Catching Up on Christmastime

I hope you had yourselves a Merry Christmas! We sure did. And somehow, I made it through the other side of Christmas without completely crashing. Oh, I got sick all right, and I got the first really gross cough I have had in years, but Santa came, my son loves his new toys, my husband and I actually have had time to spend together, and we had a lovely time with our family.

A blurry, but cute picture of Gabriel in his new Ikea chair (and wow, he loves it).
Thanks MomMom & Grandad!

So what now? Back to life. But it's starting to feel like a different life is unfolding for me lately. I think it has to do with the budding belly I have (and I might have been eating jolly the past weeks, but that bump is mostly baby, I promise).

Things just seem different to me. My purpose, I guess. I feel much more connected with being a mother than ever before. I feel like I CAN manage things. And it isn't that I didn't feel that way before-- I just think that somehow getting all our Christmas shopping done, stripping our cloth diapers of ammonia, cleaning, baking cookies, working, and being Mommy all at once made me feel good about myself. I mean, wow, I got a lot done in December.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Except blogging. Errr... sorry about that.

To follow, though, I want to say that I am feeling much more at peace with our decision to prepare for a natural birth. My husband bought me two books for Christmas (ones I wanted), which most natural birth Moms know (Birthing From Within and Hypnobirthing). They are excellent reads thus far, and they even came with a very sincere note from my husband that he is totally engaged in our preparation and pursuit of a natural birth. It was really touching to read his sincere commitment to something I want so badly. It made me realize this is something WE want, and I know that is going to be important.

Almost 19 Weeks along with our Gumdrop (#2)
Our "big" ultrasound is January 4th!

I guess where I am going with this is that pursuing a natural birth needing to be a team effort is much like the effort to go green. It has to be a team thing. You can't do it alone, and it's not always easy to make the choices you do. As this year closes, I realize we have so much more to do to be a greener household, but I feel exhilarated about making further changes (maybe taking on composting next Summer?!) rather than daunted because this is something we do as a family. And maybe that is what this Christmas has taught me. Making the journey of life as a family is a true gift.

I am lucky to have a beautiful, blossoming family.

(Review and Giveaway of The Best Homemade Baby Food On The Planet & a Review of Rockin Green Funk Rock coming later this week! Don't miss it!!)

Little Saint Nick...

Tonight is December 5th, which in my family and many family's traditions, it is St. Nicholas Night. We, like many children in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium (we're not German to my knowledge, but who cares!) put our shoes out in the hallway in the hopes that St. Nick will leave us a little something. And this year, the tradition continued from my childhood to Gabriel's!

He put out his shoes in his stylish Santa in Space pajamas (compliments of his MomMom and Grandad)...



He had a nice evening looking at books and reading with his Mommy and Daddy...




And then St. Nick stopped by with exactly what every little boy and girls wants... an organic brown rice yogurt bar and banana! I smile because my little man really does find these things to be a treat.



Nom. Nom. Nom.

Flashback Photo: December 2008

We were living in Queens just across from the Upper East Side of Manhattan this time last year. So here is a photo of Central Park South last December, the weekend before Christmas. Weirdly, my husband and I had no idea we would have a little baby boy to celebrate with us in December 2009.

It snowed this year, too, interestingly enough.

Gobs and Gobs and Gobs of Snow.

Gobs and gobs of snow. It makes a girl warm in her heart, especially when it is the week of her first baby's first Christmas.

What is not so heartwarming is the fact that we are still stuck without a condo. My husband and I would give anything to be snuggled at home right now, our heat jacked up with a blanket over the pair of us, our little Gabriel snuggled into his own blanket in our arms, our Christmas tree twinkling with white lights and crimson decor, Mommy and Daddy chomping on pieces of freshly-made fudge and enjoying our snow-covered and enchanting woodland view.

But this is not yet possible, and so, in the meantime, we hope the snow stays just a few days more so that we may enjoy this scene, this winter wonderland moment with babe, in just a day or so more.

The condo should be painted today or tomorrow, allowing us to return tomorrow or Tuesday evening. Just in time to get our tree decorated in time. I still have many presents to wrap, and 1 or 2 to purchase!

Our little female cat, Sage, is returning home today from the Pet Hotel (my husband ventured out onto the awful roads to drop my sister off at work and get Sage home in my Mom's 4-wheel-drive-equipped vehicle). I am sure she will be happy to sit in our windows and chatter at squirrels again.

