Getting into the Christmas Spirit

With Christmas a week away, I can say we are actually ready for it this year. Decorations are up, tree is trimmed, holiday baking is complete, and shopping is done. I absolutely love Christmas, it's by far my favorite holiday. My parents always made this time of year so special for us. I have so many great memories that I hope to turn into family traditions for our own growing brood.

Reese is a little more aware of Christmas this year which has been fun. She's still quite easy to please and is only requesting a new Dora movie and 'treats', which can be interpreted as anything sweet, from Santa this year. I think that may be doable.

As always, we're missing our family, friends and home in general this time of year but are counting our blessings too!

Here are a few pics of some of our latest holiday fun.

Decorating the tree and loving it

Ready for the team Christmas party

Heading out to a Christmas party with friends sans Reese

Parenting: Reading between the lines.

With baby #2 due in less than 3 weeks (eek!), I've been thinking of the sleepless nights ahead of us and how we might handle them this time around. I have to admit, we've gotten so comfortable with having our evenings to ourselves and full nights' sleep that I know our systems are in for a real shock. Also, we got lucky with Reese in the sleep department. She's always been a great sleeper from baby onwards. Going down with ease and consistently sleeping through the night (minus the random hiccup here or there) since she was 4 or 5 months old. Having said that, I'm sure this one will be the complete opposite. And knowing myself and how I handle stress under pressure (not well), I need to think about how we might cope, or more accurately, how I might cope. Afterall, I am the crazy mom who recorded feeds until Reese was 6 months old. That's right, every. single. feed.

I know there are parenting books out there aplenty and as many differing opinions on them as there are parents. We found one that we could relate to and made sense with what we thought our parenting style might be. The Secrets of a Baby Whisperer. There are mixed reviews on her methods (as with any method I guess) but we found her guide to be helpful. Using it as a guide is the big lesson, at least it was for us and something I need to keep in the forefront of my mind this time around too. I like to follow something step by step but unfortunately that just doesn't work with babies. It's all about reading between the lines and figuring out what works best for your baby specifically, remembering all babies are different. It's something I need to remind myself of often. I'm hoping to help my own sanity (and everyone else's) by stepping back and taking a deep breath and figuring things out as we go. I want to enjoy the newborn moments more this time around by being less stressed. Afterall, I know too well how fast that time goes by!