It's been a good Christmas season.
Once again, we sent AND received many Christmas Cards (ours doubled as a birth announcement too). (Sorry for the picture of a picture...too lazy to hook up my scanner.) It's so great to keep in touch with so many people!
Ollie's Christmas Pictures:
I LoVe that sweater and his little boy 'baby legs' (NO they're NOT tights, hehe!)
Cheater Christmas: {noun}, a description of a Christmas that is celebrated early, for one reason or another. Example: The Jefferies' had a cheater Christmas in 2010 because they did NOT want to lug ALL the gifts from Oregon to Utah and back.
Every year since moving to Oregon we have stayed in Oregon for Christmas. It has been nice and relaxing to spend the time with our lovely little family. Two years ago
(was that ALREADY two years ago?!? I do sometimes wish that I could rewind and go back to then...when I first found out I was pregnant with Elsa.) Brent requested the time off so we could travel back to visit our extended family in Utah for Christmas. But then we had our great winter freeze...and decided it would be wise to stay home. So when this year Brent got his work schedule and saw that he was given a week off around Christmas without even requesting it, we decided to give the trip another shot (weather permitting).
I was at first very dismayed that we were planning a cheater Christmas. It just wouldn't be the same. Christmas morning would be sad with no presents, right? And I was also sad because Brent told the boys the truth about Santa Clause (WARNING: Santa spoilers ahead!) He was sick of them assuming that they could ask for whatever they wanted for Christmas and expect to get it. Some items on their list were getting ridiculous and pricey, but when we pointed that out they would say "well nobody has to buy it because Santa just brings it for us!". Brent wanted them to know where the gifts really come from and he wanted them to appreciate the time and hard work that WE put in to pay for those gifts. The boys were surprised, as they still totally believed in Santa (which was magical). But despite my worries, our Christmas was even MORE magical with the truth because of our greater appreciation for each other and for Jesus Christ, the true reason for Christmas.
Cheater Christmas Eve:
The boys had their pictures taken in front of the tree
 |
| sad Ollie :*( |
 |
| Baby's First Christmas |
We drank peppermint tea by the fireplace and listened to Christmas music on the ol' record player
Then the boys went to bed, the gifts were set out and the stockings filled
Cheater Christmas Morning (December 23):
Some of the boys' favorite gifts: a couple of Wii games, rumba watches, cloud b aroma sleep pillow pets...AND They Might Be Giants 1)Here come the 123's 2)Here come the ABC's 3) Here comes science
Oh yeah...Ollie got a couple of gifts too (nothing too special...just a couple of new baby toys)
And then, and then, and then...Brent opened a gift which was wrapped up for both of us!
He always guesses what I'm getting him...so I tried to trick him up. I left open a window on Amazon.com of family tents (which we do need). But then when he opened it, he was VERY surprised to find:
That I bought us both WET SUITS!!!! YAY!
Hello Oregon coast! We can't wait to swim in your ocean!!
As if the wet suits weren't enough, I got new gloves and a hat...and one of my very favorite movies of ALL TIME!
And some really sweet kid gifts!
Oh I love my family!
Merry Cheater Christmas!
Then we picked up and left for Utah...
Just a little of some sewing I've been doing:
I made this blanket for Ollie before he was born. It's had some visible use since then. One side is owl with green polka dot trim; the other side is green polka dot with owl trim. I liked it so much that I went back to the fabric store to pick out some more of the Riley Blake Summer Song fabric to make a blanket for one of my bf's from high school who just had a baby girl. At least some of my friends are having girls so I can still make girly blankets. :-)
I LoVe it!
I know, I know. Christmas is over already, right? Well...I was just too gosh darn busy to post all of my Christmas stuff when it was Christmas. If I would've posted this a month ago, you all would've been looking at it with warmth and fondness. Now you're just ready to move on to Spring, right?
(I am). But hey, we made some good memories this year and I need to blog about 'em! So hang in there over my next few posts if you're already Christmased out for the year! But who could really be Christmased out, when the beauty of the Christmas message can stay with you the whole year?
Welcome to Peacock Lane!
since 1929
 |
| light show |
The End.
