it, and I think it turned out so cute! I do plan on making one for each of our kids. I don't think it will take me as long next time since now I know what I'm doing.