New year, new bed

Will and I have been talking about transitioning Nathan into a bed for months but we always found an excuse to delay it. Honestly, I think we've just been afraid to lose sleep over it. Literally.

For as long as I can remember, Nathan has gone to bed happily, not only for bedtime but also a two to three hour afternoon nap. When he wakes up in the morning, he is content to sing and talk to himself for up to an hour before calling out for us. The thought of losing that was scary. But with a new baby due in less than 2 months, we know our full nights of sleep are about to make their exit so this seemed like as good a time as any. Our hope is that in the next 2 months he will go through any "Wow, I can get out of bed whenever I want, let's go wake Mommy and Daddy up at 2am" phase and be back to sleeping all night. The thought of waking up multiple times throughout the night to feed an infant plus bring a toddler back to his bed bed sounds awful so I'd rather aim to have at least one child who sleeps through the night...again.

We made a big deal about it and let Nathan know how exciting it is to sleep in a "big boy bed." In reality, the bed is not any bigger since all we did was remove the front rail from his crib and attach a guard rail. But to him, it has been very exciting. He helped me pick out a new blanket and pillow and he helped Will "build" the bed. When the night finally came I was so nervous and expected to have a long night ahead of me. I've seen Supernanny enough times to know I would most likely be up for a few hours walking Nathan back to his bed over and over again until I tired him out. So, we put him to bed like we normally do and waited....

Instead, he surprised us by going to bed happily like he has done every other night and sleeping through the entire night.  Tonight is night #4 and once again he went down fine. Naps on the other hand are not going as smoothly. He has been resistant, asking us to rub his back or sleep in the bed with him. We don't know if the sudden freedom is overwhelming or maybe he doesn't feel as safe? We are trying to comfort him and make him feel secure but still remain firm that he has to nap alone, like he has always done.

Today we were back to our regular nap schedule with no tears or stalling so I am hopeful that he is getting more comfortable with his new setup. Although, 4 days seems too easy so we will not be surprised if we hit a few more bumps over the next couple weeks.

Wish us luck over here. I'm 33 weeks on Friday and getting more and more tired each day. I've tried explaining to Nathan that I really, really need the 2 hour nap in the afternoons to rest but he doesn't seem to care. Fingers crossed I get as much sleep as possible before D day!!

Happy New Year!

At some point over the past 3 years, New Years Eve parties turned into New Years Day brunch. Late nights into early mornings. Champagne toasts into Bloody Marys.

We've spent New Years with the same group of friends for almost 10 years!! (That makes me feel so old.) So as long as we're still surrounded by those friends, does it really matter what time it is? There's not much difference anyway. I saw at least one person passed out asleep, at least one girl crying, and I definitely saw a guy chugging a bottle. Yup, sounds like all those parties from our past!

2012 was a great year for us, full of health and happiness, what else can you ask for? But we're so excited for 2013, the year our family of 3 will turn into a family of 4. Happy New Year!

Just a little peek into all the Christmas fun we had this year.

Here comes Santa Claus

Last year's visit to Santa involved waiting outside in the freezing cold, while Nathan had the best time playing with the other kids and looking inside the windows into Santa's "house". Fast forward to when we finally reached the front of the line and the doors opened and we were welcomed in to see the big man in person and Nathan clung to my leg and refused to go anywhere near Mr. Claus. Sadly, we don't even have a picture because we couldn't peel him off my leg.

So, this year we made some changes. Instead of the adorable little house across the street from where we live (which involves waiting outside), this time we went to the crowded mall, which is heated!  We brought snacks and toys to keep Nathan entertained during the long wait. And most effective I think was that for the past week or two, we had been talking about meeting Santa. Reminding Nathan how friendly he is, how silly he is with his loud "Ho, Ho, Ho" laugh and that most importantly this is the guy who brings lots and lots of toys!!! So after waiting in line for over an hour, we were really hoping Nathan would be excited because Will and I had already agreed that if he got scared and didn't want to sit on Santa's lap, we wouldn't force him to.

I am happy to report that he did great. He happily sat on Santa's lap, playing with the jingle bell that was passed out to all the waiting kids. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he looked right at him and said "A lollipop." (Easy customer)

This year we got a picture. Next year, we'll work towards a smile. Baby steps.

