More Christmas Celebrations

Ross FINALLY came home last night after four days on duty and we had our own little Christmas morning complete with Belgian waffles and presents. Ross gave me snow boots for our next snowshoeing adventure that he bragged were good up to 40 degrees below zero. Like I'd leave the house if it was that cold!

I got him a book on National Parks (hopefully to plan for our next family vacation) and a bag for his snowshoes and polls. I guess we both had snowshoeing on our minds.

We celebrated Christmas with Ross' family yesterday to wrap up two weeks of holiday fun. We went to Nancy's house (Ross' mom) and she made a wonderful dinner with prime rib, scalloped potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and corn. She even made cream puffs from scratch for dessert. Delish!!

Julie (Ross' sister) and the kids were there and everyone had a great time opening gifts. My favorite moment was when Elijah opened his Connect Four game and shouted "I love it!!" This after he received two video games, roller skates AND a bike! It's nice to know the old fashion games haven't lost their luster in the electronics age.

Ross and the boys spent the rest of the night playing games, while the ladies fussed over Wyatt. He is really working his flirtatious side, full on with the eyelash batting and coy head turn. What a lady killer!!!

Wyatt is also making big strides with his language and is trying to communicate with us more and more. Right now he likes to blow spit bubbles, make motor boat sounds and say ah-ah (mama?!!) and ow (hopefully not as in ouch).

Wyatt also stood up ON HIS OWN Christmas night. He was sitting on the couch facing me and I was holding his hands at his shoulder level when he just bared down on his feet and popped up. It was so cool!!! And to think I was worried this boy may not walk because of his breech birth!

The forecast today calls for 1-5 inches of snow so we plan to stay indoors and relax. Wyatt got the day off to a good start by sleeping NINE HOURS last night (10:30- 7:30). Let's see how he does when he makes the transition out of our bed and into his crib for good. Something tells me this will greatly effect sleep for all of us...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. Wyatt and I spent the day together as Ross is finishing up his fourth consecutive day on duty- making a 96 hour shift. Holiday time can be tough for families in public service but being the daughter of a firefighter taught me that you celebrate whenever the entire family can make it. Thus we will be celebrating Christmas tomorrow with Ross' mom, sister and her four children in Marysville.

It's hard to believe that it was at last year's Christmas party that we announced to the family that I was pregnant. I plan to eat a lot more this year for sure without battling morning sickness.

Wyatt gave me perhaps the best Christmas present a four-month old can give his mother- a good nights sleep. We had gone to the fire house to have dinner with Ross last night and I fed Wyatt when we got home and watched "It's A Wonderful Life" .Isn't that just the best movie? I never get tired of it and its message is timeless.

We headed off to bed around 10:30 and the little munchkin didn't wake up to eat until 5:15 this morning!! Nicely done son! I told him at bedtime not to worry if he heard anyone in the house because it would be Santa and he took it to heart.

Yesterday morning I braved the Christmas Eve shopping crowds to buy a couple last minute gifts. I packed up Wyatt and we got to the outlet mall here in town at 9:15 am- right after the stores opened- and were back home by 10 am. We officially beat the rush and the only other shoppers out at that hour were single men who looked a bit overwhelmed. There were a lot of guys headed for the kitchen store so ladies prepare yourselves for some cookware this year.

We feel so blessed for our expanding family and hope you all have a very Merry Christmas with the ones you love.

Christmas In Paradise

Wyatt had his first (and second) ever plane rides this past week when the three of us flew to Sacramento to visit family in California. Wyatt did awesome and barely cried at all on the plane. It is amazing the hypnotic effect "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" has on this kid and how thankful we are for that. I'm sure a few of our fellow passengers, however, would have opted to hear him cry if it meant I'd not sing that song for the 50th time! Here Wyatt is with his great grandma JV.

We stayed with my parents in Paradise for four nights and my mom hosted Christmas parties on back-to-back nights- first for the Cole family (18 people) and then the Tucci family (17 people). It was the first time many of our friends and family have had the chance to meet Wyatt so it was an extra special time. It was also the first time in close to two decades that EVERY family member on my mom's side was able to get together for Christmas (albeit 10 days early). We had the best time seeing everyone and they loved seeing Wyatt in person. Here is a photo of the grandkids and great grandkids in our family.

My parents were wonderful hosts as usual and dotted on the three of us 24/7. Mom cooked elaborate meals all four days and dad helped me with bottle feedings. One of my favorite moments of the weekend was seeing mom give Wyatt a bath. I don't think I've seen her that happy in a long time.

We flew home last night and after our flight was delayed and we landed nearly an hour over schedule, the airline lost our car seat. Couldn't they have lost one of our other three checked bags full of the non essentials?

