Pre-Christmas Shenanigans

We made it to Tennessee on Tuesday by the skin of our teeth. Christmas travel is definitely not for the faint of heart... so I don't think we'll be doing it anymore ;) What's so funny is that, even though we were traveling with a baby, he wasn't even the reason the whole day was so stressful. It was just one thing after another, from long waits on the tarmac to almost missing our connecting flight to a lost carseat (and a "loaner" carseat from the airline that smelled like the last kid that sat in it wasn't wearing a diaper -- that was lovely on our two-hour drive to Jackson). It was a LONG day but I'm so grateful that a fussy, uncooperative baby was not on our list of problems. And we made it here safe and sound so that's really all that matters. 

We've been so enjoying spending time with family and old friends this week and eating so much good food already. Wilder is fascinated by my mom's Christmas tree and the fact that we've had to move all ornaments to the top half of it confirms for me that I did the right thing by not attempting to put up our own tree this year. 

On Wednesday we went to a first birthday party for the son of some friends. Even though the husband and Paul went to high school together and we all went to Mississippi State at the same time, his wife and I never really knew each other until we crossed paths in the blogosphere and ended up being due with our babies around the same time. Their son was born exactly a week after Wilder and Lindsay and I have spent the last year comparing notes and encouraging each other through our blogs. When we found out we were going to be in Tennessee at the same time for Christmas we were excited to be able to get together in real life. The boys were so funny together and the birthday party was crazy and a blast.

This is the best picture we were able 

to get of all of us haha. The boys 

were obviously not feeling it :)

Yesterday we went over to Paul's grandparents' house for a visit and a few of Paul's many younger cousins happened to be there too. Wilder had such a good time being the center of attention and playing with the "big" kids. We can't wait to take him over there on Christmas -- he's going to love being around the dozen or so other kids who will be there. 

Paul and I have been taking advantage of having a built-in babysitter in my mom and have gone out with friends a couple of nights this week. Last night we ran into a friend of ours from high school who is apparently a fan of the blog. I love finding out who reads all this stuff I write and it's so cool to hear someone who hasn't met Wilder talking about him and knowing what he's up to. So a big shout-out to our good buddy, Chase! :)

And after many attempts I have finally gotten a decent video of Wilder walking. It seemed like every time I tried to record it he would fall down and every time I wouldn't have my camera ready he would take off across the room but at last the stars aligned and I got the cutest 8-second video of his little monkey walk. I can't deny it anymore -- my tiny newborn infant son is truly a toddler now...

Sorry for the sort of random post but I wanted to get all of this down on the blog before the big Christmas weekend because I know I'll have a lot to say and tons of pictures from that. We're so excited to be in Tennessee this Christmas for the first time in three years and even more excited to share it with Wilder and the rest of our family. I hope all of you have a very blessed and merry Christmas this weekend! 

A Very Christmas-y Weekend

Warning: Cute picture overload.

I may be a Scrooge but we sure had Christmas all weekend around here. Even though it's going to be a pretty sad holiday this year, all these pre-Christmases we've had are getting me excited for the actual Christmas. Wilder loves helping to open his presents and it's so fun to watch him exploring new toys and games. 

We gave him his Anywhere Chair last week and he has been enjoying it so much! I moved it by his front window so he can look out at the yard since, for the most part, it's been too chilly to get out much or have the front door open for him to look out. He loves watching and pointing at the birds at the bird feeder. The other day I was sitting in there with him and he kept pointing and saying Bur- Bur- off to the side of the window and when I looked out he was pointing to a Bird of Paradise flower in the flower bed. I didn't know what to say but I had to give it to him, they do look just like birds, so I just nodded and smiled. 

He still loves climbing in and out of his chair but instead of climbing out like a normal person/baby, he basically dives out of it headfirst. He thinks it's so funny (and it is) but I hope he starts catching on soon to the concept of feetfirst. I also love the chair because it makes him sit still long enough to get some decent pictures.

 I think he may be getting some curls?

 Every time I ask him where his nose

is lately he shows me his tongue.

He knows head, ear, and feet but 

where am I going wrong with nose? 

 Mid-bur

On Saturday we had our little family Christmas. Even though we didn't have a tree to do it in front of it was still much more fun than last year when he was four weeks old and I opened his gifts in front of him in the bouncer seat and he couldn't have cared less. This year, fresh from the experience of opening presents at his birthday, he was very helpful and excited to open his presents. 

That snack cup is pretty much a 

permanent extension of his hand.

Playing with his hound dog 

guitar from Aunt Jinny

Checking out some of his loot

Sunday evening we went over to Rachel and Lexi's house for dinner and to exchange gifts with the babies. We had such a great time and Wilder was totally pumped about having a new house and new toys to explore. He never stopped moving and worked up quite a sweat. He and Lexi are both so busy. It's really fun to watch. 

 We love these ladies! :)

This isn't the real Santa. 

Get him away from me!

 Seriously, guys, what are you

trying to pull here?

 Lexi, go into deer-in-the-headlights mode

and maybe they'll stop taking pictures!

In other news, Wilder is walking more and more steps every day. He can walk all the way across his room and does it even without prompting. I can see his preferred mode of transportation slowly beginning to switch over from crawling to walking. He looks SO cute waddling around. I haven't gotten a good video of him doing it but that's my mission tomorrow. 

