A very merry Christmas

Christmas was a whirlwind, full of fun and family and traveling...crazy, but merry, indeed.

We had family Christmas with the extended family at Grandma and Granddad's the weekend before Christmas. It was the first time we have had it at their house in a few years, and I must say, it felt good to be back. We had a great time seeing everyone, meeting the 5-day-old newest family member Austin, watching the little ones get excited about presents, having our first white elephant gift exchange (though Courtney and I were the only ones brave enough to steal!), laughing at the little girls running all day long, and as usual, eating way too much. Family time is always sweet, but this year, for some reason, it was extra sweet.

The week of Christmas consisted of last minute gift wrapping, Jesse's traditional last minute shopping, laundry, packing, and baking MORE goodies. I think it will be May before I decide to bake another cookie!!

Christmas Eve, Jesse and I got the kiddos to bed and then went to town putting together Ryleigh's new kitchen. My mother-in-law had found it for a great deal, and once we opened the box, we knew why! It came in a million pieces!! Haha. It was a labor of love, for sure, but once it was together and the stockings were stuffed, we both were anxious to see the excitement in Ryleigh's eyes on Christmas morning.

Ah yes~ it was sweet indeed.

And even Wesley got into his new toy, spinning the steering wheel all by himself and smiling all the way.

Jesse and I watched Ryleigh play in her kitchen, sit in her new purple Tinkerbell chair, and ask to open the Play Do, while finishing our coffee, then it was time to get to work!

We only had "Santa" and stockings at home, and then it was time to finish last minute packing and load up the truck to head to Houston. Apparently, Ryleigh was afraid that in all the commotion, she would be left behind...

Once we finally got to Mom and Dad's, it was obvious that Christmas morning was in full swing!

After breakfast, everyone assumed their spots, and we settled in for a long Christmas gift-opening marathon!

Julie was very happy to have something to open besides a candle...
(Apparently that was what she opened before we got there, while slightly anxious for our arrival. I don't know the whole story, so I probably shouldn't even go there.)

On a side note, see Brent and Susan's stockings hanging, lonely on the mantle? Sadly, they cannot travel during the holidays, so we missed them. Luckily, we video-chatted later in the evening, and at least shared a few laughs with them. (Minus the mooning by Brent...gross, brother!!)

Micah and Sarah were there, and we enjoyed hanging out with them, as usual. I know they have been married a year and a half, but sometimes, they still make me giggle with their cute-newly wedded bliss.

Ryleigh was overwhelmed with gifts galore! Once she received her new pink princess tent, the rest was history. Everything went into the tent...including Daddy!

Later, the girls worked on dinner and entertaining cute babies...

...while Dad and Micah fried a turkey!

And I must say, the turkey was so good, it made me want to go get a fryer, a turkey, and do it again the next day.

We ate dinner, played with toys, including Dad's new Wii (whose butt I kicked in bowling, I might add), and then went to town on the amazing desserts. It was a fun, fun day, and we enjoyed spending time with the Holder family.

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Saturday morning, we packed up again, and headed to Jesse's parent's house for Thanksgiving with the Shulse family. Justin and Jenn's crew stayed all weekend, and we were excited to spend some time with them, since it had been a long time since we had been able to hang out. We actually decided at some point to go to the movies in the afternoon. Papa and RaRa stayed home with sleeping Wesley, Jenn took the little boys and Ryleigh to go see the new chipmunk movie, and the rest of us went to see The Blind Side. It was fun to go to the movies (I don't remember the last time I went), and I really loved the movie! It will definitely be in my movie collection when it comes out.

That night, we had Christmas with all of them back at the Shulse house. The living room looked like a tornado had come through, with Christmas paper and presents everywhere! It was good to see Ryleigh give the presents to her cousins, and be genuinely excited to see if they liked them. Sadly, I totally forgot to take pictures while we were with them, and so have nothing to show for the fun time. We again ate too much, topping off the night with birthday cake for Jesus. :)

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Sunday morning, we cleaned up and then Jesse and I went to a cool furniture store in Tomball. (Furniture was my present from him.) They had a lot of cool pieces, and if I was a millionaire, I would certainly consider scraping everything in my house and starting over at their store. But, I'm not a millionaire, so that is not going to happen. We did find a couple pieces we might go back and purchase. We're still debating if they will fit where we want them, and serve the purpose we need.