It took us nearly two hours to get a loaner car seat and I was starting to worry that we were going to be out of luck and would have to check into a hotel across the street until the car seat was found. The airline eventually found us a car seat to use that probably cost under $30 and required us to sit Wyatt up on a blanket because he was so small but all-in-all it worked out okay I guess. Getting home in one piece by 11 pm and Ross not killing anyone at the customer service desk was a success in my eyes.

While the people working at the customer service desk were nice, they sure weren't the brightest bunch.

First they tried to give us a car seat with a minimum weight requirement of 30 pounds when they could clearly see Wyatt strapped to my chest in a carrier. When I asked them if they thought he looked like he weighed 30 pounds they said "oh, is the seat for this baby?" Well who did they think it was for?!! The 30 pound kid I had been hiding at their desk for an hour and a half?!

Then, after they found a car seat that would "legally" fit Wyatt's 12 pound body, it was still too small and the attendant said "oh, just put some pillows under his bottom to make him tall enough for the safety belt." What pillows?! I'm at the AIRPORT!!!

Then we were told that for "our convenience" that we could leave the loaner seat on our front porch if we were not at home when ours showed up for the exchange. Don't you think we may need it if we aren't home or did they think we might leave Wyatt home alone to give me the Oprah report later? But I digress...

Today we did get to enjoy snow flurries in North Bend and Ross showed Wyatt his first snowball. It was too cute!! Wyatt wanted to put it in his mouth (like everything else) but it was too cold and he kept pulling away and giving his dad a confused look. We captured this "first" on video to show him some day.

Christmas Tree

We put up our Christmas tree tonight, complete with lights, ribbon and ornaments. My favorite ornament has to be the three moose "Jacksonhole" trinket that I bought this summer when I was 8.5 months pregnant. I remember being so excited to get a "family of three" ornament for our tree and it was fun to hang that this evening. We also hung "Wyatt's first Christmas" ornament that Grandpa Cole sent.

We bought our tree yesterday but were disappointed when we pulled up to our favorite Christmas tree farm to see it locked up and a SOLD OUT sign posted. Sold out?!!! It was only December 12, plus I could SEE tons of trees in that place!! Oh well. We ended up buying a pre-cut tree for the first time and it wasn't so bad. The tree is beautiful and being that it was 30+ degrees out, it was a much quicker trip for Wyatt.

Speaking of Wyatt, he has really begun to make changes in his sleeping pattern and has taken to heart "not a creature was stirring", sleeping from 10:30 pm to 6 am last night. It was wonderful!!! We'll see if we can keep up that trend. I wasn't even tired today... my first Christmas miracle.

Rollin' Over

Wyatt did it!!! He rolled over for the first time last night and did it again today after his afternoon nap. Both rolls were from his tummy to his back.

He has also started to prop himself up on his elbows within the last 48 hours. Two nights ago, in the middle of the night, he started to fuss and then decided to sit up and just stare at Rossi with the goofiest grin. We couldn't help but laugh, even if it was 2 am.

We think Wyatt is also beginning to cut teeth, which has triggered not only an excessive amount of drooling but a few screaming fits with the arched back and all. (I've sparred you all a photo of this newest development.) I think half the time he does this he is testing me because when I ignore the outburst and talk to him like nothing is happening he tends to stop screaming and just smile at me. What a faker!! Maybe we have a future actor on our hands.

Growing Boy

After our doctor told us Wyatt had "fallen off the charts" in terms of his low weight, I have been doing everything in my power to fatten the boy up. The result, a 12-lb, double-chinned piglet. That's right. Wyatt has gained three pounds and has grown three inches in the last three weeks (up to to 24.5 inches long).

While he still falls in the "less than the 3rd percentile" for weight, he is getting those chubby thighs and fat feet most babies have. I told him to relish this time in his life. The days of being commended for eating everything in sight (okay, just milk but lots) and getting fat rolls are numbered.

This won't be cool come high school.

Snowed In

We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. Or should I say blizzard?! After the local weather man predicted 1-3 inches of snow during the day, a storm dumped 14 inches in our front yard during the night. Ross was in heaven and we are officially snowed in.

We opted to stay in our sweat pants all day and watch football in between naps on the couch. We had hoped to take Wyatt snowshoeing around the neighborhood but the weather never cleared up enough to venture out. It's raining now so we will try again tomorrow if any snow is left. If not, we live just 15 minutes from the slopes where snow is always in ample supply.

The weather made for any interesting day yesterday as well as icy roads led to Wyatt and I being in our first car accident. We were following Ross home after picking up his truck from the auto shop and the temperature dropped dramatically, instantly icing over Interstate 90. I backed off the gas to allow more room between our vehicles but the truck behind me lost control and struck us in the rear.

Suddenly Wyatt and I found ourselves heading down the freeway sideways which is never a good thing, especially on ice. Luckily, I was able to get the car straightened back out and pulled over safely. Wyatt slept through the whole thing.

The tailgate is busted, as is the bumper and tail light, but all in all I'd say we lucked out and got off pretty easy. Someone was certainly looking out for us!