Happy Holidays

We had a fantastic week celebrating Christmas. We went to Klaus restaurant on Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family for dinner. Santa even made an appearance right before dinner! It was fun, and most of the family got a picture with him, even though most of the kids cried when it was there turn to sit on his lap. It took Kenley a few minutes to warm up, but she finally did  and managed to get in one last request for what she wanted. (A white race car)

Christmas morning we were home, just the 4 of us, and opened our stockings and gifts. It was fun, and Kenley got what she asked Santa for and a lot more! Charlie got a few baby basics and a few small toys too. I got Ray a laser finder for golf, a travel bag, and a few little things. He got me a beautiful diamond infinity ring, perfume, and new work out clothes. Then we headed over to my parents house for brunch with my dad's side of the family. We had a great dinner at Ray's mom's house, and by the time we left there, we had a truck full of gifts. We were all very spoiled by our family members, and the kids go SO much. I spent a few hours the following day just going through everything and tying to find places for everything. Kenley had so much fun playing with all of her new toys all weekend long.  And, I'm sure Charlie will be enjoying his really soon too. He is just starting to reach for things, and he also got his first tooth this weekend!

We went to the Shedd Aquarium on Friday, which was the first time I have been there in a very long time. It was cool, and we saw the dolphin show, the Ice Age show, and walked around to see everything. The rest of the weekend, we ran a few errands, but mostly just stayed home and relaxed. I even squeezed in a few naps since Charlie's teething had me up (again) a million times a night. Luckily, Tylenol has helped the last two nights. Tomorrow, we are back to our regular schedule, and I am kind of happy because I have to get back to the gym!! I haven't worked out in2 weeks because of my dental surgery, and I have eaten way too much this last week.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas & has a Happy New Year!

Countdown to Santa!

It's Christmas Eve morning at 8:40, Charlie is already back to sleep for a nap, and Kenley is still sleeping! I'm going to let her sleep as long as possible because we have a busy 2days ahead.

Last week I had to have some dental surgery, and I figured it would be one day of sleeping and pretty much back to normal by Tuesday, but I was wrong. It turned out to be a bit more painful then I expected, and all the drugs I was taking combined with not eating much made me feel pretty crappy for a few days. If I would have known that, I would not have scheduled it the week before Christmas. I was still able to make it to Kenley's preschool party and my party with my co-workers, but wasn't really able to eat much or drink. It was hard taking care of the kids while trying to take care of myself, so I am so thankful I had my parents, sister, and mother-in-law and sister-in-law to help me while I was recovering and going to my follow up appointments. The worst part is that I have to have the other side of my mouth done at some point in the next few months, but at least now I know what to expect.

We celebrated my dad's birthday this weekend by going to dinner and ended up taking the kids to Odyssey fun world where we all ended up crawling through the tubes! We also went to breakfast with Santa at Drury Lane with Ray's family on Sunday and had a delicious brunch. We have had such a fun few weeks and we have been able to do a lot to prepare for Christmas. We have had multiple Santa visits between the mall, library, pre-school, and brunch, we played in the snow, decorated our gingerbread house, searched daily for our elf on the shelf, completed many Christmas crafts, looked at Christmas lights, shopped and wrapped our gifts etc.... I am excited for Charlie to have his first Christmas and for Kenley now that she is really into everything about Christmas.

These next few days we will spend with our families eating good food, exchanging gifts, and  enjoying our time together. I am happy that Ray has the rest of the week off after Christmas so we can really enjoy this time all together and relax a little after all the holiday fun. Merry Christmas everyone and enjoy this time with your family!

36 & 4 months

Kenley turned 3 is week! We had a "a Winter Wonderland" birthday party, and had family & friends over to celebrate. It was so fun watching her open her gifts and blow out her candles like such a big kid. She had a really fun day. Earlier in the week, Ray and I took her to see her very first movie at the theatre, Frozen, and she did great! I was expecting to have to leave before it was over, but she sat right the whole thing, happy as could be with her popcorn and candy. Sunday, her actual birthday we just stayed home because it was snowing and let her play with all her toys. We sang happy birthday at 5:44, and I got in lots of hugs and kisses and told her about the day she was born and how it snowed in the hospital just like it was snowing that day. Monday she celebrated her birthday at school, and she got her first haircut. We went to his adorable kids place, and although there was a huge fit thrown, she finally calmed down and sat in my lap to get her haircut. Afterward, she professed that getting her haircut was "cool and awesome" getting her haircut, and she can't wait to go back.