After that, we met my family at a cool little restaurant and enjoyed lunch before heading to see the Transiberian Orchestra in concert. Though it was totally not what I imagined and it was a long show, I must say, it was pretty stinkin' amazing. It never ceases to amaze me how talented people are! You could tell that they all love what they do, and get great enjoyment out of performing and bringing enjoyment to others. As Sarah said, we definitely "got our money's worth." It was a fabulous show, and I'd recommend them to anyone.

Once the show was over, we went back to the Shulse house to pack up, pick up the kiddos, and drive back home, so Jesse could work Monday morning. A quick caffeine run made sure we could make it home, and we were off. Wesley did good in the car, only fussing a little at the end of the ride. We got home, quickly unloaded the MOUNDS of gifts, bags of clothing, and toys, dumping them in a large pile in the living room. Everyone got into their jammies and fell asleep.

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Monday was spent recovering, organizing the gifts and putting things in their new homes, and moving things to make room for all the new loot. I must say, to hear what a horrible "recession" we are in, you sure wouldn't know it looking at our living room!

Monday night, Wesley officially transitioned to his nursery. And (knock on wood), it has been GREAT so far. I have been putting him down between 9:30 and 10, and he has slept until 5am one night, 3:30 one night, and then 5:30 last night!! I'm a new woman. I think the move was good for all of us, and I'm so happy he is doing so well.

On a side note, how do you like his new quilt from Micah and Sarah we finally hung and the new rug from Gaga and Granddaddy? I know I have plain taste, but I must say, his nursery is exactly what I always envisioned for my son. I love it!

The rest of this week has been spent hanging out. Jesse had to work Monday, but he took off Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to hang out with us. We have made the run to exchange a few gifts, planned some fun new meals, and hung out on the couch watching movies.

Well, except Ryleigh and Wesley, who like to sit in their chairs instead....

Ryleigh has been playing with all her new toys non-stop, as you can tell from the mess that is her room. WOW, that girl can make a mess.
Wesley has been watching football with Daddy, and they have plotted about him going out for the team next year. ANYTHING would be better than the team that showed up in the Independence Bowl this week!

Tonight is New Year's Eve. 2009 is finally coming to an end, and I think I'm ready to see it go. We have hats, bazookas, and champagne to ring in the New Year tonight.

I hope your holidays were equally merry, and I wish you the best for 2010!

3 months old

Remember at 2 months when I said I was going to attempt this picture every month on the day of birthday?

One month down, and I remembered to do it! Here is Wesley, one month later, at 3 months old.

He is an absolute doll. I seriously could just eat him up! This month he has really turned into an active member of the family, smiling, cooing, and giggling. We are used to having him around now, and it kind of feels weird when he is sleeping in the other room and it is just Jesse, Ryleigh, and I again. You can bet that when he IS in the room, he makes sure that everyone knows! He will bust out talking or just give a little squeal to remind us that he is there (like we could forget...)

I know that every child is different, and I knew that he would be different than Ryleigh. But, WOW, he is different than Ryleigh. As a baby, Ryleigh never loved cuddling. She would squirm and kick and try to crawl over my shoulder if I attempted to hold her too long. Wesley, on the other hand, loves to be held. He will crawl up my chest all right, but only to nestle himself right under my chin, in the crease of my neck, where he loves to fall asleep. And though Ryleigh definitely had a Mama's girl phase, it always seemed like she naturally responded better to Jesse. Daddy always got the big smiles and coos out of her. Now it is my turn! Wesley will literally follow me around a room with his eyes, and the second I make eye contact, his face lights up. I cannot tell you how much my heart swells when either of my babies smile or laugh at me. Indescribable feeling.

