Christmas Season is Here!

We had a great Thanksgiving. Scott made a delicious turkey and baked an incredible apple pie -- including a crust made from scratch! We had a fun evening celebrating with two great families, and have been enjoying leftovers for the last several days.

The day after Thanksgiving, Scott climbed up into the attic and got down all our Christmas stuff! This year I could hardly wait 'til after Thanksgiving to set it all up. The boys and I have been listening to Christmas music for the last 3 weeks...

Even though we were sweating in the 80 degree weather while we assembled our tree, it still feels like the Christmas season is here!

Ian loves the carol-playing moose from my childhood. When my sister finds out this moose now lives at my house, I bet she will be a little jealous...

Ian found a strand of bells and enthusiastically shouted "Dingle Bell! Dingle Bell!" The singing leader in nursery brings similar bells for the kids and Ian was eager to show us what he had been learning. But by this point, Ian was tired of all the pictures I was taking. So he took his bells and went to hide in the corner.

Our tree-topper is a pair of doves that adorned a present we received at our wedding.

Ian

Here is some of what Ian has been up to lately. During these activities, Joseph was most likely to have been sleeping. Or eating.

Drinking Orange Julius. Scott has made this a Saturday morning tradition. Ian calls it "yummy drink".

Good to the last drop.

Finding and then kicking back with "Daddy's buttons". They are forbidden, and therefore he loves them.

Rearranging the furniture, hiding cars under the cushions, and then taking a nap with "Da bunny an' da binkie"

Growing another mullet.Haircut number 2. He did not remain calm during this procedure. Helping Daddy with the dishes, i.e. banging a whisk on the sink. Check out the new haircut.

Nursery

Here is Ian on his first day of nursery

Ian is now old enough to begin nursery at our church, which means that now we only have to wrestle to keep him calm and quiet for the first meeting, and then he gets to go off to learn about Jesus and play and eat snacks for the remaining two hours with a bunch of other kids his age. Scott and I have spent the last 9 months of church pacing the halls with Ian, dreaming of the day when Ian would begin nursery. And yet, like some other anticipated milestones I can think of, this transition was heart wrenching for me.

After all, Ian and I have spent very little of his 19.5 months apart. I have been the primary overseer of his learning and growth. And I like it that way. It is hard for me to know that when he goes to nursery, there is a part of his life that I will know so little about. His teachers (who I hear are wonderful) will teach him things. He'll play with other kids (and sometimes they might be mean to him!) and I won't be there to watch. He has only been there once, and he has already come home singing songs that someone else taught him. My baby is growing up. From this point onward, I will have less and less control and influence in his life. His world will continue to expand. It hasn't helped that I have had nightmares of going to pick Ian up from nursery, only to discover that the nursery leaders let some kidnapper pick Ian up after nursery. I know this nursery thing is far more dramatic for me than for many mothers. But tell me... am I the only one who felt this way?

As I sat at home with Joseph while Ian and Scott were at church last Sunday, I actually found myself watching the clock, thinking... "Okay, it's 3:13. Sacrament meeting is over and now they are walking to nursery." "Now it's 3:50. Ian is totally in nursery." "It's 5:05, Scott is probably going to pick him up right now!" Thankfully, Scott knows and loves me, and called at 5:10 pm on his way home from church to report that Ian loved nursery and was coming home safe and sound.

Don't get me wrong -- nursery is going to be great for me. I am thrilled to be going to Sunday School and Relief Society tomorrow, knowing that I will be able to stay more than the first 4 minutes. (Of course, the countdown begins for Joseph to become the squirmer/screamer who we pace the halls with.)

And I am relieved that Ian has taken to nursery quite readily. He actually could have started going to nursery almost two months ago, but between the hurricane, Stake and General Conference, and a new baby in the family, we just haven't been to church much. So there wasn't any easing Ian into nursery like I had expected. And I'd been prepared for Ian to have a hard time with the adjustment, too. But Scott tells me Ian was eager to play from the beginning, and after changing Ian's diaper and bringing him back to nursery, Ian just marched right back in and didn't look back. This kid was supposed to be going through separation anxiety. But apparently nursery is cool enough to make a kid forget his parents.

Hopefully I will be able to drop Ian off at nursery tomorrow and not linger by the door for the next 2 hours. Heaven help me when Ian starts all-day Kindergarten.

5 weeks Old

Joseph is now nearly 6 weeks old. Here are some stats from his one month appointment, though the measurements were taken when he was 5 weeks old.

Weight: 11lbs 4.5 oz, 90%
Height: 22 1/4 ", 75%
Head Circ: 15, 50%

Joseph has gained 3 lbs in just 3 weeks, and has grown an inch and a half since birth! It is fun to see his cheeks fill out, and now that he feels sturdier, I worry less about what Ian can do to him.

While Ian is working on being "gentle" and "soft" when he touches Joseph, these sentiments usually surface after he has flung a block at Joseph, or pretended --oops-- actually, stepped on Joseph's back during 'tummy time'. I love that after Ian is scolded for his treatment toward Joseph, Ian always gets a sympathetic look and then makes a motion like he is tousling Joseph's hair. Which is really funny, because Joseph is completely bald, except for a fringe of dark hair that hangs around the back of his head.

Here, Joseph was snuggled up on Scott's lap, when Ian come over and rearranged things to make room for himself.

Ian looks comfy, and Joseph looks like he doesn't care that he isn't.

But actually, I think Ian likes Joseph these days, and is always quick to notify me when he hears Joseph over the baby monitor: "Baby Joseph sad. Joseph cry." Followed by "Go get him. Right back. Hurry Hurry." It is fun to see Ian taking on what seems like a watchful big brother's role. He even offers Joseph his binkie, a privilege rarely granted to anyone else.

These days, Joseph is developing a more regular eating and sleeping schedule. It emerged on it's own, but I like it, so I have been careful to enforce it. He usually wakes up just before 7 am, and begins a cycle of eat, 'play' for 1 hour, sleep for 2, then do it again. He does this until around 7 pm, at which point he eats every 3.5 to 6 (!) hours and then goes immediately back to sleep. And thank goodness for it-- I have learned that I am quite tied to the regularity and dependability of schedules, and the whole irregularity of newborness had been hard for me. Without a schedule how on earth do you know what they are crying for?! And when you can sneak away to use the restroom? Or take a nap? So now that we near the 6 week mark, we are all feeling a little more normal. Finally! Phew! I think we can do this two-kid thing after all!

Here is Ian enjoying his favorite pastime; building "big, big, bunny house". Notice his favorite rabbit lounging inside.