So Long 2011!

January

My last month with only two boys in my house

Look at that belly!

 February

We met our beautiful little Callum George

March

April

Easter

May

Ev and Miley

 

June

July

4th of July parade

August

Copper Harbor, MI

The first time they really played together

September

October

November

December

The Christmas post

I actually do realize that Christmas was four days ago now, but hey.  I've been busy.  We did present opening with my family on Christmas eve since last year, Everett was breaking down by the afternoon and this year we have a 10 month old too.

Christmas morning, Callum woke up at his usual 7:10ish and I took him downstairs while Brian and Everett slept for another 20 minutes or so. 

What?  I'm not touching it!

The best I could get of the two of them.  Everett smiling and Callum trying to steal his sippy of apple cider.

Ooooh, lights and balls and presents!

Everett enjoying his new harmonica

Then we got dressed and headed over to Brian's parents' for yet another present opening session.  As anticipated, this took pretty much all day and Everett had his breakdown around dinnertime and didn't really manage to eat anything.  We came home spoiled and tired.

Little Christmas walker

Monday, the whole gang went up to Duluth and Brian and his dad went to Home Depot and Menards to get bathroom remodeling stuff.  That's right.  We were planning to replace the tub surround since ours was so old and cracked and icky, and suddenly, we are installing a new tub and surround (no more blue tub!), new cabinet, a wall, and painting cabinets.  Yikes!
Tuesday, I was still feeling kind of blah from a cold, so we called off daycare and took it easy.  Well, as easy as life will allow with two little boys and a husband who's working on the bathroom.
Wednesday, Brian and Everett went skiing with Auntie C and grandpa.  I stayed home with two babies and watched a Mystery Diagnosis marathon.
And that brings us up to the present.  Where I am dealing with an overtired, but won't nap, 3 year old, two babies in a homemade ball pit and a sleeping one upstairs.  Oh, and constant construction noises coming from the bathroom upstairs.

Nursing strike - 0, Me - 1

That's right.  I officially declare a win over the nursing strike.  Callum's gums must be feeling much better and I haven't taken his teething necklace off him in days.  I haven't been bit in days AND he's back to his regular, happy to see me nursing.  It was slightly heartbreaking to try and nurse your baby only to have him cry and push you away.  But I win.  Booyah.  This is one instance where I'm kind of grateful for my stubbornness because even I was about to give in and wean him to formula.  I was just sick of the extra stress that it was causing me.  But I'm too stubborn (and too cheap to buy formula), so I pumped three times a day for a few days there and let Callum have the bottles (which he gobbled up, little stinker) and just kept offering.  And it's as if nothing happened.  Oh, and?  Last night?  He woke up to nurse before we went to sleep and then only woke at 1 and 5!  Yay for my boy!  He didn't spend ANY of the night in our bed.  I think having the space heater in his room is helping a bit with that too.  Even with the heat on, our rooms get cold at night.  Now that Everett's big enough to snuggle himself up under the blankets, I decided our space heater would live a better life in Callum's room, so it moved.  Now we just have to get Callum sleeping all the way through the night and figure out how to rearrange rooms so the boys can share their sleeping space.

Into the Christmas Craziness

We are fully into Christmas Crazy mode.  I don't even remember what's happened since I last posted, but it's been busy.  We'll just go with this week.  Friday night we went to the wedding of one of my playgroup mom friend's.  There were a ton of kids and they took over the dance floor.  I forgot my camera.  And the card for the happy couple.  ugh.
Saturday was a lot of errands and chores.  We finished putting up Christmas lights and now have an interesting blend of warm and cool white lights outside.  I think it's ok... :)
Sunday, the whole family took a trip up to Ironwood for some xc skiing.  I made it 4.7K before pooping out and knitting in the chalet.  Brian took the boys on another 9K or so.  Then we set Everett up on his new skis, but it didn't last very long.

Monday I had the day off!  It was stupendous.  The boys and I went on a date to the black cat in the morning, then brought Brian some of our treat (cardamom cake), and headed to the library for storytime.  We even made a wal-mart trip after nap time.

Tuesday, my mom and all those strange kids came over and we baked sugar cookies and orange/cranberry bread.

Today!  I only have one daycare baby today now that the little girl I watch has dropped to two days/week for the holiday break from school.  So we loaded up in the car and headed to fun n run (with a quick pit stop at the McD's drive-thru for a LARGE coffee).  Then we made Brian a birthday cake!

Because: it's Brian's birthday (yay, we're the same age again!), the Solstice (yay for the sun returning!), AND Brian found out today that he passed the Professional Engineer exam (a raise!).  So it's been a dang good day.  Brian took a half day off work and headed up to Ironwood for a loooong ski to himself.  When he gets back, we're going to go out to ElDo and have some yums.

Oh, and Callum took 10 steps in a row today at playgroup.  AHHH!

All he wants for Christmas?

Callum now has two teeth!  We saw the beginning of tooth #1 (lower right central incisor) on November 30 and it was finally big enough that I attempted to get a picture of it today.

Sometime after taking this picture (in all its blurry glory), I realized that the second tooth had just poked through!  So lower left central incisor is here too.  And as if I didn't believe it by seeing, I've been bit three times today.  The second time, I even saw it coming.  When nursing, he has to have his tongue kind of sticking out.  Well, I saw him suck his tongue back into his mouth and went, uh oh.  Yep.  CHOW.  And this little guy doesn't follow the usual behavior.  Tonight he bit and I smacked his mouth and gave him a stern no.  Did he burst into tears and beg my forgiveness?  No.  He stared into my eyes as if he was contemplating this whole thing for a good five seconds....and then smiled.  doh.  What am I going to do with this guy?  He's already been on a nursing strike and now biting?  If I weren't so stubborn, I'd wean him.  But I am.  :)

Anyway!  Two teeth!  Yayyyyy Callum!