Whoa!

This week Zach threw out another great comment that has left me chuckling for days...

I recently got my hair cut very short and one morning while I was in the process of blowing it dry, Zach called for me to help him get down from the table. My head was flipped upside down to dry my hair so I quickly stood upright and walked out to assist him. Upon seeing my poof-ed out head of hair, his spontaneous comment was, "Whoa!"

To remember

I was up nursing Elijah last night and I had one of those rare revelations when you can suddenly see the bigger picture. And I realized in a flash that this moment with him was going to be over and I would never fully remember the exact feeling of his newborn skin or the exact sound of those contented newborn coos. Every seasoned parent tells new parents that they must savor each moment with their children because it is over so quickly, and I've experienced that a little bit with Zachary. It was just yesterday that I was nursing and snuggling him and now he tells me that, "I can't play right now. I have some writing to do." And it's amazing to me how the tough moments with Zach stand out in my mind more than those quiet close moments nursing and rocking him. I suppose it takes holding a baby to remember just how precious they are.

So I'm writing this uncharacteristically sentimental blog to try to capture what no camera and certainly no blog can really capture, and that is the amazing feeling of a baby's weight on your shoulder snuggling his face into your neck or those sweet little alert eyes or the gentle rhythm of their breathing or that feeling of being central and most important in your helpless child's life. Parenting has been the single biggest challenge of my life thus far but last night at least, I saw how quickly it would be done and all the second-guessing and fatigue and lost patience would be over too. I hope that when it's finished I come away with a lasting memory of last night and the many other 'last night' moments that happen each day.

Christmas Card pictures

At the end of October we took our family picture for this year's Christmas card. These are some of my favorite outtakes and I think they give you a better idea as to how the day went! Enjoy Zach's expressions, he really is quite the ham!

Miscellaneous Bits

Like most of you, this month has been very busy with Christmas preparations! I love this time of year and I'm more excited about giving Zach his gifts than he is to receive them. We have done some decorating, shopping and baking and then at night I've been attempting to sew Zach a card table fort! This is my first solo attempt at sewing anything since I usually attach myself to someone talented and let them tell me what to do, but I thought since I couldn't buy a fort that I liked I would try making one. So far I'm really pleased with how it is turning out, the miracle will be if it actually fits on the card table (and yes I did measure first but that is still no guarantee).

So far Elijah has kept his bright blue eyes and I'm beginning to hope that perhaps they will stay blue or green...they could, right? He continues to eagerly accept all the meals offered to him and he is outgrowing clothes and gaining weight rapidly! I don't know exactly how much he weighs but he no longer fits in his 3-6 month sleepers or his size 2 diapers so I think he's pushing 16 pounds! Who would have thought that Steve and I would have a chunky blue-eyed baby?!?

The game

Yesterday while riding in the car, Zach began to play scream and then he would fall into a giggling fit. I didn't understand what the 'game' was at first (although in hindsight I should have recognized the laugh) but with the assistance of mirrors I was able to put together the pieces.... Zach was screaming every time Eli got cozy and fell asleep in his car seat, then Eli would give a big startle and open his eyes resulting in his evil brother's laugh! Poor Eli. I tried to reprimand Zach and tell him that his game wasn't kind but the truth is I found it pretty funny too!

These pictures are from one of Zach's more 'helpful' moments when he brought Elijah all of his toys so that Eli could play too.