Goodbye 2009 and Thank You!

The year 2009 was full of many blessings for us. In the beginning of the year, we purchased a cabin in Colorado, in the middle of the year, we celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary and then had Wyatt, and at the end of the year, we purchased a new home in Houston. Wow. We were definitely busy! Thank you 2009….we look forward to many more blessings in the future!

December was the fastest month ever…at least for me. I knew my ‘stay at home mom’ stint was coming to an end and with the holidays, I knew it was going to be over before I knew it! And boy was it!

We started Wyatt on solids earlier this month…specifically, rice cereal. He wasn’t too sure about it at first and the first few feedings were a challenge but he managed the change very well (eventually) and is now eating cereal like a champ! He is eating both rice and oatmeal cereal twice a day now. Soon we will start him on veggies. Looking forward to squash! Maybe he isn’t, but I am! Haha.



Another great event we had the chance to experience this month…snow in Houston!!! Yep! On December 4th to be exact. We definitely had a lot more than last year. This time it stuck long enough for us to enjoy it. There was still snow on the ground when we woke up the next morning! Yay for freezing temps!



I took Wyatt to the mall for the obligatory Santa pic. I had been dreading this. I mean, who wants to stand in line for hours and hours (thinking of A Christmas Story here) just to get a picture with a guy who barely looks like the real Santa??? But boy did we luck out. I went during the week right before lunchtime. We walked right up to the front (no line). Mind you, Wyatt was still sleeping when we got there so I had to take him out of his car seat and wake him up. He was so distracted with the decorations and music that he didn’t have a chance to cry. And the Santa was just perfect. We sat him on his lap, mommy made a few funny faces, and here is the result:



This month, I also experienced my first evening without Wyatt. We went to New Braunfels/Gruene for the Partner’s Christmas party. Good times. It was hard to leave him but I know he was in good hands with his aunt and cousin (thanks Meche and Aidan!). Aidan enjoyed spending time with his cousin. I couldn’t bear being without him for 2 nights so I decided to meet everyone out there on Saturday. So I drove 3 hours (very early mind you) on Saturday morning to take a 4 hour nap with my hubby (it was either that or play golf in the rain). Haha. We were just so exhausted and had to take advantage to catch up on our sleep. But that evening we definitely enjoyed ourselves…we started out with a white elephant gift exchange (great gifts btw!!), followed by a lovely dinner at the Green River Grill and then headed back to the bed and breakfast where we were staying (Gruene Apple Inn) and hung out/played games (shuffle board, air hockey, pool) with the others. I think we made it until about 1:00 am that night. I think. :)



To ease the transition of me going back to work and Wyatt going to daycare, we decided to do a trial run this month. We took Wyatt to daycare for a week so it wouldn’t be so hard for him (let’s face it, for me!) when I go back to work. I am glad we did this. The first day was so hard. I cried the minute I got back in the car. But I was a trooper…I let him stay there and I drove away. I have a great husband…he brought me flowers that evening. :) So I took him to daycare everyday for one whole week and I was extremely happy at the end of every day when I picked him up. Thankfully, he really enjoyed it and was a very happy baby. It helped knowing he was happy during the day.

We spent Wyatt’s First Christmas in Gonzales, LA at my sister’s house. My mom and her husband drove from Miami and my brother also joined us. It was nice not to have to fly anywhere. But we just enjoyed spending time with the family. We also played Jenga and dominoes, drank, roasted a pig (well, the guys did), ate lots of great food (thanks mom!), drank, opened presents (of course!), watched football and A Christmas Story, and did I mention we drank too? :)The adults opened gifts on Christmas Eve and the kids just loved to help us! We were thrilled that Brent’s parents sent us our Christmas stockings to have with us (thanks Bill and Jeanie!). How thoughtful! On Christmas morning, Wyatt fell asleep right when we sat down to open gifts (the kids’ turn!). Go figure. So we opened his gifts for him although he woke up from time to time. He did play with a few of his new toys later on. And my nephews got really nice gifts also! They definitely enjoyed the motorcycle bikes their Tio Marco got them. :) As I mentioned, the guys roasted a pig one of the days we were there. They woke up bright and early in the freezing morning to get started. Too bad they all ended up getting sick a couple of days later. :( But the pig was yummy! Thanks for your effort guys! Oh, and in case you were wondering, kissing the pig is tradition. :) That’s my mom in the pic.





