Christmas 2010

This month has been a world wind!  It feels like it just got started, and now it is just winding up!  The craziness started mid month with all the Christmas parties and shopping.  Jon (aka. Beans), came up on the 12th.  Our big plan was to run a bunch and do a lot of hot yoga as well.  I have never tried it before and have always wanted to.  Beans is always game for anything athletic too, so we decided his Christmas break was the perfect time to do it.  We survived the first class, and went a day later for the second. It was great! Lots of sweat!  We did some running too.  Then Beans decided to get tackled in football and sprain his ankle and that ruined the rest of our fun.  At least we got a good week out of our holiday fitness extravaganza!  Reese  enjoyed spending time with her uncle and didn't mind that he had a bum ankle!  Auntie Joy came in the following weekend and we ventured out to Ozzie's for her 22nd birthday.  Gramma was kind enough to babysit and we went out for a night on the town.  Needless to say I took advantage of a baby free night and had a little to much fun!  At least I was still smart enough to remedy myself with toast and Advil and woke up feeling great!  The rest of the week flew by in a flash between wrapping presents, dinners and running last minute errands.  Christmas eve we trekked up to Normandy Park to have brunch with family, and then Christmas Eve night we went to church with my family and cooked a big, yummy, Italian dinner.  Reese was a champ all day, and didn't even make a peep during church!  She had fun opening up her Christmas Eve jammies following the tradition we have done since I can remember.  Christmas morning we did a brunch at my parents house, followed by dinner with my extended family.  It was such a busy day that we weren't able to get Reese to nap all day.  It didn't seem to bother her one bit, and she stayed in a fabulous mood all day despite the lack of sleep!  Sunday morning we made the journey over to Spokane for our second Christmas with his parents.  Reese had a ball opening presents with her Nana and Poppa.  She really struggled sleeping last night due to cutting a new tooth, being out of her crib and sharing a room with me.  She normally does not nurse at all during the night, but she couldn't resist the temptation with me in the room.  I tried to let her cry it out, but finally caved in so we could get some sleep.  Hopefully tonight will be better!  I put her in her own room, and am hoping that will solve the problem.  We will be here until Thursday!  I was also thrilled to hang out with my dear friend Angela and her beautiful new babies!  She had Connor and Jocelyn on the 15th and I finally got to get my hands on them!  I told Reese all about her new friends and she is so excited to get to play with them soon!  Here are some pictures of our Christmas week!

Over the River and Through the Woods

This Sunday Chris, Reese, Leila, Lee, Luke and I headed out into the woods to get our Christmas tree. This is a tradition we have now done three years in a row.  It is so much fun to pack the car full and head up into the winter wonderland to pick out a tree.  It is always an adventure! This year we weren't sure if we were still going to do it considering we would have 2 babies with us.  We decided that we wouldn't let that hold us back and loaded up the pathfinder with the 2 car seats and 4 adults. It was a tight fit to say the least!  Our first stop was the rangers station where we got our passes that were good for up to a 12 foot tree. We decided this year to try and get as close to 12 feet as possible considering the trees we had cut down the previous years were probably close to 30 (we then topped them)!! So off into the woods we went. The snow was very heavy this year and the forest service recommended a road that was probably the most clear.  I can't imagine what the other roads must have looked like because this one had about 2+ feet of snow on it! Luckily there were some nice tracks we could ride in.  The first hour started off great, and we began to climb up a logging road in search of the perfect noble.  Generally you have to go up pretty high to get to the nobles.  Just as we were starting to get up at the right height a women who was hiking down the road informed us that about 40 cars were stuck in the snow up ahead and it would be better for us to turnaround. We definitely did not want to get stuck with babies in the car so we turned around and decided to go down a side road.  Just as we were about to park and do a little hiking, it happened. Stuck, stuck, stuck!  The pathfinder was high centered in a pile of snow. Of course the one thing we forgot was a shovel!  The guys started digging with their hands, and Leila and I entertained the babies who were on their best behavior! After about an hour we were still stuck and the car didn't seem to be budging!  Were we going to be here all night!??!?  Finally some guys came along, and swooped on us like super heros. Some guy just grabbed a shovel and spent all of 5 minutes clearing out the snow. I have never seen someone dig so fast.  As he helped, he talked about how he was recently stuck in 8 feet of snow. OK, this guy was a serious pro.  Then with our car hooked to another, and about 3 burly men pushing on the front we were free. Obviously these guys do this often. It took them all of 10 minutes to get us out!  We were a little bummed that our little "snafu" had taken up so much of the day and we were not quite high enough.  We decided to just do some hiking and see what we could find.  To our amazement we found 2 beautiful trees!  Ours is another "Griswold Family Tree" and is about 12+ feet tall. After everything we went through, we were happy to get our tree and head down the mountain!  I can't believe that Christmas is just 2 weeks away! Where does the time go?  I know I say that all the time, but seriously, being a parent puts you in some kind of time warp. 

