Friday, December 28, 2018

Cole: One Month

My sweet squishy bug is ONE MONTH OLD. Already? Sheesh. I still have uncomfortable flashbacks of how painful he was to push out.

He's staring to hold his head up, though it still bobbles around, especially when he's hungry. He looks for our faces when we talk to him and sometimes smiles at us. He gets excited when Zac gets home from work and breathes really fast while he looks for him. He hates being naked and having his diaper changed, but loves being snuggled close (especially by Jac) and is fascinated by the Christmas tree lights.

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Christmas 2018

Happy Holidays!

Christmas came fast this year. We ran out of wrapping paper, forgot to buy a few gifts, and basically weren't completely ready. Oh yeah, we also didn't cook/bake anything nor did Santa get any cookies. I blame the whole New Baby mode as well as cramming in a trip to Louisiana. #NoRagrets

Mom came over this morning to open gifts and hang out. She liked the ornament I ordered for her a while back from Personal Creations, as well as everything else. I miss my dad and Emily and I can't get used to their absences during the holidays. It's hard seeing gifts I'd buy get left on the shelves because it was only for them. I always bought Dad Riesen candy and socks, while Emily received Harley Quinn items. There isn't anyone else who liked those things. But missing them was pushed aside for now. We enjoyed the day, opening gifts, watching Miracle on 34th Street and snacking on bacon.


Once the Christmas magic subsided, the kids were growing feisty, so we walked to the park. Mike and Ashley met up with us and hung out for a bit. We exchanged gifts before they had to head out, but it was nice seeing them. It seems like too much time passes between seeing people these days. Anyway, it was a nice Christmas this year. I'm glad we took our trip and we've got our new baby, nobody was sick with colds, and the weather was perfect.

Monday, December 24, 2018

Louisiana Christmas Trip

We came to Louisiana for the weekend. Zac had extra days off, so we enjoyed a leisure trip without the need to rush through visits with friends and family. It's been the most enjoyable trip so far.

Friday, I finished getting us packed, though Jac and Leah did most of the packing for me. Zac stopped at the store for last-minute gifts and snacks, then we headed out. I think we made it to town before midnight, but stopped at Walmart. Zac went in for some groceries, but only one register was open and it's nearly Christmas, so we got to Sean's after midnight. We put the kids to bed, sipped some spicy egg nog, and watched some Hell's Kitchen before calling it a night.


Saturday morning, we were going to visit Mawmaw and Marie, but Mawmaw went to Texas and Marie was in Biloxi. Instead, we visited Zac's dad. We hadn't seen him in long time, so it was his first time meeting Cole as well as Elias. We met up with Kenny at a house he was painting before going to eat at Chik Fil A. BUT FIRST, Jac and Leah were doing that big-kid-act-like-little-kid thing and I sent them outside to run around... unbeknownst to me the ground was not only puddled, but also slippery. I barely got the words "Don't get your shoes wet" from my mouth when Leah stepped ankle-deep in a puddle, only to run to the open field to slip and land in the mud. Shoes and denims had to be rinsed and dried before we could go eat. Jac's shoes weren't as bad, but still needed a rinse. I was glad Elias listened when I told him to come back to the porch. After a few embarrassed tears from Leah, all was well to go eat.


Sunday, we woke up a little later than we liked and headed across the lake. We met up with Jessie and Orrin at Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee before heading to the levee to see the water and let the kids run around. I just saw Jessie briefly in October, but it felt like it's been longer. It was nice to just sit, watch the water (since Zac was watching the kids) and talk about work and birth and all the things.


Last minute, we decided to attend Christmas in the Park to look at lights. Cole slept through the whole thing, but the other three enjoyed themselves.


Monday, we woke up a little earlier than planned and headed across the lake to City Park to meet Katie. The last time we saw Katie was back in April. Jacob was a tiny, new baby and Cole was about the size of a pea. We had such a nice visit. The kids played together so well and the weather was breezy. We ate beignets with much-needed coffee at Morning Call.


After the park, we headed back over the bridge to visit Marie and exchange gifts. Our visit was brief because she and her family had to be at a Christmas party at 6 and we had made plans to see more of Zac's side of the family around the same time.


Kenny invited us to go to a get-together at Zac's Aunt Karen's house (the one who gave us Toby), so we ate dinner with them and visited a bit. We hadn't seen them since maybe 2011? It was fun and so much food. We left Karen's and made a quick stop to give Kyle his gift before heading home. The kids had no trouble falling asleep. It was a great trip.