Christmas Eve

After an hour and a half at church packed in the cry room with 50 others, Patrick was already a little worn down by the time we arrived at Uncle Tip and Aunt Ellie's house (a Christmas Eve tradition for Tom for as long as he can remember).

Tom with the two Patrick's.

Just before present opening commenced, a mysterious wet leg on Patrick's pants resulted in a quick pants change. In the end, I don't think his diaper leaked, but better to be safe than sorrry!

Grampy and Patrick with our newly appointed "Yogi" bear.

Patrick became fascinated with his cousin Meghan's silver bowed shoes. He insisted on keeping them on for a while. That's my boy!

Good night all!

Christmas 2010

Christmas morning! Patrick only took about ten minutes to get down the stairs, and once he was down, he didn't even consider opening any presents until he had his morning sippy cup of milk.

One of Patrick's favorite gifts from Santa-his teddy bear stroller (Teddy is his best friend and constant companion).

Santa also brought some doll bottles and Teddy has been well fed ever since...

My dad, AKA-Pap Pap, spent Christmas Eve with us so he could see Patrick open his gifts Christmas morning. I think we wore Pap Pap out!

The aftermath following a two hour present opening binge (with a break for breakfast). Patrick is one lucky kid (as are we) who experienced a lot of spoiling in one day.

After a long morning in P.J's, we managed to get into some clothes and went to Baba and Grampy's house for Christmas Day lunch. Patrick got his first piano there-lucky mom and dad!


But it was Aunt Liz who hit the nail on the head with what would most melt Patrick's heart-a dump truck he could ride on....

And at the end of the night, a very sleepy boy and his two buddies.

Thank you God for our family and our abundant blessings!

23 Week Belly Photo

I got a little behind this past week in blogging, but here is this past weeks growing baby shot. I admit to having no willpower and gaining A LOT these past few days. I still have over a week before my weigh-in, so time to get active (with a cold and cough in tow).

Happy birthday to my husband...I love you (plus infinity). And yes, you are younger than me.
Patrick picked out Toy Story plates all by himself from the party aisle to accompany the birthday cake. We hosted Tom's family for dinner, stuffed ourselves with Chinese takeout, and are now ready to call it a day. Pictures from the festivities to come tomorrow. Wait until you see what Tom's younger brother came up with for a present - seriously ridiculous. It was a good day.

There may be another party coming soon-a farewell party for my ankles. The first signs of swelling appeared this week. Last pregnancy they disappeared and never returned until about a month after I had P. I am hoping for a better outcome this round.

Cold and Colds

Sunday has arrived and while Patrick's cold is waning, mine seems to just be getting underway. Which means despite wanting to enjoy this last Advent Sunday, I feel a little crabby and worn down. The cold, cold weather outside makes me want to hibernate. With that being said, I have to address an ongoing issue observed by Tom and I at church today: the smorgasbord of snacks and treats that are continuously used to quiet the kids in the cry room. I am not saying there is never a time when a child can't be given something to eat (several times we had to let Patrick finish his milk when we arrived due to running so late for church). But aside from those times, we don't think he will starve by going an hour without cheerios or juice. Today though, was borderline ridiculous. Of the four other families in the cry room, here is the list of food we saw come out:

Cheerios
More Cheerios
Fruit bar
Gummies (really, before 10:00??)
A banana
Milk
Juice
Some sort of cookies
Someone even brought a LUNCHBOX filled with snacks for a 2 1/2 year old!

Okay, maybe I am being too judgemental and it is none of my business, but church shouldn't be breakfast or lunch, right?? Any feedback?

Hopefully I am not going to be struck down from above, and sorry if this has offended anyone who doesn't share my beliefs on the snack issue-it is just one opinion.

22 1/2 Week Belly Progress

I'm not felling real confident these days that this baby is going to be smaller than Patrick was (9 lbs, 13oz). The Salvation Army bell ringer yesterday asked me if I was due soon. I told him not to ever ask a pregnant woman that since I wasn't due to April. Now he knows.

Now I just need to get through the dreaded holiday snack fests, but still feeling pretty great overall.

Also grateful for my husband who took a shift last night with the sick big brother (just a cold) who was up at 12:30 and 4:30(despite having to put in a long work day today). Good teamwork.

My Little Angel

Patrick has been, well, extremely mischievous and crabby today. Getting into EVERYTHING. You wouldn't know it from looking at this sweet face but...

I made him a grilled cheese sandwhich for a snack and this is what he did with the fruits of my labor-

Bedtime can't come soon enough in this household today.

Time Out

There are so many things to accomplish before Christmas-finish putting up the Christmas lights outside, wrap presents, make cookies, send Christmas cards...but this weekend we made an executive decision to take a family time out. We dropped everything and packed the car for some much needed R&R at the ski condo. We lounged by the fireplace, sipped hot chocolate, went sled riding (Tom was so nervous about me taking one sled trip down the most child friendly slope, but I couldn't resist!), and took the obligatory horse drawn wagon ride with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Patrick didn't care for them anymore than he did Free Santa. The highlight: dinner buffet at the lodge! I probably should have skipped this one since I was scolded by my doctor for going over my goal weight gain for the month (I admit I gained 6.5 instead of 4). I was reminded that every pound I gain could affect the size of the baby which may ultimately determine whether I have another c-section.

Now, it is back to reality...

Don't Talk to Strangers

We have been reading about Santa, singing songs about Santa, looking at Santa ornaments on the tree for the past week. I decided there was no better time than today to take Patrick to the little dinky mall to see the free Santa (why pay for a photo when I know he will likely cry?). The downside to Free Santa is that he generally appears miserable-maybe he is angry he didn't get the gig at the big mall? Anyways, we arrived and found no one waiting to see Free Santa-a bonus!
As we approached, Free Santa got up from his chair and motioned to the restrooms adjacent to the artificial North Pole. "I'll be right back" he says.