What's sweet about our current not-so-snuggly situation is that we are holed up with family, and that is certainly nice. If you are going to be snowed in for an evening(see the aftermath picture-- i.e. where is our bumper?-- at right), I sure don't mind playing Taboo with my 3 sisters and my parents.

And so, that is the way of the weekend... enjoying family, gazing outside, and longing for the moment the Christmas my husband and I dreamed of from the moment we knew were expecting truly begins.

Oh, and while I lament, we also would like for Gabe's behavior last night to never occur again. He screamed everytime he was put down in the pack and play, and would immediately stop crying when my husband picked him up. I nursed him when he seemed hungry and when it seemed just a little milk would make him drunk enough to sleep, but the longest he went down was one hour. On weekend nights (most Fridays and all Saturdays), my husband tends to Gabe's antics between feedings, and I felt awful knowing he was not getting any rest. And to be honest, what sound rest does a Mommy get while she is hearing her babe cry and her husband sigh anyway?

Mommy FAIL post coming very soon.

Christmas Sneak Peek

Well, Gabe is still a wee lad of under 2 months so I am not too worried about him seeing my blog and having his Christmas spoiled so I figured I would share with you his "Top 3 Gifts." To give you an idea of what my husband and I decided to do for the little man this Christmas, we decided to build his library with books, and Santa will be giving him some Dr. Seuss among other favorites. Santa is also stuffing his stocking with little must-haves-not-already-had such as MAM pacifier holders and some more of Gabe's favorite butt paste. We're not spending more than $100 this Christmas on him, and I think we came to a total around $80, which, for a newborn, seems just fine to me.

Gift #1. Sassy Me In The Mirror (Santa's "big" gift)

First of all, he needed something for his crib that can entertain him and stimulate his senses. I was pretty disgruntled with the cost of most crib "soothers," as they are called. For the money ($35-$70), a little light up aquarium with mini sparkly fishies seemed really lame. My Mom swears by mirrors for little ones; it makes sense-- babies can see themselves, smile, coo, and watch their little lips move in a mirror. Bonus: Sassy makes a mirror that doubles as a tummy-time toy... you can lean it on the ground for little one to explore his face, too!



Gift #2. from the Urban Babies Wear Black Series:
Urban Babies Wear Black
Eco Babies Wear Green
Foodie Babies Wear Bibs
(Mommy and Daddy's "big" gift)



The cutest damn board books you will ever read or discover. Hell, I would put them on my coffee table even if I didn't have a 7-week-old. The text is hilarious, clever, and adorable, but when paired with the books' satirically-cute illustrations, I would suffice to call the series "genius." I highly encourage you to find them and enjoy them for yourself. The series consists of the three my husband and I are giving Gabe, as well as a book about Rocker Babies, Jet Set Babies, Country Babies, and Winter Babies, etc.








Gift #3. Babylegs
Union Jack, Yellow Dots


So I caved and bought babylegs. For my baby BOY. Go ahead and say they are a waste of money because they can be homemade, but I got a buy one/get one/free shipping deal, and it seemed worth it to me. And for those that say these little leg warmers are not for little boys, let me just say this: Gabe is a BABY. He will look AWESOME.





---
BONUS SHARE
Gift from Mom-Mom and Grandad
a.k.a. Gabe is already spoiled, and it's wonderful.

Evenflo Triple Fun Jungle ExerSaucer

Lucky guy. It starts as a playmat, converts to a stationary play seat with incredibly colorful and interesting jungle creatures, and then forms into some sort of curvy amusement station for toddlers. I can't wait to watch Gabe's bright eyes look up at the rainforest on Christmas day!

Feeling Ornamental

Gabriel's First Christmas Ornament is here! And we just love it.

I found it on Department 56's website, and it was sold out almost everywhere I looked, online or in stores. Luckily, Boscov's internet store had it in stock (and on sale), and it got here in time for Gabe's very first Christmas!

Here it is:


Full Price: $12.50 new

Highlight/ Lowlight

High: Gabe rolled over at 6 weeks and 2 days, holy moly go baby!!!

Low: I got a freaking flat tire in my parents' neighborhood due to my own idiocy.

Now, I am waiting for my lovely husband to get back from getting a new tire so that our little fam can go Christmas shopping.