Other than our crazy tree adventure, life has been pretty low-key, yet busy. I can't believe how crazy things have been since I have decided to stay home! I literally don't have time to even turn on the TV all day. Everyday my goal is to work at least 2 hours, and then between working out and taking care of Reese I am lucky to get any laundry done beyond that. I definitely thought I would have more time, but it is amazing how things have changed since Reese has gotten more and more mobile. She continues to grow and change everyday. It seems that after she hit 6 months, she just started to change like crazy. She now has 4 teeth and I believe 2 more are imminent. She now crawls, well it is a combination between army crawling, and then regular crawling. She has not switched to belly off the floor full time yet. She pulls herself to stand and seems to be trying to do that more often. She is now feeding small pieces of food to herself and is saying words. She is not just mimicking now, I believe she actually now knows what " Mama" and "Dada" are. She will actually say them looking right at you. So who knows, but it seems to me that it is likely that she knows what she is saying in terms of those words. It has been so much fun to watch her change and I fall more and more in love with her everyday!

Snow Day!

I LOVE the snow! I love that Seattle doesn't get a lot of it because it is such a big deal when it comes!  I love that the city shuts down. I think it should be that way.  Everyone works so hard and I think people need an excuse now and then to stay home and enjoy their family.  Today was one of those days!  When I rolled over in bed, I saw 8:00am on the alarm clock and still felt the warmth of Chris next to me. I could look out my bedroom window and see the bright sun reflecting off the white winter-scape in the background.  Beautiful.  I could have stayed there all day snuggled under my warm down comforter.  Days like this just make me smile ear to ear.  They feel like a holiday. I even excused myself from my workout today and enjoyed a piece of a skillet cookie, very uncharacteristic of a normal week day! I also indulged with a little coffee and skipped my usual green tea.  A day like this calls for treats!  Chris and I bundled up ourselves and Reese and took the pups out on a walk.  It amazes me how they even know the sanctity of a snow day.  They looked like deer as they frolicked in the white powder.  I had Chris bring down my Christmas tub and we played Christmas music and hung up our decorations.  As I put items out I reflected on how quickly this year has gone. I remember packing Christmas decorations up last year. 6 months pregnant and thinking how different my life would be in one year.  Different is right!  But so wonderful and so sweet! I just can't believe how it has gone in a blink.  One year ago on the 16th we found out we would be having a little girl.  One year ago! How has it been that long. How is my little girl going to be 8 months old tomorrow?  As I put the decorations out I couldn't help but think how different next year will be.  I will have a crazy toddler running around! Life is so tumultuous!  It just doesn't stay the same!  It is fun to have days like this which allow you to sit back and reflect on what you have and what you are thankful for.  Very fitting since Thanksgiving is this week.  I have so much to be thankful for! I have the best family anyone could ask for, I have amazing friends, we have a roof over our head, and food in my belly and am happy. Life is good! 