Fast forward TEN minutes later. Patrick has had ample time to play with all the teddy bears and fake gifts, and loved playing with Santa's gloves. Finally, Free Santa returns and thanks us for waiting. "That was a real emergency", he says, motioning again to the restrooms. Too much info, Free Santa.

Anyways, you guessed it-here is Patrick's reaction:

Last Weekend

I really did mean to post last weekend, then before I realized it, it is this weekend. Last weekend was about hanging out at home- decorating our tree, splitting firewood (well, not the pregnant lady), and playing in one of our first snows. An all around good weekend that left us feeling productive (and grateful as we head deeper into the Advent season).

The weekend began with something that even my pickiest eater can't resist-homemade blueberry pancakes. And thank goodness-P had his 18 month check-up this past Wednesday and for the first time in many visits, had his first gain in weight-from the 10th percentile to the 15th! I am not sure how that is possible since the kid literally eats one or two bites of everything that isn't a sweet before throwing it or pushing it away.

We've got a wood burning fireplace so Tom was able to make good use of the wood from the Maple we had cut down we moved in. He even made that handsome firewood bin. Don't be too jealous ladies- he doesn't do poetry.

Tom came back from Home Depot with a Patrick sized snow shovel. About time that kid earned his keep.


He helped put the ornaments on, so I guess in theory it is his right to take them off...

Nearly 21 Week Belly Photo

I haven't really wanted to take the 20 week picture because I am still carrying the 5lbs I gained at Thanksgiving, but here it is at 20 3/4 weeks. I still feel great, although I have already had to give up on my wedding ring and the shoes are starting to get snug. My doctor said I should have less swelling this round, so we will see!

Hello, Snow!

Wednesday morning we woke up, quite surprised, to our first snowfall of the year. What better time to start pulling out Christmas decorations than while P slept that afternoon. The stockings I ordered arrived this afternoon and went up above the fireplace. The chimney sweep comes Monday and the sound of crackling wood will soon be here!

Christmas cards are ordered, my shopping is about 2/3 of the way completed, and I am on track to enjoy the Christmas season without all the last minute stress. Tom and I even agreed that for simplicity sake, we will use an artificial tree JUST ONCE this year then go back to a fresh one, so Saturday the tree should be in place. Pap Pap will arrive on Sunday to help us set up the train display. This was a big tradition for me as a child-my dad loves Lionel trains, and I can't wait to share it with Patrick.

(Just to clarify, my house is a disaster zone with Christmas storage tubs everywhere, I have laundry to put away, and the dishes aren't quite done from dinner yet.)

Is it really December already?

Ought Oh

I popped on the scale today and was horrified. I ate a LOT of junk over the past week. I will be walking today and am starting fresh with healthy eating. I made my husband take the remaining swedish fish and nut rolls to the office. NO MORE SWEETS. I'll post my 20 week belly photo tomorrow...

The Story of Our First Thanksgiving

The Pohl family's first attempt at hosting the big Thanksgiving Day meal began like this..

Wednesday evening, 11:30 PM
I crawled into bed exhausted and set my alarm for 6:00 am so I could get a jump start on the preparations for the day. The meal is planned for 1:00 sharp. 18.5 lbs of turkey breasts sleeping soundly in the fridge, properly thawed.

4:00am Thanksgiving Day
Woken from a deep sleep by the sound of static coming from the baby monitor. The same static that only results when the base monitor in his room is not plugged or, much much worse, when the power goes out. Confirm that in fact, there is no electricity, then decide to fall back asleep.

5:00am
Wake to sound of one of my two nephews crying in the next room and my sister's voice telling them they were not allowed to get out of bed yet. No electricity. Fell back asleep.

6:00am
Phone alarm goes off. Still no electricity. Some panic beginning to set in. I was planning on looking up on the computer how long to cook the turkey for, but I had estimated 6 hours in my head. crap. Too dark to do anything without lights, so decide might as well go back to sleep.

7:00am
Still no power. Hear nephews and decide that I might as well get up and try to get some items prepped in the dark. Nephews both up, sister still sleeping. Panic again that no electricity means no cartoons. Wave of relief when I remember gameboys which had been recharged before we went to bed. Begin making stuffing with help of massive flashlight. Mother-in-law reassures me that turkeys will only need 3 hours in roast bags. Husband gets the fire call that there are in fact transformers on fire, but at least returns from the call with hot coffee for all.

8:30am
Still no power. My mom arrives to help with Patrick while I was supposed to be slaving over a hot oven. Five minutes later, lights are on! Oven set to preheat and we are in business.

1:45pm
Thank you, Lord, for all of our blessings, including electricity. Dinner is served. Made our big announcement about baby and enjoyed the bliss of a full belly surrounded by family.

My neighbor from our rental house joined us for Thanksgiving and brought us this centerpiece which she made herself!

The boys were NOT cooperative in getting their photo taken. This was my fourth attempt.

Pap pap was worn out by all the festivities and the amazing cooking-we caught him cat napping.

5:15Pm: Head over to Tom's parents for dinner number two. Turkey came with us and was luckily spared.

The day after Thanksgiving: Our family's annual early Christmas present exchange for the kids who live out of state and won't be up at Christmas. This way, we are able to see them open the gifts we picked out rather than just shipping them. I ate way too much junk. I am scared to hop on the scale. Luckily, my next doctors visit and weigh in isn't until mid December.

A must have: a shot with all of the cousins. Patrick refused to cooperate.

How cute is my lone niece?(my half-brother's daughter)

All the siblings and spouses (except Tom who was hard at work downtown).

Patrick in his gift from his D.C. cousins- his very own castle.

which he loves and has been using constantly since I set it up.