Charlie turned 4 months old this week, and also got his first haircut! Now, he looks a bit more stylish and less Donald Trumpish with the comb-over. On the positive side, he has been napping a little better, less crabby during the day, and we have even gotten through a few car rides without screaming. Unfortunately, the nights have been terrible. On average he wakes up about 8-10 times a night. Sadly, I am not exaggerating. He is not up very long, but I have to go in his room, give him a few sips of his bottle, replace his paci.  It's pretty rough having my sleep interrupted so often. I really don't know what to do, but he has his check-up next week so I will talk to the doctor. He is making lots of noises, gurgles, and really laughs now. He is also squirming around more, and he's getting close to rolling over. I just hope he starts sleeping better ASAP!

I have a lot of Christmas gifts already, but I haven't wrapped one single thing. It's kind of hard to do when Kenley is around since I have a lot of gifts for her, so I will probably try to do some one day while she is at school. I have my Girl's night Christmas party with all of my high school friends on Friday, and next week I have a party with all of my co-workers. I'm looking forward to both of them and catching up with my friends.

 

 

December Already!

I've been kind of a slacker on updating and posting pictures, but didn't want to forget to write about a few big things we've had going on,

We had Charlie's Christening over 2 weeks ago already. It went really well, and It was fun to celebrate with our family and friends. Charlie did really well at church and only had a little meltdown at the very end when we were trying to get some pictures. He looked so handsome in his outfit too. Charlie is very blessed to have 4 Godparents- his 2 aunts and 2 uncles. We had a lunches at An Italian restaurant nearby and the food was great! It was a good day, and one of many more to come celebrating with our little man.

Our Thanksgiving was really nice, and we managed to go to my grandma's house, Ray's aunt's house, and a final stop to my other grandparents house. It was busy, and I was exhausted by the end of the night, but I'm glad we were able to see the whole family. We had lots of delicious food, and had a nice time just hanging out.  It was Charlie's first big holiday, and he did pretty good. I tried not to get stressed the way I used to when Kenley was that little, and I think I was a bit more relaxed, which made it more fun for me too. Plus, it always helps when there are lots of people willing to hold and comfort a baby!

Even though I was so tired, I chugged some Pepsi Max and head to Kohl's around 9:30 pm Thanksgiving night. I know many people are against stores being open on Thanksgiving, but the past 2years it has been much easier to spend the whole day with family, tuck the kids in, and then meet up with my mom and sister for a little shopping. There was no trampling people, fights, or rudeness that we witnessed, and for us it has always been our little "girls" tradition to do "black Friday" shopping. In a few years, I will bring Kenley with me. It was fun, and we got a pretty good start on our Christmas shopping.

I joined a gym last week, and so far, I am loving it!! It has been such a struggle trying to work out at home even just for a half hour a day. Even though I have usually managed to sneak it in each day, sometimes it takes me half a day jut to do it. I always wait until Charlie is asleep and Kenley seems content watching a cartoon for a little while, but some days having those two things happen at the same time take forever. The gym has daycare, so I took Charlie there 2days this week while Kenley was at preschool. I felt like I was much more productive to get my workout in early in the morning  without having to worry about the kids, and then we could get on with the rest of our day. I'm planning on taking both kids with tomorrow, and I hope Kenley likes the kids area because I am hoping to go at least 4 times a week. I'm really excited about it, and I hope this helps me continue getting back into shape.

We have a busy few weeks ahead with Kenley's birthday next weekend, holiday parties, and Christmas just around the corner. We got all of our decorations up over the past 2 weeks, and I am ready to enjoy this special time of year. Exactly one year ago, I got a positive pregnancy test and found out our 2nd child was on the way. I'm so happy he is here now, and he can celebrate the holidays with us, but where did the year go? I guess I'll be getting sentimental with Kenley turning 3 too. Time, please slow down!!