The infamous fruit turkey

Growing up, we had big Thanksgivings with nearly 20 people which usually meant a turkey weighing in at more than twenty pounds. My mom got up at 5am to put the bird in the oven and we spent the day cleaning and cooking, preparing for the feast we looked forward to once a year. There was the formal adults table in the dining room and then there was the "kids" table in the living room.  We fought over who had to say grace and then began our meal with my Nana's fruit cocktail and sherbet  (This was so normal to me growing up but looking back at it, how strange to begin a meal with ice cream?!?!) We then proceeded to sit for way too long eating way too much food and loving every second of it. There were lots of people, lots of noise and lots of food.

Part of being married is learning to let go of the traditions you grew up with and embrace the new ones that come with gaining a second family. Since getting married, Will and I now spend our Thanksgivings in New York with his parents. It is a much smaller, much quieter holiday now but still just as lovely. (However, with with the addition of Nathan and soon to be Baby #2, I am sensing a little bit of the wonderful chaos I grew up with seeping back into the holiday.)

The first Thanksgiving we spent with Will's family, I will admit I had a small, emotional breakdown when I found out we weren't having turkey. NO TURKEY??? ON THANKSGIVING????? I couldn't even comprehend the words as they came out of Will's mouth. "But that's the whole point of Thanksgiving!! Eating  turkey!!" (Sure, there's the whole giving thanks for all the blessings in your life too, but at that moment, I could think of turkey, and nothing else.)

I told myself it wasn't a big deal and that I would prepare Will and I a traditional turkey dinner later that weekend to enjoy together. In addition, Will did a little research and found every single restaurant in NYC that would be serving a traditional Thanksgiving dinner that weekend and let me know we could go to whichever one I wanted, bonus points for him that year. Deep down though, I was still a little sad on the morning of Thanksgiving to know that I would NOT be eating turkey. I'm sure a lot of that emotion had to do with spending my first Thanksgiving away from my family but on that day, I focused all of my emotions on the turkey-less dinner we would be having.

I'll never forget that day. As soon as we arrived for dinner, my mother-in-law (who must have heard that I was a little disappointed about the turkey, or lack thereof) turned to me with a big smile on her face and said "We have a turkey." Words can't describe how excited I was. In what felt like slow motion, I turned towards the table, eyes darting, searching frantically for the bird. And what I saw instead, there in the center of the table, was this....

The original fruit turkey

It was a fruit turkey, completely made by hand by my mother-in-law. "I saw it in a magazine at the dentist's office the other day, isn't it cute?" I don't even know how to properly describe what went through my mind in that moment. My heart sunk as my first thought was "That's not a real turkey" but then I immediately starting laughing and smiling at how thoughtful her gesture was. I had been so focused on how I felt about the changes that were happening, I hadn't given any thought to how they were feeling. Suddenly they had to welcome someone new to their holiday and instead of celebrating their usual way, they welcomed me with a fruit turkey, possibly the most thoughtful gift I've ever received.

Our first Thanksgiving together, 2008

In the years since, our meal has evolved. We now have a ham and a turkey. Sauteed vegetables and stuffing. Fruit turkey and pumpkin pie.The fruit turkey serves as our centerpiece every year and will always remind me of the first Thanksgiving we spent together as a family. To me, it symbolizes two families coming together, forming new traditions and making new memories. And that is certainly something to be thankful for.

My morning routine - 0 to 60

When Nathan wakes up in the morning, he is on. From the second his eyes open, his day has officially begun and I'd better keep up or get out of his way.

In those first 20 minutes when I am half asleep/half awake, I can change a diaper, find a missing Pooh Bear, brush a set of teeth that more often than not do NOT want to be brushed, whip up breakfast and put on a Barney episode that will hold his attention long enough so I can brush my own teeth, pour myself a bowl of cereal (which he will most likely eat half of even though his breakfast looks just as tasty) and if I'm lucky, pop a coffee pod into the Keurig.

A friend of mine, who does not have children, recently spent the night at our place and when Nathan came charging out into the living room he started up a full conversation with her. Her slow, hesitant response, eyes half open, was "Wow, you are a morning person!"

There are days when I miss taking a long hot shower, drinking a cup of coffee, half listening to what Matt and Al are talking about on The Today Show while I dry my hair, choose my outfit and put on my makeup while I get ready for "work." But then there are other days when Nathan does something adorable or says something hilarious over a bowl of cheerios and I remember that none of my morning meetings at work were ever this much fun.

People say children keep us young but I don't know about that.
When I compare the amount of energy I have to the amount he has... I'm feeling pretty old!

Rock the Vote

Today is Election Day!!

Nathan hit the polls bright and early with my mom and dad.

And baby #2 snuck in with me right before closing.

We start them young around here.