Staying Home

Well I have completed week 2 at home. Week one did not really feel quite like being home yet. A few weeks ago I applied for a very flexible part time, telecommute job. It is a contract position for the major search engines doing evaluations. There is not really a demanding minimum that you have to work, and you can do the work whenever you want. Perfect for a mom at home! The catch is you have to pass a VERY time consuming test in order to get the job. The test literally took me all week to complete. I didn't even really feel like I was not working because every free second I had was spent on this test or studying the material. I was thrilled this Monday when I found out that all my hard work paid off and I got the job! My goal was to be able to work around 15 hours a week, however after this week I don't know if that will be possible! I forgot how busy you are at home with a baby! My every second seems to be consumed, but I am loving every minute of it. I don't know how much time I am going to be able to actually log in this job, but I will do my best and see what I can do.

It has been fun getting back in the swing of being home. I love spending all my days with Reese. The time seems to melt by and I wish I had about 10 more hours in the day to get stuff done. Reese is really starting to come into her own. She is stating to say words like mama, dada, and even gramma! She is ever so close to crawling, however I think she is so efficient getting around by rolling and army crawling that hitting this milestone is not very high on her priority list. At times I try and work with her on crawling and then I ask myself why I am doing this. Soon she will be all over the place anyway, and I feel like I should probably enjoy these last few weeks of her being somewhat immobile. I feel like she gets around so quickly as it is with rolling, that I can't imagine what it will be like when she is crawling and walking. Just today she rolled over to the coffee table, and somehow figured out how to roll her legs under it. Below are the pics. She thought it was pretty funny! We also started swim classes with Reese this week. We are doing them 2 nights a week. As I suspected Reese absolutely LOVES them! She has been a water baby from the start. She doesn't even flinch when she goes in the pool, even though I even think the water is cold! She kicks and splashes and has a great time. She has even gotten her head under the water a few times and it didn't seem to bother her in the least. It is so much fun watching her grow.

This weekend Chris and I decided to hit the road and visit our good friends Angela and Jake. Angela has been stuck in the hospital and I was so excited that it worked for me to go and keep her company on Saturday. We stayed with Chris' parents which was a lot of fun. Reese had a great time with her Nana on Saturday and the pups got to go hunt with Chris and his dad. As always the weekends out of town are a whirlwind. I look forward to getting more into the swing of things this week, and hope to continue to carve out my "schedule".

Beginning of a New Chapter

Well today is the day! This is my last day of full time work! The decision to leave was not easy. There were many things that Chris and I considered. First and foremost was Reese. Right now we are so blessed to have my mom watch her on a daily basis and I know she is receiving the best care. In fact, when I stay home I know Reese will really miss her Gramma! However, I would really like to be there on a daily basis and have really missed that these last 3 months. Secondly we considered income. It is a HUGE step to take away a large chunk of your yearly income. We have been living the sweet life for so long, it was a big decision to take the plunge and enter a lifestyle where we will have to budget, but we know it will be worth it!
The last 3 months I kept looking for "signs" to see what would be right for us. Everything seemed to point toward me leaving my job. I love my job, I love my co-workers, I love the money I make, I love being successful, but I love my daughter more. I think things would be a little different if I had some flexibility to work at home a couple days a week, or the ability to go part time, however this is just not a option for me. When you factor in my 9 hour workday and commute on top of that, I only get to be with Reese a few hours a day, 5 days a week. That just wasn't cutting it for me, and we are so blessed to be in a position right now where we can make the choice for me to stay home.
So today I am dealing with the flood of emotions! I am happy, sad, nervous, and excited all rolled into one! I can't believe this is the last day, but it is also the start of a new chapter in my life. I don't know where this next year will take us, but I trust God that wherever we end up will be the right place for us!

Milestones

When you first have a baby, certain milestones seem so far away. Babies are born so small and helpless and it seems like forever until they are able to start doing things on their own. I have been amazed at how quickly these changes come. Ever since we hit the 5 month mark, I feel like we are hitting one milestone after the other. It seems that she is changing daily, and she probably is! In the last month she has learned to sit on her own, eat solid food, sleep 9-10 hours stretches without eating, sleep in a crib in her own room, roll to get to things (she has been rolling for a while, but now it is with a purpose), get up on all 4s (but not crawling yet), recognize her name, and drink water from a sippy cup. She has even started to take "steps" when you hold her in a stand. I can't believe what a social person she is now too. She seems to love everyone and doesn't have a problem being passed off to new people. She is also quite a talker and babbles constantly! It has been so much fun watching her grow and change this past month. My mom was commenting the other day how her body was starting to look more toddlerish than babyish. I have to admit I was a little sad by that, but excited too! I have loved every stage and it seem to just keep getting more fun.

