Gabriel's Beddy Time

Gabriel has had a small cold for the past couple of days. Just sniffles and coughs, but enough to make him uncomfortable for bed and naps. I went to the store and bought everything they had for little babies his age (and it wasn't a large variety). We have a vaporizer plugged in releasing age appropriate vicks medication to clear his lungs, and baby vicks rub on his back and feet. Not to mention boogie wipes (saline wipes so his nose doesn't get too irriated). They have the most unusual things for little guys.

I wasn't able to get him down for bed tonight, so I asked Josh to try and rock him while I straightened up around the house. I've been cleaning for about an hour (I am obsessed with organization and I bought new containers and was fillin' them all up), and I couldn't hear Gabriel or Josh. I went into his room and discovered why.

Gabriel's First Christmas

We woke up this morning and after showers and breakfast, decided that we should open up the rest of our gifts. Josh and I exchanged last night with one another, but we still had quite a few for misters. It was so adorable. Josh was holding him and helping him to rip the paper, while I recorded and took pictures to capture the moment. Gabriel was so involved in the crinkling of the paper that he was oblivious to the presents they had wrapped. I told Josh that we could have just fot him wrapping paper and boxes and he would be none the wiser. Gabriel got a walker and a steering wheel toy. He has a few miscellaneous things, but he was more focused on the paper and containers then his new additions to his already overfull toy bin. Maybe next year he'll realize that presents are more than paper deep.

Hope everyone had a great holiday. Merry Christmas!!

Gabriel's First Christmas Eve

This year, for Gabriel's first Christmas, Josh and I decided to do Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day at home. We went over to my mom's yesterday afternoon and had Christmas Eve dinner and did some Christmas activities. My sister and I decorated a Gingerbread House, while the boy ate on of the cookies that came as extras. Josh and the guys played Risk, where he lost miserably (but was happy enough to find people to play the game). Gabriel enjoyed Great Grandma's Ambrosia Salad (whipped topping, fruit, marshmallows) in his baby feeder. And then we opened presents with the family (Josh and I left Gabriel's and ours at our home to open today).

Like Father, Like Son

just takin pics... thought this one was a keeper

The Break Down (of a Ginger Bread Home)

Holiday snacking at it's best

Sleddin' in a Winter Wonderland

Well... it's still snowing here. It's a little crazy because Puyallup area sees little to no snow. And when it does snow, it doesn't last long enough. So, we took advantage while we could and hit the hills (bunny hills that is) with the boy. We went to the local park and went sledding with Gabriel's new (and early) Christmas gift. He loved his sled so much, but I think more when it was just in a warm house than when he was bundled up like that kid from "A Christmas Story." What do you think?

Too Much of a Good Thing

Josh didn't work for half the day today, he wasn't able to get to work yesterday, and it looks like he may not make it to work tomorrow. He commutes and the roads he takes are not even open right now, let alone safe. It looks like we're going to get another day with daddy tomorrow? But I wonder if this is too much of a good thing. Especially since Christmas is next week and he's got three days off for it. We'll see if Gabriel and I get tired of him before the vacation comes to an end. :)

Morning with Daddy

Josh called in today because of the roads (even though there is little snow here) and his mouth was bothering him. He had a dentist appointment and got two fillings, complaining that they didn't give him pain medication. lol So he got to feed little misters. How do you think he did?

Finally Done!

I have finally finished my christmas shopping. I managed to get something for everyone on my list, and ruin what I got for the husband. I got Josh his two games that he was wanting, and of course told him about it before (like within hours of buying them). I can never wait till the event. Gabriel is completely confused with this holiday. I give him a gift to see if he likes it, and then take it away when he does. He's going to see all the gifts that we took away when he unwraps them, and he's gonna be a little irritated. I bet he won't play with half for fear we'll just take them away again.

Finishing Christmas Shopping

After running a million errands, and getting pictures done as well as we could (Gabriel was not happy with us, and we left after an hour and a half with three pictures), we still have to find time to finish Christmas shopping. Josh is so hard to shop for because everything he wants is super expensive. He wants all these high priced items like we have money growing on trees. I have to remind him that we're house hunting, so expensive gifts will be limited. Even so, he just got a pretty pricey (bright yellow reflective) jacket for work. Can't say no when it's work related. I wonder how he'll justify his gaming as work necessities. Ten days left, but still lots to do.

