Oliver's First Christmas

Last Christmas we told our families that we were expecting our first baby...  and now two days ago we celebrated our first Christmas as Parents...

Ever since we moved to the US, Christmas was one of the holidays I never looked really forward to, because it was not the same...  Just the two of us was fun, but I always missed my family.

This year I finally felt completed and I was actually very excited for Christmas Eve and even more for Christmas Morning.  Oliver had no idea what was going on, but he likes to play with paper (preferably suck on it) and he loves the sound of crinkled paper.  So when time came to open up his gift, he was a natural (with a little help from mommy)

Christmas Eve

 Christmas Morning

It's the Season!

Oliver is now 4 months old - he started eating solid foods last Sunday.  His reaction to his first spoon was very hesitant.  He only ate 4 spoons, but it is a start!  Since his first attempt at eating oatmeal cereal we now increased our eating habit to three large tablespoons of cereal mixed with some milk and the newest addition apple!  At first he wasn't a fan of apple, but now he seems to like it!

Tuesday we are going to the 4 month well baby appointment - I am curious to see how many pound(s) he packed on and how tall he got.  According to his clothes he grew a good chunk!!! His Osh'Kosh 6 month jean overall doesn't fit him anymore :(  He looked so cute in it!  Maybe Santa will bring him a new one...

Speaking of Santa...

I have no idea what to buy DH for Christmas!!!

Steals and Deals

I have always been a fan of online shopping - shout out to amazon.com for rocking my world for the last 10 years! HOWEVER I never thought I would prefer it over going to the mall...  Don't get me wrong, I am still a mall rat and enjoy a good stroll through my mall of preference but with Oliver in tow it seems to be easier to surf the web for good deals... 

Also it just amazes me that things are generally so much cheaper online not including coupon codes - which what would I do without them???? 

It is almost turning into a minor obsession to find the BEST deal! 

25% off a Britax Car Seat

25% off a Svan Highchair, who could say no??? 

However Rite Aid is still one of my favorite stores to walk into and snag fantastic deals.  

Drum roll for our 2010 Christmas Card

Oh Ho Ho Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

new camera = more baby pictures

For my birthday Patrick got me the camera I wanted and now I am trying to get the hang of it and take lots and lots of pictures of Oliver :)

10 days to Thanksgiving and the beginning of the Holiday season...

Now that Oliver is here I can not wait for Christmas!  My Holiday Spirit was missing the last few years, but it is ON this year!!! Like every year we will go to the Christmas Tree Farm and pick out our tree and I will bake cookies... mmmmhhhh cookies :)  The one thing I am not looking forward to is, holiday gift shopping with a baby, thank God for the internet!!!

Yesterday I set myself a goal, that I would LOVE to mail out my cards by December 6th and then today I get an email from my friend Sandra about the Shutterfly Holiday Card Promo and now let the card designing begin!!! 

Shutterfly offers a great collection of Christmas cards, but I managed to narrow it down to the following two:

Patrick's Favorite

I would chose a black and white picture for this card - I do like red sparkles and the snowflakes...

My Favorite

Just like the sample picture I think I would go with a colored picture on my personal favorite... I need to get a Santa Hat for Oliver ASAP!!! 

A few years ago when I discovered Shutterfly I created a photobook for my niece of our afternoon photo session as a wonderful keepsake - since then I've created many photobooks for me to keep and for our family - but now that Oliver is here both grandparents will receive a calendar for Christmas!  I am also considering a photo mug for my Starbucks loving FIL!

If you are interested in this promotion - here is the link :)

Another year older....

Yesterday was my 31st Birthday and the first person to "wish" me a Happy Birthday was my Son :) I thought he didn't know it was my birthday but he did get me a card and a gift! How did he know I wanted the new Kings of Leon CD?  I guess he gets the smoothness from his Dad... *love you Patrick*

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday we ventured to the Pumpkin Patch and had a great morning with the Bornibus Family and Grandma Tereza :)

Oliver didn't really care too much about the location, the sun shine or the pumpkins, but he was really happy to see his friend Shane :)  It is amazing how much the boys love to see each other and I am looking forward to them actually playing together...

We loved the location and all the activities they offered for the kids, but $9 a person for the corn maze is that normal?????

Already anticipating next years pumpkin patch excursion...

MOVIE!!! !

I can't believe it, but WE are going to the movies tonight!!!!!

My first movie after Oliver's birth will be Jackass 3D!  I know a classy choice, but what can you do when you are part of the Johnny Knoxville Generation????

This will not only be my first movie since LO's arrival, but also my first movie in 3D!!!!!

Milestone

This morning I was taking pictures of Oliver wearing his awesome akino and he decided to roll from his tummy onto his back!!!!