And during all of this…we managed to find and purchase a house. The house is not very far from where we were (~2 miles north of the other house). It’s a little bigger and was recently renovated. Best of all, it’s in a cul-de-sac so that’s a plus for when Wyatt is old enough to play. It still only has 3 bedrooms but it also has a study and the kitchen is amazing. We moved in just yesterday and it seems like we still have a long way to go before we get settled in! It’s not easy doing it with a 5 month old! But thankfully my mom and her husband drove over from Louisiana to help out. They were SOOOOO helpful (thanks mom and Noel! Couldn’t have done what we did without you!). Now we just need to finish getting everything out of the old house and get it ready to place it on the market sometime next month. We need to get rid of some property! We’ll post some pics of the new house next month but here is one of the kitchen and another of I am with Wyatt, my mom, and my brother toasting!




And the year is now coming to an end. And what a way to come to an end…Wyatt got his first tooth today!!!! No wonder he’s been cranky. LOL. He also started sitting up a couple of days ago (tripod position…see below). So he’ll be sitting up much better pretty soon. And he’s rolling around like there’s no tomorrow. Our little boy is growing up way too fast. A few more favorite pics from this month: Falling asleep on his bouncy swing, taking a bath, with daddy after a bath, with mommy, and our Christmas card family pic.




Happy New Year!!! I'm done writing (for now at least)!

We are thankful for our family

This past month was all about spending time with family. From our trip to Miami, to Brent's birthday, and then finally, Thanksgiving in Weimar, we definitely didn't neglect the family. :)

Wyatt's first Halloween was very low key. We decided not to dress him up (I know, how boring are we??) but we'll make up for it next year, I promise! We just stayed home and watched college football that night (surprised?). At least he dressed festive. :) But one noteworthy development...Wyatt giggled for the first time on Halloween morning. We were in his room and I was changing his diaper and getting him dressed for the day and there it was...full blown giggle. There was no mistake. Brent and I just looked at each other...kinda like...did you hear that?? It made our day. We can't get enough of it now.



For Brent's birthday, Brent's family came over and the birthday boy grilled some steaks for all of us. Yes, we put him to work. Ha Ha. But the grandparents enjoyed little Wyatt and we enjoyed steaks, wine, and brownies. It was a good time. Thank you guys for coming over and making it extra special!!



November was also about Wyatt trying new things and just continuing to discover his hands and toes. He has really changed in the past 4 weeks. It's amazing the difference we see every single day. We started to let him practice the sitting position by sitting him in a bebePod. He likes it for about 5 minutes and then he screams bloody murder (like 'get me out of here!!'). Lol. We also bought him an ExerSaucer so he's been getting used to that. He gets bored of it after about 10 minutes since he can't reach everything yet...but at least he seems to like it sometimes. He also officially rolled over from his tummy to his back. He hates to be on his tummy so it has been a struggle to get him to practice this maneuver but he finally did it. He still doesn't like it very much but I make him do it. Yes, I am evil mom. :) NOT! Brent also got him to start sitting in his swing thingy. Our friends gave us one so we thought we'd give it a try. He wasn't sure about it at first but everyday, he gets more and more used to it. I think he kinda likes it....as long as he gets to munch on his fingers.



Wyatt and I flew to Miami for a few days earlier in the month to spend time with Abuela and Abuelo and also meet Titi Naty and his cousin, Luly. Luis had already met him when he was born so they just got reacquainted. My grandmother was also visiting from Puerto Rico so we got to see her as well. What a treat!!! She fell in love with Wyatt (of course!). After all, he was her newest great-grandchild. Overall, it was a really nice trip and they all enjoyed him very much (it's not about me anymore...at least I keep telling myself that!). :) He slept the entire flight back. Thankfully we had the entire row to ourselves so I didn't have to hold him the whole time.



Thanksgiving is always a great holiday. We were fortunate to spend it with Brent's family in Weimar. His grandparents and aunt were also there so we got plenty of family time in. Again, they all enjoyed Wyatt....even during his fussy times. :) Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. My favorite was the sweet potatoes...yummmm!!! We were all so full afterwards (it isn't Thanksgiving if you can't stuff yourself, right??). Anyway, during our time there, we tried to take some family shots (just the 3 of us) but I don't think we succeeded. We'll try again soon so we can have something for a Christmas card!!!



Looking forward to many more opportunities to spend time with our wonderful family!!! Christmas is next! Yay!

