Christmas 2012

One advantage of having a child during the holiday season is that your family comes to YOU.  This is the first Christmas EVER that Michael and I spent it in our own home since we have been together.  And it was amazing!

My parents came the weekend before Christmas.  We They spent lots of time food shopping, cooking and completing household projects around the house.  They were VERY helpful.

On Christmas Eve, Auntie and Uncle Scott arrived.  Mikey found a new BFF---Scott---and he kept him busy playing all day (whether Scott liked it or not!).  That night Mikey opened his gifts from Auntie and Uncle Scott.

Mikey saw the gifts from Santa that morning (we were able to keep him in our bed with us until everyone was ready to go downstairs).  The train table and trains were on display first.  That was the ONLY thing he cared about/wanted to play with.  After everyone came back from church, we ate breakfast and started Round 2 of opening presents (now Mikey was ready to dive in!).  We had a nice dinner together and Mikey crashed early from all the excitement.  We topped off the night playing a fun game of Apples to Apples.  It was a great time.

The next day Grandpa Bob left to go to work and Mandy and Scott headed back to New Jersey as well.  Grandma Anita stayed for a few more days.

The weekend before New Years the Scialabba family came to celebrate Christmas Part 2!  Pam and Fred arrived on Friday night and Mark, Meredith and Timmy arrived on Saturday.  We spent the day together opening presents and eating!  (It was also Pam and Fred's 39th wedding anniversary that day as well!)  Mark and Timmy got Michael a turkey fryer for Christmas which is what we used to make our dinner that day!  I prepared all of the sides ahead of time and the guys did the turkey.  It turned out to be snowing that night so cooking it got a little tricky.  In the end, everything was delicious and we had a good time together.  Due to the significant snowfall (we got 8"!) everyone left the following morning to head back to NY.

Thank you everyone for traveling to Massachusetts so we could spend the holidays together!  It was a Christmas we will never forget!

Christmas Eve 

Christmas morning:

                                                

 Nicholas wearing a hat from Great Grandma Rinder & Honorable Ernie

                               

Nicholas Week 3

Here are some highlights from our third week together:

-Mimi spent the first of your third week with us (Thursday to Tuesday) and Papa Fred came for the weekend;
-more periods of wakefulness;
-likes to be held;
-likes to be held by MOMMY;
-no longer having long stretch of sleep in morning;
-looking bigger/different;
-tummy time---turns head to one side to clear airway.  I haven't observed turning head to both sides while on belly yet;
-Wednesday we decorated the tree while you slept in the swing nearby;
--Friday home with Mommy and Mikey by ourselves for the whole day!  We did it!;
--You are more HUNGRY now.  You like to eat every 2.5 hours during the day.  You can go for one three hour stretch at night but otherwise you are up every 2ish hours.  Some nights are better than others in terms of sleeping---you either go right back to sleep or engage in a staring contest with Daddy or I and cry when you are put down.  This results in one of us coming downstairs and sleeping in the living room.  You eventually fall asleep and stay asleep in the pack 'n play.

 Mommy, Daddy and Mikey went to Volante Farms in Needham to get our Christmas tree while Nicholas stayed home with Mimi and Papa Fred

 Daddy and Mikey came home early from work/daycare so we could decorate the tree together as a family

Mimi brought LOTS of fun activities to do with Mikey---decorating cookies, window stickers, filled and hung a bird feeder were just a few! 

 Mikey is getting the hang of this "big brother" role.  He asks to hold the baby and loves to give him his pacifier.

And now we are ready to celebrate Christmas with our two most amazing gifts.....

our children.