Christmas Update

Christmas 2009-Luke's First Christmas (Dec. 25-27th)

We went to Pennsylvania to celebrate Luke's first Christmas with my family.  Amanda & J.C. were also in PA.  We stayed with Mom & Dad, like we always do.  It was a good, relaxing vacation overall & we had a good time.

Luke got a Bumbo, a My Pal Scout, some clothes, a couple Christmas Little People & Weebles toys, a personalized Christmas ornament (from Auntie Mandy) and I really can't remember what else.

Mom and Dad got me the Willow Tree Nativity & Dad hand built a creche almost EXACTLY like the one they sell with it!  They got Tim a couple tools.

Mandy gave me 2 sets of Sizzex alphabets and a Rubbermaid container set!

Tim and I didn't exchange gifts this year, choosing instead to get Luke the Complete Collection of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

I'd love to add some of the billion pictures we took but Amanda's Ritz page is corrupt right now, so I can't.  I'll try to come back another day & add them.  Otherwise, you'll have to check out his baby book/scrapbook.

Sunday Update Week 9 & 10

Week 9 Continued
Thurs. Dec. 17 & Fri. Dec. 18 <--I can't remember & don't have anything on DS.

Sat. Dec. 19- We got out of the house and went to Toys R Us in Virginia Beach.  We got Trevor a truck for Christmas, then we went to church.  Tim and I were the liturgists at church.   After church we went to Lynnhaven Mall and looked around.  Then we went over to Tom and Peggy's house for dinner.  Peggy made chili and it was pretty good.  We were there pretty late.

Sun. Dec. 20
We didn't get out of the house until about 1 o clock.  We went to Target and got a gift card for James and Missy.  Then we went to Amanda's house so I could make a cookie tray.  We had a great afternoon with James and Missy.  We stayed a bit longer than we wanted to, but we had to take care of Luke & he wasn't feeling well.  They got Luke a moose--Mortimer, toy and he absolutely LOVES it!  They also gave us a $25 gift card to Babies R Us.

Week 10 
Mon. Dec. 21
Monday was a long day.  We got up and out to head to Luke's 11 am doctor's appointment.  We were running late & I called to let them know it would be 15 minutes before I got there.  They said it was fine.  Well, when we got there, they said they couldn't/wouldn't see me.  I was pissed.  So, I rescheduled his appointment for 2:30.  Then, Chrissy, Carolynn, and I met Mandy at Subway for lunch.  We got a yummy lunch & visited with Amanda for about an hour.  Then it was time to head home so Chrissy could pick up some stuff & then to Tyler's school to get him for his 2:00 counselling appointment.  I dropped he & Chrissy off at their appointment & then raced back to Suffolk for Luke's.
Luke's 2 month check up went well.  He weighed 10 lbs exactly.  Which is still the 50th percentile.  He was 23 inches long, which is still the 25th percentile.  His head was 14 inches around.  He got 2 shots & one oral vaccination.  He did cry but was a trooper, still.  The doctor said everything is normal & he's developing right on track.  The only concern we still have are his toes on his right foot.  They are scrunched up & two of them overlap.  She said there's really nothing we can do until he is 6 months old & then normally the first course of action is to "wait & see" how it does when he starts to walk.  So, Tim and I discussed it & we think that is our plan too!
After his appointment I nursed him for 15 minutes in the waiting room & then headed to pick up Tony & Chrissy.  When I got them we went to Barnes & Noble so Chrissy could exchange Brianna's birthday present.  After that we headed over to Hair Cuttery so Chrissy & Carolynn could get hair cuts.  Carolynn had attacked her hair one day last week and we got her a cute little bob to fix it.
When we got home it was time to immediately head to Tom & Peggy's house for their Christmas celebration. We had over baked chicken, rice, and corn for dinner.
Beth's surprise was a cast of Luke's fist & his foot prints.  Loren gave Luke patagonia mittens and booties.  He also gave him a mouseworks fleece hat.  It's too cute! He also said he was going to get a new/refurbished refrigerator after his next cruise!  How cool is that!  Tom and Peggy gave me a bunch of scrapbooking stuff.  They gave Tim a check for $50.  They got Luke an outfit.  They also got Luke 4 Matchbox cars.  Beth got Luke a Carter's "My Aunt Rocks" onesie & black pants.  We also got a keepsake set with a growth chart, hand print kit and more.  It was a good Christmas over there.
We stayed until after 10 and brought Loren home with us.  We all went straight to bed when we got home.