Surviving the '4th Trimester'

Since the last post, Wyatt has turned 2 and 3 months old. We have officially survived the first 3 months of Wyatt's life, also known as the '4th Trimester'. These past 5 weeks we have survived his 2 month shots, feeding/sleeping schedule changes, more road trips, babysitting, first flights, first family vacation, and yes, even the first LSU loss this season.

Wyatt has been discovering many things. His hands, knees, feet, and his reflection in the mirror, for starters. It has been so exciting to watch the progression...first finding and staring at his hands, then finding and touching his left knee, then his right knee, and finally making it to his feet and toes. He has also discovered the animals on his bedding and on the wall border...he reaches out for them and touches them or looks at them and just smiles. It's like a whole new world in his crib. :) He is now enjoying our smiles, voices, and goofy faces :). And he is more aware of the dogs and their barks. I take him outside everyday and always introduce him to each one saying their name out loud...Shelby, Molly, and Edie (in that order since that is the order in which they appear). Shelby seems to show the most interest...the other 2 could probably care less. I mean, they probably feel very neglected so I can understand.



Road trips...we've been back to Weimar and Baton Rouge. The grandparents babysat Wyatt in Weimar for a few hours while Brent and I made our way over to Round Top for the antiques fair. I think it was more for them than for us. :) But they really enjoyed it and we found a couple of items for the house. When we got back, they were all napping on the bed. They survived, and we survived the time away from our little one. We left Weimar and headed to Austin to visit Brent's band and also for them to finally meet Wyatt. The trip to Baton Rouge was meant to be Wyatt's first tailgating experience at LSU (for the UF game). Sadly, it was raining that day (on and off) and we just didn't want to take him out there with my nephews and risk them getting sick. So we just stayed home to watch the game and we'll have to hold off on tailgating until next year. That same weekend Brent was off to Austin for the Oyster Adventure Race. It was also raining there but despite that, Brent had fun during the race. We survived our first weekend apart since Wyatt was born.



The most recent trip we took was to Colorado to visit the cabin we purchased earlier this year. It was our first official family vacation. Brent drove up with the dogs and I 'got to' fly with Wyatt. The flight over was great...he slept from the minute we left the house until we landed in Albuquerque (where Brent was going to pick us up). The way back was a different story...he cried from the minute we arrived to the airport until right about when we were going to take off (so at least he slept through the flight!). Thankfully, we survived both flights. So yes, Brent picked us up at the Albuquerque airport and then we drove the final 4 hours to Pagosa Springs together. We had a wonderful week in Colorado with Wyatt and the dogs. We didn't really have anything at the cabin (furniture and simple things like cookware, etc) so we took a trip to the Walmart in Durango and just bought the necessities for the week. We enjoyed the weather, the views, the surrounding areas, and of course, the cabin itself. The dogs totally enjoyed it also...I am glad they were all there with us. We explored a small (I mean REALLY small) part of the San Juan National Forest which is conveniently close to the cabin. There are so many opportunities there for future visits. I can't wait! We also took Wyatt to a pumpkin patch and to Wolf Creek (so Wyatt can experience snow for the first time). Don't think he liked the snow too much but it was his first time so I am sure that will change with time. :) The end of the week came too quickly and it was time for us to head back to reality. So yes, we survived our first family vacation.



In the beginning of October, Brent and I had the opportunity to spend an evening alone (well, not really alone, but without Wyatt). We went to the Kings of Leon show. A close friend graciously offered to watch Wyatt while we enjoyed ourselves. It was the first time a non-family member took care of him so I was a bit nervous and anxious but we did good...we didn't call once...and guess what, we all survived. :) I need to find some more babysitters out there so Brent and I can actually go out and have a nice peaceful dinner. Any volunteers?? LOL.

The first pumpkin patch experience in Colorado was not so great - Wyatt was cranky (as I would be if someone woke me up from my nap). So I made a second attempt and took him to one here in Houston. Yeah...well...he slept through the entire thing. I did everything but pinch him to wake him up with no success. Oh well. People seem to think he looked sweet regardless so the pictures I took will have to do. Third time's a charm?? Maybe try again tomorrow? We'll see.



In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy Wyatt's cooing and smiles and watching him develop some more. Only 2 more months left before I head back to work! It goes by sooooo fast...especially with the holidays coming up, January will be here before we know it. :(