I have also had a lot of fun with the food aspect! During my pregnancy I decided I was going to make her baby food. I have to admit that before I was pregnant I NEVER thought I would do that. I didn't really understand the point. However, when you are pregnant (and after you have you baby) everything changes! You do things you say you would "NEVER" do. Until you have a baby, you really just don't know how you are going to feel about certain things. I am not making her food because I am paranoid about store bought food, or because I don't think it is good quality. I think there are probably some great choices out there, and it is definitely more convenient. However, I just really like the idea of fresh food. I think it tastes better and is in its purest form. I also make her food because I love cooking! I have really enjoyed cooking for a long time. I cook all my meals, so why wouldn't I cook hers? I don't eat out of a can or jar (well most the time), so why should she? I am so glad I made that decision, because I have had so much fun with it so far and it is so easy! I was very blessed and received a Beaba babycook for one of my baby showers. I don't think it is something that is necessary, but it definitely makes things easier! It also steam cooks, which helps to preserve a lot of the nutrients that other methods of cooking can "cook off". I also love the fact that you only have to clean one thing when you are done since you cook and blend in the same machine! So far we have made pears, peas, rice cereal, butternut squash, and apples. I can't wait to try other recipes as she gets older! Some of them are very gourmet, things I would like to eat like mushroom risotto! I want Reese to like a wide range of foods and spices, so am hoping that introducing them to her young will help her like them when she is older. We will see if that holds true!

Changes are Brewing!

Can you feel it in the air? The days suddenly have a chill, and the nights make you want to get that hibernating fire place up and running once again. Fall is on the way. Summer is fading into a memory and I am already thinking of decorating for Halloween and how we will spend our Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just today we talked about how fun it is going to be to trek into the woods, like we have the past several years, and pick out our Christmas tree with Reese in tow. Yes, I know it is still September, but you can feel the changes coming.

I too can feel the changes coming in my own life. Just like looking forward to the cool, crisp days of fall...I also look forward to the changes coming in my life. But for now, I am enjoying life as I know it today. Reese is growing and developing so fast. We just took her to her first husky game over the weekend and she was so good. The loud crowd didn't seem to phase her one bit. Though that doesn't really surprise me knowing how loud her daddy is! :)

Life seems to be moving like a tornado right now. I can't believe it is already September, and I can't believe Reese is almost 6 months old! Where has time gone?!? I feel like I am just riding a wave that is just taking me into shore a lot faster than I want to go. No matter what you do, you can't stop time. You just have to go with it and enjoy where you are at. That is what I am trying to do right now. I have loved these past 6 months, I love where I am at now, and I know I will love what is to come. Even though all these changes are a bit scary! Come on fall, I'm ready for ya!

Update Time

Going from stay at home mom to working mom has made me a bit delayed on my blogging! I have been wanting to update for a while, but when your time is limited with your little one priorities win out! So now I find myself with a moment of free time. Baby is bathed and sleeping (in her own crib which I will get to in a moment) and I am cuddled on the couch with the hubs and pups, watching yet another exciting episode of "bachelor pad". No it's not quite the bachelor or bachelorette, but it's interesting all the less. Who can really pass up trash TV after a long day? So sorry for the novel, but here we go!