We're looking forward to continuing our Christmas festivities this week in Tennessee with our families! I think some good Southern food and quality time with our loved ones is just what we need. 

Christmas Card

Goodbye BF'ing

Warning: If you are a man reading this, you're probably going to want to stop here. If you are future Wilder who is now in his teens, you should definitely stop here. If you choose to continue reading and get weirded out? Well, don't say I didn't warn you. 

Y'all, we are officially done with breastfeeding. As of yesterday, one of the things I've put the most time and effort into for the last year and one of the things I've been most fulfilled and rewarded by is over. At the risk of sounding strange, I'm terribly sad to know that I will never again have that connection with Wilder. And at the risk of sounding cliche, it's just another sign that he's growing up so fast. 

I feel weird that I feel sad about it but I've read that's normal. Some won't understand it but, to me, it's a big loss. And I knew it would be so, and this is really going to sound weird but, I was trying to wait to wean him until after the first of the year. It's already going to be a not-so-merry holiday with my dad gone and I didn't want to be dealing with the emotions of this loss too. 

That's what I feel like the theme of the last three months of my life has been: loss. First and foremost, my dad. Then, and this doesn't compare in any way to losing my dad but it was still a pretty big blow, the loss of my laptop and all its stored pictures and information. And now the loss of this important way of bonding with my son. Can I just go into hibernation until January 1st? 

But, if there was a secondary theme to the last quarter of the year, it would have to be focusing on the positive. So here goes. I'm thankful that the weaning was able to happen naturally and didn't have to end abruptly for some reason. I'm also thankful that I was able to do it for 12 1/2 months. It's one of the best things I've ever done and I'm very proud of it. And, even though I'm sad it's over, I also felt like it was time. And now I can have a margarita at lunch if I want to!

So there are a few good things about the end of breastfeeding and thinking about them does make me feel a little better. If I can just keep this positive attitude through the next two weeks. Luckily, I have a funny, chubby reminder walking circles around me at all times. It's a little harder to be down when you're watching your first child learn to walk and get better at it every day. It's funny how such joy and such sadness can coexist in each day. That's life though, right? 

(Early) Early Christmas

Yesterday, Wilder was trying to climb up into the chair in his room so I took the cushion off so he could get his little booty up in there and he, um, LOVED it. He sat up there and read the books I handed to him for the longest time and kept climbing in and out of it. 

After that there was no question we had to give him his big Christmas present early. We were going to do our little family Christmas on Saturday but I couldn't even wait until then. I wanted him to be able to enjoy it for as long as possible before we left for Tennessee so Paul and I both got up with him early this morning and surprised him with his Anywhere Chair (actually got it on Amazon for a little cheaper than at Pottery Barn). Can I just say, he was totally freaking stoked. 

Checking out the chair sitch

Then he discovered he could use it to reach

into his toy basket and proceeded to throw

out every toy he could grab

 Possibly the most excited I've ever seen him

He seriously loves this thing. Every so often during the day today he would go over to it and throw himself facedown into it like he was hugging it. Needless to say I highly recommend this chair as the perfect Christmas gift for the toddler in your life :)

 Trying to eat a snack in his chair

while still super excited

Note to self: Iron Get Paul to iron chair slipcover, for goodness' sake!

Yesterday Wilder and I went to the mall to return something. Wilder is so much fun to shop with because he just loves seeing people and grins hugely at everyone we pass whether they're looking at him or not. He's also constantly pointing at things. Yesterday we saw two different kids at the mall with balloons and he insistently pointed and said Boon! Boon! and then got upset when we passed them and he found himself to be still balloon-less. He did the same thing at the grocery store tonight. I foresee this becoming a problem.

Aaanyway, point of the story is that we like totally got him some new sneaks at the mall, dudes! He is so proud of them :) And he looks like such a big boy!

Also, we are sooo excited that Paul's fall quarter ended today and we have him to ourselves for three whole weeks! He worked so hard this quarter and now, with only 6 months to go, we're about to enjoy his last Christmas break ever (probably) (hopefully). Hope everyone has a good weekend! 

Wilder's Flying Magazine

I'm finally getting a chance to snag the magazine we made for Wilder's birthday party off of Paul's computer...

After my dad passed away we found the November 2010 issue of Flying magazine in with some of his things. Two things are significant about this issue. 1) It was from the month and year that Wilder was born and 2) There is a Learjet on the cover and my dad flew a Learjet (except a slightly different model). Since we did an airplane theme as a way to honor my dad and include him in the party, the small connection between Wilder and my dad in the form of this magazine nicely rounded the party out for me and the fact that my dad saved this particular issue also makes it special. 

I knew I wanted to display all 52 of Wilder's weekly pictures so I decided to customize the magazine as a way to incorporate into the party the weekly photos and a small percentage of the literally thousands of pictures I have of Wilder's first year. I'm all about taking pictures if you didn't know. It's kind of a compulsion. 

Anyway, I did the cover and picked out pictures (it was so hard to narrow it down and I still ended up with over 200!) and Paul laid out and designed the pages and printed it for me -- thank you, Paul! -- since he does that kind of stuff, ya know? I loved the way it turned out and was excited to add that little personal touch to the party. Plus, it will be fun for us to look at for many years -- a sort of baby book in pictures.