Before:
hellOOOO Kramer!! Woo-woo!
After:
goodbye Kramer.
On December 9th, this little guy turned 1/3 year old. Already!
(That's 4 months, in case you don't care for math).
Stats:
16.6 lbs (80th percentile)
26.25 inches (90th percentile)
17 inch head (75th percentile)
His doctor said that he has the socialization and musculature and motor coordination of a 6th month old. He got the preservative free DTaP, and that's all the immunizations we're doing for now. Immunizations are a hot topic and this blog entry is not about that. We're just trying to walk a fine line between keeping our baby alive and healthy with the immunizations vs. trying to stay safe from autism and other sensory integration disorders (which I know there's not a proven link to immunizations, but...).
Oliver is definitely teething now. He was having a hard time with it until we bought an
Amber Teething Necklace. He has been a lot happier since he's been wearing it. I'm not really a fan of babies and/or boys with jewelry on, but it helps him so much.
Oliver LOVES his pacifier
Oliver is getting really good at using his hands and manipulating his paci and his toys.
Oliver has a large, brilliant smile that he shares with us
Oliver has Brent's long eye lashes and large round peepers...and it looks like they're going to be green, like Brent's too
Oliver LoVeS his blanket
He's my first baby to love his blanket and pacifier
and he'll go right to sleep when he has both
I got these pajamas at the goodwill outlet center.
NICE and recycled. :-)
Oliver LOVES the Saucer
(and as you can see, he drools A LOT!)
Oliver already has a best friend :-)
Little B is 11 months older than Ollie, but I'm sure they'll grow to be bet buddies!
(Ollie's sporting a nice double chin, don't you think?)
One more thing, Oliver started rolling from front to back right after he turned 4 months old and he can sit unassisted for almost a minute! Oh, and he's so much fun. The whole family LOVES him!
You may have thought that our family skipped Christmas this year, because of the lack of blogging...but that is not the case. As it turns out we had a very lovely and busy Christmas! And now there is a lot of catching up to do...in the home and on the blog.
I love traditions. They make our lives memorable. So in keeping with our Oregonian tradition, we visited the Christmas Tree Farm once again.
We run through the forest, until we spot just the right tree
It's very fun. But sometimes feelings get hurt when we don't pick a certain someones little tree.
{Poor Joshy}
Then we (Brent) cut down the tree and haul it to the car.
Other fun activities include a nativity scene, a petting zoo,
and cookies & hot cocoa in the old barn!
Then we come home and break out the decorations!
Joshua and Toby were so excited this year, they did ALL the decorating!
Our squishy little teddy bear!
I know I need to stop talking about this subject. For one thing it only makes me sad. And it seems to make people around me feel awkward. Also I am happy that I have earthly boys. I need to be grateful for what I have. I have three wonderful boys and one beautiful daughter whom I get to raise later. My kids are great and I don't care if they are girls or boys. They just ARE. And I love them.
But this post is funny. It is a taste of some comic relief around here.
I have this outfit that my friend from France gave me. It was a baby gift for Toby. But when I opened it, I thought she had mistaken the gender of my baby. Either that, or they dress their baby boys in a more feminine fashion over there. But the outfit was ADORABLE, so I put it in with my baby stuff thinking that I would use it later when I had a girl. {SothenIgotpregnantandfoundoutIwashavingagirlandIwassoexcitedtousetheoutfit,
butthenshediedandIhadtoputitawayagain}.
Then I found out Ollie was going to be a boy. As my midwife and I were discussing the baby's gender, I told my midwife about the French outfit. She told me that I should go ahead and use it.
So I tried it:
What do you think?
(SO cute, huh?)
But then Toby saw Ollie in the outfit and this is what he said:
"There is NO way in OREGON that I want to see a BOY dressed in GIRL clothes!!
NO thank you!"
I guess the outfit goes back into storage. {Le sigh!}
So I have a little request to ask of my friends. Since it will be too late to determine the gender of my baby AFTER I get pregnant, can you please say an earnest prayer for my future baby now? I think I need another girl.
(And not just for the clothes).
