December

Life is pretty great right now.  We are currently in the middle of a pretty big snowstorm.  Like the hunker down and get comfortable with each other for awhile because it's going to be so windy you're not even going to be able to effectively shovel kind of storm.  Brian is staying home from work and we're enjoying some coffee (mainly decaf because breastfeeding and caffeine are not a good mix) and it's that time of year when we get to mix eggnog in.  I'm not a fan of eggnog by itself but it makes the best coffee creamer hands down.  We actually got some thunder snow last night, a pretty rare event (the last time it happened here was in 1996) and most meteorologists' dream to experience, especially those located in the Midwest. Callie is also pretty jazzed about the 10+ inches of snow we currently have.  I don't think I've ever seen her run so fast or be quite as excited to go outside.  And that includes when we take her swimming.  We are, however, praying that the power doesn't go out.  We've been threatened with a few brown outs already this morning.

Last night after we had 1-2 inches, notice the shoveled area on the right.

This morning.  Can't even tell I had shoveled.  Look at the fence in the background!

December has brought a lot of wonderful things this year.  We got 95% of our Christmas shopping done by the tenth and we are now completely done!  I don't think I've ever been done this early (and what a perfect year for it!).  Thank God for online shopping.  Just a little bit of wrapping left and we'll be all good to go.   And Jamer has made quite a bit of progress in the last week and a half!  He can now roll from both his back to his belly and from belly to back.  He's done it several times each day since figuring out how to do it.  He's already making motions like he wants to sit up so I'm guessing he's going to hit that milestone on the early side as well. 

Around the three month mark, babies typically have another growth spurt, which can apparently be somewhat of a doozy with it messing up their sleep pattern, them being more fussy, refusing food, etc, and can last anywhere from 1-4 weeks.  I believe we are somewhere around week three of this growth spurt.  His biggest thing is his messed up sleep pattern, but surprisingly a few good things have come from it.  He was trying to bust out of his swaddle blanket very regularly since this started so I finally gave in and stopped swaddling him.  You'd never even know we did it cold turkey because he has started putting himself to sleep in his crib (my jaw is still on the floor).  It was like someone flipped a switch.  One night I laid him down sleepy but not asleep and out he went without any crying and he's done it every night since.  Before this, it was taking at least an hour for him to go down and stay asleep.  Because I was having even more trouble getting him to sleep in his crib during the day he has been taking a majority of his naps in his swing.  Today I decided to try putting him in his crib instead and down he went without a fight!  Even though his periods of sleep at night have become shorter, he's sleeping longer overall - going down earlier and getting up later so we're both getting a little more sleep at night.  It's nice that I don't always feel the need to nap during his morning nap now and can actually get some stuff done while he sleeps.  I'm sure this paragraph is beginning to drag for many of you but you just wait until you have kids and these little things become big things to you.  It's crazy how much a child really changes your life and your perspective on things.

So happy Grandma Pam came to visit!

Soo strong

Look at those little feet kicking away!

Just hangin out :)

Snuggles

Smiles after bath time

So happy he can roll now!

Last time I posted I gave you more details than you probably wanted to know about Callie being in heat.  We were originally planning on having her spayed, but decided we're going to breed her instead.  HAHA!! Just kidding!  Can you imagine a baby, a crazy dog, and tons of little puppies running around?!  I can't even imagine dealing with another heat cycle.  We did delay her appointment until the middle of January to be sure that she's completely out of heat.  Getting spayed while in heat is a much more dangerous procedure as the dog is much more likely to have too much blood loss.  It will be nice not having to deal with it until after the holidays, too.  On an exciting note, my little baby girl turns one year old on Tuesday (yes, Christmas!).  I can't believe how big she is already, but happy that she still has so much puppy in her.

Back to her goofy self.

Always wanting attention.  What a face!

I am off to enjoy this snow day with the family, finish wrapping presents, and make my last few batches of Christmas cookies!  I hope everyone has a blessed and joyful Christmas and remembers away from the trees and the decorations and the presents what Christmas is really about: the birth of the one who was sent to save us from our sins and give the gift of life.  The only present we ever truly need.

God's beauty is everywhere.  Took this a few nights ago.

 Love,

-K