Tues. Dec. 22
I spent the majority of the day taking care of Chrissy.  First we took Tyler to school, then we stopped at 7-11.  After that we went to Wal-Mart, Virginia Beach Court House, DMV, Animal Jungle, McDonald's, Tom & Peggys, Chesapeake Court House, DMV, 7-11, and finally home.  Luke nursed about every hour all day.  When I got home he nursed at 4, 5, 6, and 7.  I was getting pretty frustrated & exhausted.  I managed to pass him off to Tyler so I could de-stress & talk to Melanie.  When Tim got home I ate my Hardee's and started cleaning up the kitchen while making pizzas for them to eat.
We're heading to bed as soon as I get the bed cleared off.

Wed. Dec. 23

All I remember is we celebrated Christmas with Chrissy's kids.

Thurs. Dec. 24
Tim stayed home from work but it was still after 2 before we left for PA.  We got to Mom Dad around 11:30.  Luke did pretty well on the drive up, but I did ride in back with him the whole way.

Wordless Wednesday!!

Newborn Oct 18 6 lbs 3.6 oz 19 inches

One Month Nov 18 8.5 lbs 21 1/2 inches

Two Months Dec 18 10 lbs 23 1/4 inches

Three Months Jan 18 12.5 lbs 24 1/2 inches

Wordless Wednesday!!

MacArthur Playdate

On Friday, we met Caleb & his mommy, Sabrina at MacArthur for a cloth-diapered cutie play date! Carolynn had a good time in the play-place, while Luke & Caleb hung out with their mommies.

The boys nursed, stared at each other, smiled some, had their diapers changed, and then nursed some more!

It was a good time! I'm looking forward to lots more play-dates!

Stats-
Caleb birthday-10/28/09 14 lbs
Luke birthday-10/18/09 11 lbs

My Cutie!

Wordless Wednesday!!

Just for Mandy, WW brought to you from Olan Mills!  More later!

2009 Surveys

39 Questions


1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?

Got pregnant, quit my job, let my sister move in with me, and had a baby!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Scrub the Walls-CHECK
Assemble Luke's cradle-CHECK
Get my hair trimmed by-monthly-NOPE!  (more like 3x all year!)
Bathe the dogs monthly-NOPE! (more like 5x all year!)
Lose weight-CHECK (I was 193 when I got preggo in Feb. & 175 at the end of December!)
Grade papers in a timely manner-NOPE!
Get pregnant-CHECK

So  4/7 isn't too bad!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Well, I did, but so did all of my DIN (due in Nov.) DS mamas!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, I was very blessed and didn't suffer any losses this year!

5. What countries did you visit?

None

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

More money!

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Oct. 18, 2009--Luke's birthday!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Getting pregnant & having Luke (notice a theme yet?)

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not losing more weight before getting pregnant.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I got the swine flu the week before Luke was born...other than that my pregnancy kept me pretty healthy!

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Everything we bought for Luke.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Tim's--for being such a great & supportive husband & dad!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Hmm..I don't know other than things I can't mention here...

14. Where did most of your money go?

Food, electricity, gas, and Luke.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Luke!

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

I don't know that any song will remind me of this year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
I. Happier or sadder? A million times happier, I was TTC a month after a loss this time last year.
II. Thinner or fatter? Actually thinner, I lost quite a bit since Luke was born!
III. Richer or poorer? Poorer--I quit my job!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Relaxed before Luke was born...said no to people!

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Sitting around doing NOTHING.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
This year (2010) it will be spent here with Tim's family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yep!

22. How many one-night stands?
None.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
We discovered Dexter this year & I learned to like Sopranos.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, I can honestly say I don't hate anybody.

25. What was the best book you read?
The Twilight Saga

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I don't really have one..

27. What did you want and get?
To be pregnant and have a baby!

28. What did you want and not get?
A natural birth. I had to have a c-section.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Up.

20. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 26 in a very uneventful way this year...Tim stayed home & we slept in.  We also went to Disney on Ice with my Girl Scouts.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Being able to have the birth experience I wanted.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Maternity wear - comfortable and stylish~

33. What kept you sane?
My husband and Zoloft.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
None

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
None

36. Who did you miss?
My mom

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Luke

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Breastfeeding is worth every single minute of struggle!

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"Unforgettable, in every way."-Unforgettable by Nat King Cole


Stolen from A-Priori Mommy


Best Event: Luke's birth

Best Movie: Up

Best Over-Played Song: The country one about Juliet

Best Book: The Twilight Saga

Best New-ity of 09: Luke!

Most Shocking News of 09: Getting pregnant!

Events of 2009 in no particular order:
1. BFP!
2. Quit teaching
3. Our third anniversary
4. Chrissy & Carolynn moved in
5. Luke was born
6. Tyler moved in
7. Luke's firsts--Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years


And the biggie-I tried to work on all year:

JANUARY 2009

1. Who did you kiss on new years?

Tim

2. Did you have a new year's resolution this year?

Yep, bunches of them. The biggest two were to lose weight & get pregnant.

3. Does it snow where you live?

Rarely

4. Do you like hot chocolate?

Yes, especially when I'm sick or cold.

FEBRUARY 2009

1. Who was your Valentine?

Tim of course

2. When you were little did you buy Valentine's for the whole class?

yes

3. Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not?

nope & I couldn't tell you if it did or not!

4. What did you get for Valentines?

I don't think we did anything.  We were very busy that month getting pregnant...

MARCH 2009

1. Are you Irish?

Nope, Italian!

2. Do you wear green every year on St. Patrick's Day?

No, but I did wear my light up button at work!

3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2009?

Nothing, other than wear my button.

4. Are you happy when winter is pretty much over?

Oh heck yes.

APRIL 2009

1. Do you like the rain?

No.

2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year?

No.

3. Do you get tons of candy on Easter?

No, we only bought a few things.  One of them was Fun Dip.  I was seriously craving fun dip!

4. Do you "love" the month of April?

No, why would I?

MAY 2009

1. What is your favorite flower?

Daisies

2. Finish the phrase "April showers":

Bring May flowers?  is there another ending?

3. Do you celebrate May 24th:

No, what is it?

4. Is May anything special to you?

Nope.  School's almost out & SOL testing was a pain in the butt, this past year.

JUNE 2009

1. What did you do for Fathers Day?

Got Tim a card, and went to Tom and Peggy's

2. Did you do anything fun during this month?

Not that I recall

3. Have a favorite baseball team?

Nope

JULY 2009

1. What did you do on the 4th of July?

Neither of us can remember.  I think Tim ran sound...we were busy I recall but not w/ holiday stuff.

2. Did you go to the fireworks?

No.

3. Do you tan in the day?

Not this year.  I wore SPF 55 all summer...

AUGUST 2009

1. Did you do anything fun to end the summer?

I had day-care kids in August, so we did lots of stuff.  I also spent 2 weeks on bed-rest.

2. What was your favorite memory of summer?

Feeling my baby move in my tum-tum!

3. Did you have a sunburn?

Nope

4. Did you go to the pool a lot?

Nope, like 4 times all summer!

SEPTEMBER 2009

1. Were you attending school?

No.

2. Do you like fall better than summer?

No.

3. Anything special about September to you?

My baby showers!  Sept. 5 in PA & Sept. 20 in VA

OCTOBER 2009

1. What was your last Halloween costume?

Nothing and we didn't even really celebrate!

2. What is your favorite candy?

Reese's Peanut Butter cups but I can't eat them since I have given up nuts until I'm done BFing

3. What is your favorite thing about this month?

Luke's birthday!! Oct 18

NOVEMBER 2009

1. Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving?

This year we went to Tom and Peggy's, in 2010 we'll be wherever Mom and Dad are

2. What is your favorite thing about November?

Election day--how dorky is that

3. Do you wish on the wish bone?

Not since I was a little kid!

DECEMBER 2009

1. Do you celebrate Christmas? Yes!!!

2. What are you thankful for?

Luke

3. Get anything special last year?

My parents got me the Willow Tree nativity with a handbuilt creche!

4. What do you want this year?

Luke to be happy!

5. Where did you begin 2010?

At home, on the couch, kissing my hubs and holding our baby in our arms!