Ryleigh was not a difficult baby, per se, but her little personality has always been that of a little spit fire! Always busy, bored unless she is on the move, and always sporting a little drama. Clearly, my girl. So while I often think back to her as a baby as a time of frustration and exhaustion, it really was not her fault. She was a good baby, just a hand-full of personality and an inexperienced Mama.

And while I also would not characterize Wesley as a difficult baby, he has also given me all kinds of new challenges. He has had more health issues than we ever had with Ryleigh. Who knows if it is due to being born almost 3 weeks early, Mama not being so careful during the pregnancy, or just a different little system in his tiny body. All I know is that this boy has given me a run for my money in the health department. Thankfully, his reflux has gotten better. Our latest adventure has been trying to figure out why he hates his car seat so much. This boy literally SCREAMS from the time he gets in the car seat until we take him out. Seriously. It makes traveling back and forth to Houston pretty miserable for all involved. In fact, it was so bad, that I took him to the doctor after our Houston trip last week, because I was so worried about attempting to drive to Grandma's with him last weekend. Has anyone ever heard of a baby not liking their car seat? I have always heard that it was supposed to be the ultimate soother...you know, if you cant get them to calm down, put them in the car and drive around the block a couple times. Yeah, that does not work for Wesley. Once he gets going there is no consoling him. I've tried everything I know. We are praying that he grows out of this quickly!

He weighs about 10 pounds 9 ounces now, up from 9 pounds 12 ounces last month. Growing right on track and filling out nicely.

As of Monday of next week, (once Christmas is over and we are done traveling for awhile), Wesley will officially transition to his crib at night. He does great in it during the day for naps, and since he has been sleeping so much better at night, I'm ready to move him. I'm sure I could have done it easy enough awhile ago, but let's be honest, I am lazy. I did not want to be getting up, walking across the house, several times a night. As of Monday, we'll move the chair back in there, in case he does wake up, I can go feed him, and put him right back down. I'm kind of hoping that he will sleep better in there. Last night, he was just rolling around, grunting a little, but not upset, and it bugged me so much I just got up and fed him. Was he really hungry? I don't know. But the noise was irritating me and waking up Jesse. Somehow all those little stirs and shuffles don't seem so loud over a monitor. He can squirm around as much as he wants, and unless he cries, I don't have to do anything. So far, he seems like a good self-soother, but I guess time will tell. If I'm dying of exhaustion by this time next week, we'll know why. :)

Wesley and Ryleigh seem to like each other more and more every day. I couldn't help but add another comparison shot. This one was from Wesley was about one month old...
... to three months old.

Look at those precious faces? I'm blessed indeed. And though these three months have not exactly been a walk in the park, I wouldn't trade them for anything else in the world.

i jinxed it.

LOL. Yep, my sweet boy has decided he missed cuddling with Mama during the night, and has been back up the past two nights. I really don't mind when he gets up, eats, and goes back down. But when he thinks it is play time after he eats (cooing, kicking, and jumping around), like he did last night, it can be exhausting. At least he is being cute and funny and not up crying. Who can be irritated with a happy baby? :)

I dont want to jinx it....

...BUT, Wesley is going on four nights of sleeping through the night! I'm getting him down between 10 and 11 pm and he has held out until sometime between 5:30 and 7 am!! Hooray (and THANK YOU) Mr. Wesley!

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In other news, today my gorgeous twin sisters, Susan and Sarah turn 25. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLS! I love yall both so much and wish we could hang out and celebrate your birthdays together today.

A season to remember

I haven't had much to say this season. Well, actually it is more like I am afraid to sit down and actually write everything that I have to say because I'm sure it will quickly turn into an ocean of craziness and thoughts/feelings I'd rather forget. Things are a little rough here, I'll be honest. I'm struggling with all the adjustments necessary for our family, and my feelings are toward the adjustment are not the most gracious.

HOWEVER, (and yes, I wrote in all caps, because it is a big however), life is sweet and ours is definitely full of blessings. And though there are portions of this season of our lives that I'd just assume forget, there is also a lot that I want to treasure and remember.

