Lights in the Heights

My friend, Stephanie, recently moved to the Heights. Last night, she had an Open House of sorts for friends interested in going to Lights in the Heights. Her place was the perfect location...right next to the parade start, Santa, and pony rides! The first thing we did was walk down to watch the parade which had everything from roller derby to men in kilts playing bagpipes. Ellie loved it, but Jack remained unimpressed.Later, we walked over to get pictures with Santa. This was the first year that Ellie sat on Santa's lap willingly. She was pretty excited about it. Santa pretty much forced Tom and I to get in the picture, too. The picture was such that I refuse to scan it in for this entry. Then, we took Ellie over for a pony ride. She did not want to get off the pony. Tom had to pull her off and then wait while she petted and said goodbye to the little guy.Stephanie had quite the crowd at her house and Ellie was thrilled when two girls around her age showed up. She walked right up to them, grabbed their hands, and led them to the toys. Later, she informed me that she had so much fun playing with her "cousins." Um, yeah, I was all, "not every kid is your cousin." We probably need to get out more.

2 months

Dear Jack,

Today you are two months old. This past month you learned to smile. Oh, how I longed for that smile...some kind of response to let me know I wasn't totally screwing up. You smiled first at your daddy, but the very next morning you smiled at me. Don't worry, I know I am really your favorite. Despite being able to smile, you are pretty stingy about it. You make us really work for those grins, but when we get them...wow. They are amazing.

You have grown so much. I won't know your exact measurements until Monday when I take you in for your 2 month checkup and shots (sorry about that), but I can tell you are going to top the charts. You have the most adorable chubby cheeks and your thighs have rolls on top of rolls.

As for sleeping, well, I think you do okay. You still go to bed around 11:00 and wake up around 2:00 and again at 5:00 to nurse. From 5:00 on, you snuggle in bed with me, a luxury I never allowed myself with your big sister. I am getting used to walking around in a state of semi-exhaustion. As long as I don't have to hold any intellectual conversations with anyone, I am fine. Luckily, your sister doesn't expect me to be able to explain the big mysteries of the universe and you seem happy when I count to 10 over and over again in baby-talk.

Normally I would like to say you are a chill, little guy, but this past week you have proven us wrong. You have been pretty fussy and high maintenance, but somehow it doesn't bother me that much. I really don't mind holding you. In fact...I love it. My house is messy and I have so many things to do, but I would much rather hold you in my arms while you gaze up at me with your big, blue eyes. You stare so intensely, like you can see right into my heart. That sounds so cheesy, but it is true. Right now, you are squawking at me angrily from your swing because I dared to put you down. Is it wrong that I think your furrowed brow and pouty lip are so adorable that I sit and watch them happily for a few moments before rushing in to rescue you? I am so in love with you my grumpy, little man! Happy 2 months.

Love,
Mama

Christmas card rejects

Yesterday I went over to Sabrina's house to take Christmas card pictures of the kids in their adorable new outifts from my mother-in-law. I was counting on Sabrina's creative side to help me pose the kids and she didn't let me down. Ellie, however, did not want to cooperate. Everything I told her to do, she would do the opposite. There was some serious bribery going on during this photo shoot. And Jack was just not willing to crack a smile.

Ellie was right there to comfort him, though.

When I decided to attempt their pictures individually, Ellie insisted on sitting with her back to us and smiling over her shoulder. The kid is such a poser.

The great thing about digital cameras, though, is that you can just snap a million pictures and you are bound to get one that you like.

Snow Day!

The morning of my birthday, Tom called me from work and told me to look out the window. I saw little white flakes floating to the ground. Snow! We almost never get snow in Houston, so I started yelling for Ellie to come look. I couldn't wait for her to experience her first snow.

Me, all excited: Look, Ellie, it's snowing.
Ellie, unimpressed: It looks like rain.
Me: Look closer. See? It's white! Snow!
Ellie, still unimpressed: It's not snowing on the ground.


But, then the snow picked up. So, I sent her outside and she had so much fun chasing the snowflakes and trying to catch them on her tongue.

She had even more fun when Olivia showed up to join in the chase. I would have let her stay outside to play longer, but I realized that Ellie doesn't own any coats. Actually, neither do I. Just hoodies. But, still...SNOW!

Growing old

This morning at 4:30am, as I sat in my glider nursing Jack, I thought about my birthday and how I was always excited about my birthdays in the past. I never understood why some people hated their birthdays because it was a reminder that they were getting older. I never felt like that because I never felt old. Until this year. Then, Tom's alarm clock went off and he rolled over and whispered across the room to me, "Happy birthday, babe. How are you feeling?" I told him I felt old. That my stomach was saggy with stretch marks. That I had gray hair, hemorrhoids, and an incision that wouldn't heal. (I know, I'm a catch aren't I?) (And yet Tom still tells me every day how attractive I am...go figure.) (Also, I totally realize that I am using these parentheses wrong. Sorry, Mrs. Jenkins.)

So, after listening to me talk about why I feel so old, Tom responds with his standard, "You're beautiful, babe" and gets out of bed to shower. What happens next fully deserves a more detailed post, but I feel I overshare as it is so I will just tell you that we spent the next 15 minutes accusing each other of pooing in the bed until I finally flipped on the light and realized it was just a purple fruit snack that had been smeared around (thanks, Ellie) (Also, we are very sleep deprived) (Ack! Again with the misused parentheses!).

Anyway, after Tom left for work, I lay in bed with Jack snuggled up to against my chest, making his little happy humming noises. Suddenly, I felt so very content and I realized...31 is going to be awesome.