Sunday Best: Beaumont edition

I didn't get a chance to post my Sunday best pictures because I was at my parents' house in Beaumont. I also only had my old camera on which I completely blame the blurry quality of the photos.

As always, it was so nice to get away to my parents' house. It was kind of a spur of the moment trip...I just felt the need to escape so off we went. I helped my mom make some of her Christmas presents, we tried out an amazing new fudge recipe, and went shopping. Ellie was in heaven, as always, playing in the large play room and getting tons of attention from her grandparents.

I slept with Jack in the bed with me and he slept so much better. I, on the other hand, slept so much worse. I don't know how people do the co-sleeping thing. I was so terrified of rolling over him or pulling covers on him that I slept frozen. Except once when I slipped into a deeper sleep, realized it, and jerked awake and smacked Jack in the face in the process. Nice.

By the way, Jack has started smiling! Not the drifting off to sleep smile or gas smile that he has been doing for ages, but an honest-to-goodness response smile. I have been too busy making a fool of myself to get more smiles that I haven't been able to capture it on camera.

Buncha turkeys

Happy Thanksgiving! Today we went to my mother-in-law's house for Thanksgiving. Judy and I took Ellie out on the paddle boat. Ellie loved it, but I think my legs will be feeling it tomorrow. I needed to work off all that fudge I ate. The holidays are the worst time to be trying to get back into shape. I can't stay away from the desserts!

Ellie was so worn out that she fell asleep on the car ride home. Now, Ellie, Jack, and Tom are all napping so I am taking advantage of this rare moment of "me" time to catch up on blogging and, of course, eat some more fudge.
We are slipping into a nice routine around here. Jack likes to stay up til 11 or 12 and then he wakes up to nurse around 2 and again at 5. Ellie wakes up at around 7 and I am still trying to "train" her to not come in and wake me up. Every night, I set out some Goldfish or cereal for her and have the TV set to Nick Jr. Then, I tell her multiple times when I put her to bed to please, please, please not wake Mommy up in the morning. It hasn't worked yet, but I keep hoping. Every day we try to go somewhere whether it be to the library or to the grocery store. Then, when Tom gets home from work, Ellie and I go "exploring" which really just means a walk around the neighborhood. But I look forward to that one on one time with Ellie. So much of my day is spent taking care of Jack that I feel Ellie gets a bit neglected. I get so proud of myself when I successfully take both kids somewhere...I seem to forget that my mom used to haul all 7 of us kids all over the place. Of course, she would occasionally forget one of us...just a casualty of being part of a big family! Heehee.

Random Bullets

• Sabrina organized a fun girls' night out last night where we all went to see New Moon. Loved it! Might have to reread the series again for the 4th time. It was my first night out without any children since having Jack 6 weeks ago. I pumped a bottle before I left, but let's just say I was hurting by the nights end. Jacob made it all worth it, though.
• The Pioneer Woman will be signing copies of her cookbook in Houston on Dec. 5. The day after my birthday! I so want to go, but not sure it will be worth it to stand in a long line with an infant strapped to me.
• Ellie has been crazy today. She threw a massive tantrum that left Tom and I completely bewildered. Then she fell asleep, taking her first nap in like a year.
• I am trying to make my Christmas gifts more personal this year. It is so time consuming and not at all cheaper and I am kind of wishing I had just purchased gift cards for everyone! It's like my short stint at being a stay at home mom is giving me delusions of being the thoughtful/creative type.
• I've been doing a lot of baking lately. Not cooking. Baking. And so I said I needed to stop baking because I just had a baby already and need to lose some weight. But guess where Tom is right now? At the grocery store buying us some cookies. Because I am not baking anymore. Probably not the best diet plan.
  

Things I love...

• My Baby Bjorn - this was given to me by Alex (hi!) when I had Ellie, but I didn't really use it because why would I want to stick my sweet, shiny baby in a carrier when I could hold her in my arms at all times? I mean, I had nothing better to do, right? This time, Jack gets planted in that carrier as soon as he starts getting too fussy. Plus, he has digestive issues (meaning he cries and struggles every time he has to poo or pass gas...you wanted that clarification, right?) and being pressed against me in the Bjorn really seems to soothe his tummy. In case you are wondering (and I know you were) he is sleeping in it right now as I type. A must for every second child.
• Nursing tank tops - I wish I had discovered these when I had Ellie. They are awesome. Seriously, I can nurse and still have my flabby tummy and muffin top covered. Plus? Way more comfortable than nursing bras. I bought two at Walmart and two at Target. Walmart's are $3 cheaper, but Targets are a little longer and thicker. Just FYI.
• AngelCare monitor - Again, wish I had purchased for Ellie. Would have saved me so many trips to check to see if she was breathing. Jack is still in the bassinet next to my bed at night, and this is a crib monitor, but I use it in the daytime for his naps because, shhhh, Jack naps on his tummy. At night, I prop him on his side in one of those wedge things, but again, the tummy sleeping seems to help him with his digestive issues and I don't freak out as much since that alarm will sound loud and clear if he doesn't breathe for 30 seconds. A little pricey, but so worth peace of mind.
• Glider - this was a gift from my mother-in-law and I love it. With Ellie, I just used the recliner and it was dang hard getting out of that seat. The glider is in my bedroom and makes nighttime nursing so much better.
• Boppy - okay, I loved this last time around, too, but seriously, Boppys (or Boppies?) are a must. I have two and kind of wish I had a third!

My crazy kid

Getting Ellie to clean is a daily struggle. She will often take things and hide them in drawers or in the closet or under her covers rather than putting them away. This drives me crazy because it takes more effort to hide them than to put them in their correct places. The other day, Ellie completely trashed her room. So I shut the door and told her she couldn't come out until it was all clean. I walk into the room and at first glance, I am somewhat impressed. Not great, but definitely an improvement.

Then, I look to my right and notice she has draped a blanket from the corner of her bed to the closet door. Take a wild guess what was behind the blanket?

Unbelievable.

Of course, I laughed to myself, but I didn't let her see it. Other things keeping me laughing? Ellie's determination to do her own hair. She had something like 8 barrettes in her hair in this picture: And here she has a barrette, a ponytail, AND a headband. So pretty.