Like the day it "snowed," and Wesley looked so cute all bundled up in his car seat. And for those of you who I have shared his hatred of the car seat, you will recognize that this is one of the few moments I have ever seen my son in his car seat not wailing his head off. Naturally, I quickly grabbed my camera. :)

I absolutely adore this boy's precious little grin, and I'm getting to see it more and more. Most babies require "tummy time," but not Mr.Wesley. He sleeps on his tummy (don't judge me), and is much more uncomfortable on his back. So we pulled out the baby mat and hung some toys and rattles and a big mirror, and he lays there laughing, kicking/pushing the toys, and "talking" to himself in the mirror. Such a cutie pie!

You might think this would be a rare, one-time occasion, but you'd be wrong. Wesley absolutely cannot sleep unless he is right up against the bumpers, and more often than not, he nestles himself so close that he ends up getting his arm stuck. Silly boy.

And who can resist making a baby Santa? No one I know...especially not my mom. :)

Ryleigh has just been growing and learning more and more everyday. It still amazes me that she can carry on an entire conversation with me, using complete sentences, asking and answering questions, and making complete sense. She has a much greater grasp of the holidays this year and has been eating up Christmas! Lights, snowmen, Santa, glitter, Christmas trees....they are everywhere, and Ryleigh makes sure that we see every. single. one. Haha.

And, though I am biased, she is growing more and more beautiful every day. Inside and out. Yes, she is still a two-year-old who has her stubborn and frustrating moments, but her heart is sweet. Lately she will just randomly walk up to me, ask to give me cuddles, and say, "I wuv Mommy." Or, the other morning while I was in my bathroom getting dressed and ready to drive to Houston, she came in and watched me for a few minutes and then said, "You wuk pwetty Mommy!" (I think she has forgotten what it looked like to see me in clothing, with hair down and makeup on.) How did she even know to say that? Moments like these warm me to my core and remind me of why I chose to do this Mommy thing.

Jesse and I are having a hard time adjusting to our new life here and as a family of four. There are never enough hours in the day, and sadly, our family time and couple time are often neglected. So, we have been trying to take every opportunity we can to spend some time having FUN as a family. Luckily, his course has fun family events almost every single month. This month, they had "brunch with Santa," and so Ryleigh, Wesley, and I met him up there last Saturday morning.

Jesse helped Ryleigh decorate her gingerbread cookie. He applied the icing, and then she went to town on the candy. I don't think I have ever seen so many "buttons" on a gingerbread cookie in my life.

All morning, Ryleigh talked excitedly about going to see Santa. However, once we got there and she saw Santa, she just froze. No cries...no smiles... no expression. Oh to know what they are thinking sometimes!!

We enjoyed brunch together until Wesley decided it was not fair that everyone else was getting fed and he was not. It was a sweet morning together, and we enjoyed the time out of the house.

Jesse and I also had his work Christmas party this week. Julie was finished with finals, so she said she could come watch the kids for a couple of hours while we went to bowl with the group. Sadly, Wesley was not on board with the decision and literally screamed for Juls the entire time we were gone. I felt HORRIBLE. Growth spurt maybe? I don't know what is his deal this week, but poor Julie had to hear about it.

Jesse and I had a good time though, and actually realized how much fun we had bowling together. Haha, maybe we should join a bowling league! Just kidding. But it does make a good idea for date night sometime. We also went to Toys 'R Us and got the kiddos Christmas presents. Not as much fun as I thought it would be...Ryleigh is kind of at an in-between phase; too big/smart for the baby toys, but not big/smart enough for the kids toys. Hmmm. I guess we'll just cross our fingers and hope she likes the toys we picked out.

And lastly, you know I must share a little of our family's Christmas spirit. I must admit, the "spirit" of Christmas is missing something this year. I think when you're exhausted and don't have the time or energy to do all the little things that we often associate with the Christmas season, you peel back the layers and just do the minimal and see what is important. We have a tree, stockings, and of course, a nativity out. That's it. That is the extent of my decorating this year. I'm sending out Christmas cards (hopefully today), but they are the bear minimum. Nothing fancy or special. Just a little wish for Christmas, from our family to yours. I've done some Christmas shopping, but my creativity is lacking this year.