I couldn't believe my eyes and rolled him back and he did it again!  Then I called Patrick and he did it a third time and then a fourth time for my Mom...

 Oliver is 2 months and 10 days old today and this was right before he rolled-over 

Not as bad

We survived the first week back to work...  

I think Oliver adjusted a lot better than I have, it is a lot more exhausting than I thought it would be.  Last night I feel asleep with him at 8:30 pm and only woke up when he needed to nurse until 6am... One part of me is happy to be back at work and do my job and another part of me just wants to sleep!!!! Oh and a third part of me just wants to stay home with the little guy...  I guess I should look into creating Donik clones but I don't think that would work out... Just imagine the expenses on three times the amount of clothing LOL 

Big Day Tomorrow!!!!

tomorrow is my first half day back at work... URGHHHHHH

Grandma is here and will take care of him :)  So I know he is in good hands, but do I want to go back?  No! I think I need to start playing the lottery to increase my chances of becoming a millionaire (I take any suggestions for the next lucky numbers) 

I enjoyed my 8 weeks of being a stay at home Mom and unlike my prior believes I actually could see myself doing it full-time!  Crazy, huh?  I never thought I could see fulfillment in being surrounded by drool, dirty diapers and the sleep deprivation  BUT I love it!!!  At the end of the day (or I should better say MORNING) I get rewarded with the biggest smile and it makes it all worth it.  

It is almost time...

.... to go back to work...  :(

I thought I would go stir crazy just being at home, but so far I LOVE it!  It also helps that there are a few new mommies in my circle of friends and it is nice to chat with them about the little ones, day to day life and everything else in between...

On the bright side, my mom is going to be here soon and she will watch Oliver when it is time to go back to work... Thankfully my bosses are also pretty amazing and I will be able to spend less time in the office and work more from home...  Let's see how it will be once I am back at work...

Being a Mommy

Now that I can reflect on the last 4 weeks - I enjoy being Oliver's Mommy :)

We have learned a few things together, we have cried together and we ate together... It is amazing how quickly one adapts to do things with one hand! Like EATING!!!!! Or not eating because you simply forget about it or can't really make anything with one hand...

There were nights I woke up with a baby in my arms and had no recollection where he came from!!!!  Speaking of "the nights" usually he wakes up two to three times...

And why is it so difficult to get yourself and the baby ready by a decent time in the morning???

Here a little status update on Mommy's little guy :)

Just the other day he started lifting his head up and keeping it up for a bit... He also just now started to enjoy Tummy Time :)  The only time he really smiles is either by accident or right before he falls asleep... As far as I can tell he only has one dimple... We will see if his eye color will stay blue (dark blue) but since birth his hair has been getting lighter...  I can't wait for his one-month-well appointment and find out how much he has grown... :)

Oliver Patrick Lamb

He is finally here!!!

After almost 26 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing Oliver Patrick Lamb was born Saturday August 7th 2010 at 04:07 am... he weighed 8.1 lbs and was 20.75" long...

Immediately after his birth the doctor placed him on my stomach and according to Patrick I had the most surprised face expression - Wow is that a baby? Where did he come from? -

The feeling of holding him for the first time is indescribable and overwhelming yet fulfilling...

Now that he is a week and a day old we already faced the following challenges:

- Oh my God what do you do with the baby when he cries?

- I am glad to be out of the hospital, but what do you do the first night?

- Breastfeeding how can you be more difficult and painful than birth?

- How can the farts of a 7.11 lbs baby be louder and juicer than anything we've ever heard before?

- Stupid hormones, leave Mommy alone!!!

On the bright side the breastfeeding challenge lays in the past now and Oliver's current routine is similar to Julia Robert's new movie (no desire to see it) "Eat, Love & Pray" his is more "Eat, Shit & Sleep". He wakes up during the night about every three hours, which is not as bad as I thought it would be... Falling back to sleep has not been that hard...

Frankee is handling the new baby in the house pretty good... for the most part she doesn't care about him too much, walks by him and gives his feet the occasional sniff or lick and moves on... But I can see it in her eyes, that she is wondering if someone is going to come pick him back up soon, so we can go back to our normal threesome routine... Poor Frankee, he is here to stay and soon you are going to be able to play with him on the floor :)

any day...

and so the waiting game begins...

I am 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant and so far I've been very blessed with an easy pregnancy... We are expecting our first child and we are looking forward to meet and hold Oliver Patrick Lamb :)

My due date is this Friday!!! I can't believe how quickly time has been flying by....

His room is ready, the hospital bag is packed and we are ready ~ as ready as you can be for your first child ~ now it is just a matter of when...