this time last year, my family was going through a pretty hard time. i can remember writing this and thinking "2011 is going to be great - it's going to be great because i am going to make it great". our family ended last year feeling broken. we are ending this year feeling new. i love it. no resolutions this year. i just want to be the best wife, daughter, sister, friend, dog owner, and now mother that i can be. i look forward to a year of new - new routines, new challenges, new wins, new loves, new friends, new habits, new memories.

maybe some new shoes?

i digress...

our last week of 2011 was full of fun. i'd say we ended the year with a bang, in our own way. our monkey is so so close to giggling. we are just waiting for it. when he smiles big, it's like he knows we are just holding our breath hoping that will be the smile that leads to his first giggle. he holds back and it's almost as it he's thinking, "nope, they aren't quite ready yet". we are so tightly wound around that little pinky finger of his. love is an understatement. we continue to be amazed by how much joy he brings us. his personality is starting to shine through those perfect bright eyes of his. he can be so serious sometimes - and then all it will take is a smile from mama or daddy, and he never lets us down. he'll even smile right before he's about to burst into tears sometimes. so beyond adorable. and we can't forget - the kid has to move constantly - there's no slowin' down with him. he needs to be walking around all . the . time. needless to say, i'm back to my pre-wyatt weight. thanks kiddo!

we made some progress with maddie girl this week. i think he's starting to grow on her. i'll take it.

bath time continued to be a hit this week. it's by far my most favorite thing to do with my boys. he loves it. we love it. win-win.

we are now forward facing in the baby bjorn. could you just die? i die when i see this face looking out at me. 

still spending time in the bathroom several times a day - but less time, at a time if that makes sense. all it takes is a walk-in, eyes close sequence before we're laying him down for bed or naptime. it seems to work every time. for now.

we've been making it to starbucks at least once a weekend, but yesterday marked the first day we took him out of his car seat and had some play time with him in our favorite big cozy chairs. i love that ty and i can still do "our thing" with our babe.

here's to your 2012 - as i said last year, choose to make it great. we are.

 

our christmas wish

 

when ty and i began dating seriously (which didn't take long) we knew right away that this was it. when we found each other, our conversations centered around how we'd start our lives together. it didn't take long before we started talking about the things we wanted to do as a couple, and even as a family someday. being together forever went without saying pretty soon into our relationship and things like having kids, buying houses, future trips, shared morals and values were on the table pretty much right away. ty and i have always liked dreaming together. we love talking about "someday". i don't think we were prepared for what once was a big dream of ours. today marks 7 weeks with our precious boy. needless to say, our christmas wish came true when we were blessed with our beautiful, healthy son.

let's talk about this week.

first of all, who hates tummy time? this guy.

i hate tummy time too. it seriously breaks my heart to hear him cry. he REALLY hates it. i am waiting for the day where his mood changes, the tears come to a screaching hault, and this little babe actually enjoys it. until then, i will sit down stairs waiting for the minutes to pass while ty roots him on.

we had our moments this week, but we found solice in our bathrooms. wyatt loves the sound of the bathroom fans. he could be red-faced pissed screaming and when i walk into our bathroom and turn the fan on, he instantly calms down and is quickly out like a light.

speaking of out like a light - wyatt made a shift this week and decided to skip his 2am feedings. go baby! so our routine made a nice shift too. bed time routines start around 9pm and he's usually asleep and swaddled in his swing by 10:30. he'll hang downstairs with daddy until he comes to bed and he'll then wake up around 5 to eat. thank you baby jesus. he'll eat, poop, get a diaper change and get re-swaddled and is back to bed within 30-40 minutes where he'll give us another 3 hours. love this kid.

we also had a major milestone this week - bottles! i pumped a bottle for ty to feed wyatt on thursday and it was so freaking cute to see daddy feed the babe. he's been feeding him one bottle a night. it's giving this mama a little relief, and this daddy some more bonding time.

in other news, (still baby related obviously) he's sleeping a little less during the day which means we're doing more awake time activities. things like cooing and smiling - things that make this mama well up with delight about 20 times a day. (this is where the tummy time comes in - ugh.) every other night, our bed time routine consists of bath time which we all three are loving. we're using a crap load of water because we're still putting him in the tub with me, but it's seriously the cutest and most fun thing for us right now. the babe loves it and we do too. it's great bonding for us as a family.

speaking of bonding as a family - our first christmas has been full of bonding time. ty was able to take quite a bit of time off and we were able to do a ton as a family this last week. spending time together as parents is now my most favorite thing in the world. i can't get enough of it. loving wyatt together and being a team is the most rewarding job i've had. it's also the toughest and most exhausting. but again, love.