Now, I will say that Ryleigh and I had fun baking for the family, and Jesse and I plan to bake another big spread over the weekend for him to give out next week. Here is part of the spread (minus the sugar cookies) that Ryleigh and I worked on. Luckily, my grandma saves boxes and Christmas tins for me, so I had an entire 30-gallon bag full of fun boxes and tins to fill. Yay for sweet, thoughtful (helpful!) Grandmas!

Our tree is up; again, nothing fancy, but at least it is there. And I do have presents, wrapped and ready for Christmas, but after Ryleigh unwrapped three gifts and decided they belonged in her room, I realized that we might not be able to leave the present under the tree this year!
And finally, our stockings. I had a frustrating experience getting Wesley's stocking done, and then the monogramming place took over a week and still did the wrong font! Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. Oh well. At least he has a stocking, right?

So, a lot is going on. And though there are rough moments, there are also sweet ones. And I don't want to forget. I'm sure this last week before Christmas will be hectic, but fun, and I'll be back to report it all...good and not-so-good. :)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Where's Wesley?

Anybody remember the "Where's Waldo?" books? While Mom and I were attempting to take pictures of the kids for Christmas cards, we could not resist playing a little Where's Wesley?

Good times! Thanks for the fun, Mom!

Need a laugh?

Go here: Stretch Marks

This blogger has made me laugh, cry, and laugh until I cry. Something tells me she knows a little bit about my life thus far...

What do you think?

I went to Houston this week. I had meetings all day Tuesday and frankly just needed to get out of my house!! You stay-at-home moms know what I'm talking about... anyway. So I went to Houston this week.

The first night, my parents and I were sitting up the game room trying to get Wesley to go to sleep and I noticed the pictures hanging of all of us girls as babies. I went over to take a closer look and almost did a double-take when I looked at my baby picture.

What do you think? Besides the brown/blue eyes, do you think there is any resemblance?

The love grows as the baby grows

Ryleigh cannot get enough of Baby Wes-we. The more he grows, the more she loves to interact with him, making him smile and giggle more than anyone else. Yeah, it is going to be fun watching these two grow up together.

September

October
November

Whirlwind week ~ and much to be thankful for

It has been a crazy couple of weeks! The holidays are officially upon us, and life just reached a whole new level of busy. Ha! I'm sure all of you know what I'm talking about.

Last Monday, I went to Houston for the day, and met with my client whom I have not seen since before Wesley was born. We had lunch and I enjoyed catching up on everything I missed while out on maternity leave. My mother-in-law took the day off work and watched the kiddos for me, which of course, she did not mind. They may be a handful, but they are a sweet handful, and apparently their grandparents cannot get enough of them.

Tuesday, Ryleigh had her Thanksgiving feast at school, (which I did not remember until after I put them to bed Monday night~ gotta love late night grocery store runs!) Her portion of the "feast" was cubed cheese and dessert. Haha. Don't you love how 2-year-olds consider cheese feast-worthy? While Ryleigh was at school, I took Wesley for his 2-month well baby checkup and vaccines. He weighed 9 pounds 12 ounces and measured 22.25 inches long, putting him in the 10th percent for weight and 25th percent for length. Still a little guy, but growing on schedule. He did pretty well with the shots, and it was not as traumatic for me this time, having gone through it with Ryleigh before. Not to mention the fact that Wesley has been poked more than his sister ever was as a baby, so I'm getting good at holding him while some poor nurse has to stick him with a needle. Sad, but true.

Here is our little man at 2 months. I want to try and take his picture beside the teddy bear every month, and watch how he grows this year. We'll see how long I keep it up.