Well this has been a busy month to say the least, but we have had a lot of fun along the way too. A couple weekends ago we drove over to Spokane for the weekend to hang out at Chris' Aunt and Uncle's lake cabin. Generally in the summer we are there multiple weekends, generally long ones at that. However, this summer has been a little tricky. It has been hard to line up every one's schedule. We finally collaborated and decided on Aug 14. It was a long drive for only 1 full day there, but it was worth it! As always we had a blast wake surfing, wake boarding, sun bathing, swimming, eating and drinking. It was about 95 degrees, perfect for spending all day in/on the water. Reese was also an angel. She literally did not cry or fuss all weekend which is a feat for a 4.5 month old! Chris and I were lazy and didn't want to bring the co-sleeper so she slept in bed with us. We have never had her "in" our bed all night and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Before baby I swore I would never co-sleep with my kids, but now I totally see why people do it. Not only did Reese sleep like a log, but it was fun to have extra cuddle time; especially when I was away at work a good chunk of the week. We only allowed it this one time because we don't want a 1 year old in our bed, but it was fun none the less. It was also fun to get to take Reese swimming! Yet again she doesn't cease to amaze me with her love of the water. The lake was warm, but it definitely had that chill when you first got it. She did not bat an eyelash! We just brought her in and she immediately smiled and started splashing around. I love how much fun and easygoing this kid is! So it was a successful weekend aside from sitting in 3 hours of traffic on the pass which turned a 5 hour drive into an 8 hour drive. I realized again how lucky I am to have an easygoing baby who went with the flow. No meltdowns at all!

On the parenting front a lot has changed as well. Last baby update I was struggling with getting Reese down to sleep at night. Amazingly this is not even a problem anymore. It just clicked one day and she started going down without a problem. I bathe her, read a story, feed her, sing a song and she's out. I think a few things helped; first is it started getting dark earlier which definitely made it easier. Who wants to go to bed when its light? She definitely didn't! Then I stopped swaddling her at all. I was putting 1 arm in, 1 arm out since about 3.5 months. When I went in for her 4 month check, the pediatrician recommended to stop swaddling her all together. She expressed that at this age she thinks it can be a bit dangerous because they can roll around and if they made it to their stomach with their hands constricted it could cause problems. She did recommend our lifesaver though...bunny! She went on to tell us that she firmly believed in an empty crib to eliminate SIDS risks, however was totally OK with a lovey (those tiny little blankets with a head on them). She said that she has had a lot of luck keeping a special one in their sleeping space at all times and only bringing it out to put them down. That way they associate that lovey with going to sleep. Reese has a super soft bunny lovey and we put her to work! As we go through her bed time routine at night she holds and snuggles her lovey. Then when we put her down, she no longer flails her arms, not knowing what to do with them without a swaddle. She just grabs bunny and hugs her and falls asleep. It is really the cutest thing I have ever seen. I can tell this bunny will be going to college with her! So now that we have tackled going to sleep we just need to tackle staying asleep. The past few nights we have moved her into her own room and she has kept the same schedule as she had in our room (waking up once to eat during the night and then a few pacifier pop ins here or there). I would love it if we can kick her pacifier pop ins. At this point the night feeding doesn't bother me since I am away most the day and I actually welcome the time to nurse her, but I could do without the extra soothing. I am hoping she will soon learn to do this herself. She is going to have to sooner or later because paci is going bye bye at 6 months because I think it will be easier when she is younger rather than older. I just want to get her completely used to her crib before I make yet another transition for her.

I still can't believe how fast she is changing. Each day it seems that she is doing something new. She is starting to sit without help (for like 15-30 seconds), she is trying to teach herself to crawl and she is babbling up a storm! She has even started to mimic words. She has mimicked "hi" and "cookie" and a few other little words. I know she doesn't know what she is saying, but it is fun getting her to copy your own words! Watching her grow everyday is so incredible and I feel so lucky to be her mommy. I am sure I will have many more updates next time around too. Things seem to be changing right and left in the Holcomb household! Here are a few recent pics!

From Stay at Home Mom to Working Mom

This past week has been one of the toughest of my life. Last Thursday I made the transition from stay at home mom to working mom. From the beginning of my maternity leave I was dreading this day and to be honest, I have spent the past few weeks wallowing in self pity over it. No one can prepare you for how difficult it is to leave your child everyday. I think it may have been easier if I went back sooner, but when you spend everyday of 18 weeks with your baby, you get very used to it. Now, I have to count myself VERY lucky because I have a saint of a mother who watches Reese. Everyday I know Reese is in extremely capable hands, but it is still so hard to be away all day. This has given me such a respect for working moms. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that being a stay at home mom is easy. It is absolutely NOT! It is very difficult to juggle a house and baby. It leaves you completely exhausted by the end of the day. However, now being someone who has done both the stay at home thing and the working thing, let me tell you, the working thing is SO much more difficult. Lets run through my day....