Book Club Nightmares

I am having the most difficult time with our son's book club. We joined him in this Children's BOMC so we could get him books and what not at any age. For those of you who have purchased books, children's books may be smaller but they are seldom cheaper. It's kind of funny because you could purchase a toy for less money than it would cost to get a ten page book. And people wonder why kids are behind in math and reading. Anyway, so Gabriel has to buy so many books to fulfill a commitment. No prob, right? Wrong. They have been doing everything to make it difficult for us to fulfill the necessary commitment. They send me random books, and I have to send them back. And if you open them (my mistake, once) you have to pay to have them shipped back even though you didn't order them. Crappy, huh? And I thought I purchased a book that counted for our son's needed orders, but it was a dollar too little. A dollar! Seriously. This club is killin me. So I made sure I purchased something that cost the right amount and said that we would get credit. Only they found a way around that one too. I got these "green bags" that keep your produce fresher longer. It was the right amount, but the wrong point (apparently they have different points that I was not aware of!). So, Gabriel is now getting a three little piggies puppet book for the right price and the right point, and payments of 13.98 (for the bags) and 14.98 (for the book) and we are out of this nightmare. It's enough to make me buy him a useless toy since trying to stimulate his mind is screwing my wallet.

Holiday is Almost Here

It's hard to believe that Christmas is only two weeks away. It just seems like it takes so long to get here, but as soon as we start to round out the corner with Halloween and then Thanksgiving, it just jumps out at us. I still have so much to do. Holiday shopping is nowhere near finished, plans for Christmas Eve aren't finalized yet, haven't done half the things that Josh and I wanted to do. I evaluate the checklist in my head and see that we've done a lot, but there is still a lot to do. Christmas Items out CHECK, Holiday Events done CHECK. But presents for the boy, not yet. Holiday feast for the night before, not quite. At least we have family/Gabriel's nine month/Christmas Pictures this weekend. One thing down, a million to go. I think we'll drive around and look at Christmas lights while listening to Christmas music. Can't really seem too anxious or overwhelmed when seeking out the hidden treasures of your neighborhood. Maybe some peppermint hot chocolate too? :) My Fav

Santa Parade

Puyallup held it's annual "Santa Parade," which we attended earlier this evening. Both Josh and I assumed it would be like half hour tops (Puyallup is not that big). Boy were we wrong. It lasted over an hour. And if you think about it, that's a long time. I mean, we just stood at a corner and the parade walked in front of us. Literally walked... for over an hour. It was fun though. Gabriel was all bundled up, and Josh was switching with me on who was holding the boy and who was takin' pics. The parade had all sorts of small town things and (of course) the local schools and their bands/cheerleaders. The best one (aside from the Santa riding in on a Puyallup Fire Engine) was the girl scouts all dressed like gingerbread cookies. Their sign read, "Save Gingerbread People... Buy Girl Scout Cookies." Cute, huh?

Christmas Busy Body

Josh and I are extremely busy this month. I'm not sure if it's because it's going to be Christmas, or just because we have a teething baby boy that reminds us when he's not doing too well (frequently). He now has six teeth and has taken to grinding the top ones to the bottom two. Maybe the vibration helps with his pain and irritability. We have dentist appointments this week, follow-up appointments this weekend. Auburn is throwing a Santa Parade that we are planning to attend this Saturday. Then we are looking at a few homes on Tuesday. Family coming in to town today (to visit other family members this weekend). Gabriel has his 9 month appointment. We are getting family Christmas pictures done. SSSHHHEEESSSHHH!! I'm exhausted from the list, let alone the events. Christmas always seems to be so busy. And we still have to find time to get a tree, decorate and christmas shop. I think Josh and I are giving one another shopping sprees. That way, we can get what we want/need without the holiday crowds. :) Cheap out, yes. Good idea, of course.