Wednesday, I did some work, though had a hard time getting much done considering everyone took the day off. So, instead, I went to town on my house. Cleaning. You know the kind I'm talking about; deep cleaning the carpets, washing base boards, changing every sheet...I kind of went a little OCD on it actually. I think the only time I sat down was to feed Wesley. I was moving! Jesse came home that evening and asked me if I was going to the event at his club, and I just looked at him. I was still in my pajamas for crying out loud! Dirty, tired, and not in the mood to socialize. So, he volunteered to take Ryleigh with him, so at least she was out of the house and I could focus, finish, and relax.

Apparently, they had a mini bonfire at the club, including practicing some of the yells with one of the A&M yell leaders. Jesse said it was a lot of fun, and Ryleigh talked non-stop for days about going to the "fire with Daddy."

Thursday, we hosted our first Thanksgiving. Jesse's parents drove up Wednesday night and then one of his brothers' family came up Thursday. I was slightly nervous about hosting Thanksgiving, but it ended up being fine. No massive spread or anything special, but it was a good meal, and everyone left full. Turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, croissants & rolls, and tons of pie for dessert.

I think Eli and Ryleigh were just thankful to not have to sit where the grownups could make sure they ate...

And Wesley was thankful that he got VIP seating in RaRa's lap.

After dinner, Jeremy and Gina headed back home, and Jesse's parents watched Ryleigh and Wesley so that I could go to the A&M vs Texas football game with Jesse. I haven't been to a game since the night before Wesley was born, so I was excited to go, though nervous about how Jesse would handle it. (He tends to get a little to passionate about Aggie football...) On top of that, the tickets were in the alumni section on the student side, which meant we had to stand. My feet hurt before we ever went, from cleaning all day Wednesday and cooking on Thursday. It was a long time on my feet, but the game was worth it. The Aggies played GREAT, and though we lost the game, we looked good and were definitely not pounded on. So, all in all, a great day.

Friday, I did NOT engage in Black Friday craziness. I find that the older I get, the more claustrophobic I feel in crowds. I feel myself getting anxious and impatient just thinking about all the crowds during the holiday shopping rush. Not my idea of fun.

Instead, my good friend Shelley was in town visiting her family, and graciously took some time to meet me for lunch. Not only that, but it was her birthday!! I was very excited to see her and catch up, and as usual, we had a good time and excellent conversation.

Shelley finally got to meet Ryleigh and loved on Mr.Wesley (holding him so Mommy could eat~ what a great friend!). Ryleigh is not so great with the restaurant scene, but she behaved herself for the most part. Shelley took this cute picture of us...probably the only picture I have of the two of us both looking and smiling at the camera. Thanks, Shelley!

Saturday and Sunday were fairly low key. Movies, books, and naps occupied most of my time.

Monday, I had to go into Houston again. My boss of the past five years was retiring, and I had helped organize a retirement lunch party for him. At the last minute, Jesse decided he wanted to come with me and go look at a few trucks he had seen online. When he started working for his company, they gave him a company SUV, a Nissan Armada. It is big, but not really practical for his purposes at work. Anyway, the lease on the Armada is up in two weeks (mid-Dec), and we would be left to look for a new car. So, we have been looking at used trucks, comparing to new trucks, and trying to figure out what we were going to do once the lease was up.

Those of you who have read my blog for awhile might remember that as of January 2009, we became debt free, after paying off my new car and all our school loans. It is a great feeling, and at that time, Jesse swore we would never again be in debt (aside from a house mortgage).

So, when he found this used truck with the right price, he jumped on it. We went to look at it, took it for a test drive, and an hour later drove off the lot with a new truck.


It is an older model (2004) with slightly higher mileage than we originally wanted. However, the inside, the outside, under the hood, under the car...all of it was immaculate. Not a single scratch or ding, implying that the driver took great care of it. Carfax came back clean. And the truck was decked out. My husband is normally a cautious and logical man, but give him a shiny piece of chrome on a big maroon truck, and it does not take much for him to be sold. :)

It is Wednesday, and I have been knee deep in work (and laundry!) the past two days. Things are busy, but I'm slowly getting back in my groove.

Now if only I could get a full night of sleep to balance out these full days....