1. go to sleep around 10pm
2. wake up between 1:00am and 2:00am to feed Reese
3. wake up at 5:00am to feed Reese
4. shower and get ready
5. Get to work by 7:00am
8. 8:00am pump
9. 11:00am pump
10. eat lunch while I work 11:30 am
11. use my 1 hour lunch break to work out at 12:30pm
12. 2:00pm pump
13. leave work at 4:00pm to fight through traffic
14. pick Reese up at 5:00pm (probably feed her at my mom's)
15. Run home and help Chris put dinner together while entertaining Reese at the same time
16. play with Reese non-stop until she is sleepy (I've been gone all day after all!)
17. Give Reese a bath, read her a story and off to bed
18. get all my stuff ready for the next day and have about an hour of alone time before off to bed again!

Reading this makes me tired! All I an think about all day is being able to see Reese. Then when I get home all I want to do is play with her and be with her. Half the time I feel so exhausted that I don't feel like I get to enjoy it as much as I would like because I am about to fall asleep! Being a working mom is the hardest thing I have ever done. But right now, I know it is the right thing for us and I try and keep a very positive attitude about it (I am sure Chris is rolling his eyes if he is reading this!). So once again I get to deal with something new. I am sure it will get easier as time goes on, but for now it's still fresh. I know I even have it easy compared to many out there. I can't imagine being a single mom, or a mom working 2 jobs. I work for a great company, make good money and get to be with my family every night. So believe me, I am not all negative, but it still doesn't make it easy. I just have to learn to maximize all the time I do get to spend with my family and not to take it for granted! So here is to all the working moms out there!

Happy Anniversary

Today Chris and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary! It is absolutely amazing how quickly time flies! It seems like just yesterday that we stood at the alter in the sweltering church and said "I do". It was one of the 2 best days of my life (of course having Reese is the other). Over the past 5 years we have done so much. We have traveled to Hawaii twice, The Bahamas, Antigua, Mexico, Napa, Boston, Whistler, LA, and Italy. We have rented, purchased a home, adopted dogs and had a child. Over these past 5 years we have just fallen more and more in love. I can't imagine my life without this man and I know that feeling is reciprocated.

This year celebrating our anniversary is a little bit different. Normally we would go away, or go out for our anniversary but since I have returned to work I didn't want to be away from Reese literally all day. So, we decided to go out last weekend to celebrate. We had a great dinner at Palisades restaurant. Tonight I plan to either cook a nice dinner or go out with our small family. It is hard to imagine that last year on this day I found out I was pregnant. The next day we were off to Napa (which unfortunately I could not enjoy since I was knocked up!). Now one year later we have a beautiful little girl and are onto the next adventure. I can't imagine where the next few years will take us. Here are a few of our goals for the next 5 years:

1. Have another Child (or 2, that is still tbd)

2. Go to Bora Bora/Morena, and the Greek Islands/Egypt

3. Buy a boat

4. Upgrade the house

5. Continue to have fun and enjoy each other and our families

6. Raise happy children that are secure in themselves

Wherever we go in the next five years I know we are going to fall more and more in love along the way. I think these next five years together will be the best yet! Here is a look back at some of the fun we have had!

Our Wedding July 30, 2005

Our Honeymoon in the Bahamas 2005 Picking out Maiya March 2006Maui July 2006Getting Cody October 2006Mexico May 2007Sandals Antigua June 2008F5 Circle of Excellence Trip in Whistler- January 2009 Italy April 2009Napa July 2009 (don't worry, just posing with wine, not drinking)Kauai October 2009 "babymoon"Pregnant with Reese July 2009-March 2010Reese Marie Holcomb- March 24, 2010 Our Anniversary dinner last weekend