Things I'm not going to miss

* 3 hour commutes because of a little snow .. or a lot of snow* 45 minute commute on a good day * ironing dress clothes every morning * dealing with finance people in India * waking up at 6am & dropping off Tad at 8am * only seeing Fred for 30 minutes at night * not having time to talk to Fred about his day * doing laundry at 6:30am * paying $40 a week for gas & filling up my car Every week * driving .2 miles up a winding ramp to get out of a parking garage * downtown construction * drama queens * corporate politics * timecards * dreaming about undelivered fedex packages *

Most of all, I'm not going to miss this ..... anymore!

That's right - as of January 1st I'm officially unemployed... and rehired as "Mommy".

(I took this picture of Tad because I can finally show you the one hair that is out of control. He's had it for a couple of months now- oh yeah, and because of his great cheeser smile. )

5am-10pm

We had a great Christmas! We lucked out and Fred was off both Christmas Eve & Christmas.

Our schedule went like this:

5am -Feed Tad & open presents at our house. He's sitting up by himself, a little wobbly, but he can do it. (I put the boppy by him so I don't worry about him bonking his head.) He was even able to open a few presents! Around 6:45 he was done with that game and went back to sleep. It worked out perfect because then Fred & I opened our presents from each other. Fred did awesome picking out 2 sweaters, a movie, a chocolate melting pot, and a new purse that I love!

When I asked Fred what he wanted to get Tad he said legos & a tractor. We found some baby legos on KSL & I finally found this little tractor & surprised Fred. Yes, it's a remote control John Deere. :} Only 2 buttons so Tad can even point to them to make it move!

7:30am -Off to Grandma & Grandpa Lyons' for a houseful of people! Presents, then breakfast with my dad's side of the family.

9:15am - Home to unpack, load up & feed Tad then off to Fred's parents' for scones & more presents & games while Tad took a nap.

2:00pm- Grammy arrives to give us our annual Santa painting. That I wait impatiently for every year.

3:00pm - Home to unpack, load up to head to Henefer to visit my Mom's side of the family.

7:00pm - Back to Fred's parents' for Turkey dinner & games.

10:30pm - Home to finally go to sleep!

Tad did AWESOME! He took his naps & wasn't fussy at all!

We were spoiled as always by our families & very grateful for all the clothes Tad got- he's growing fast!

NBA here we come!

Tad had his 4 month check up and the Doctor said he wouldn't be surprised if Tad was at least 6'4". He's already 27" long which puts him in the 99th percentile.
He's also a tubby 17.6 lbs. (We were guessing closer to 20.)
He's going to need to start walking soon because it's a workout to carry him in his carseat into the store then lift it up into the cart. :}

Here are his 4 month pictures - he kept pulling the santa hat over his eyes then freaking out, so I gave up and let him chew on it.

We thought we'd be able to start him on rice cereal, but the dr says that about a year ago they found that if you start a baby on foods before 6 mos. it could lead to Type I diabetes. I tried to convince him that Tad can eat 13 oz at one sitting and that I thought he needed cereal, but the dr wouldn't budge and say ok. So, I guess we'll wait another 2 months before we begin the food adventures!

Bring on the sad "ohhhhs"

What do you do with a sick little boy? You let him watch football!

Fred got a cold the last day of finals. Finals & sick... does not make for a happy husband. He had baby duty while I went to my work Christmas lunch Friday afternoon. He tried not to get his face close to Tad, but Tad still ended up with his cold. It's the sadest thing - listening to Tad trying to sleep. He'll moan as he falls asleep then you hear him cough. And, my little boy doesn't like to cuddle, so there's not much I can do for him.

He does love football, so I distracted him from his misery with a few games Sunday afternoon. Tad can be playing on the floor and as soon as a football game is on the tv he instantly turns to watch. He'll go back to playing with his toys during commercials, then right back when it's on again. (No, Fred & I are not big football fans.)

Save your sad “ohhhhs”, it’s funny!

My little sister picked Tad up at the end of his nap and was just holding him for a little while. Kaysen, our 1 year old nephew loves to sit on your lap if you’re holding Tad so he can “play” with him. For some reason when Kaysen got up on Crystal’s lap Tad burst out in tears. Great big crocodile tears.

We have no idea why- Kaysen didn’t even touch him. Since we knew nothing was wrong it was pretty funny & I of course had to take some pictures. :}
This is the face he usually makes right before or after crying. It’s our favorite little face that he makes. Everytime Tad makes this face we laugh. If you make it back at him he stops crying for a minute to smile, then he tries to cry again.
We’re such mean parents thinking it’s funny when he cries.

"I've had 28 years to prepare for this"

... this was Fred's response to my sister calling him an Old Foagie. It's true, Fred turned another year older yesterday, and I have 2 1/2 months to rub it in that he's old. :}

Unfortunately he had classes so he was up early. He did a little bit of homework when he got home, inbetween watching Tad play on the floor. I kept asking him what he wanted to do for his Birthday - finally he decided he wanted to make dinner together, go see Christmas lights in Ogden & watch his favorite Christmas movie.

We made a new Jambalaya recipe & put it in the crockpot.

Tad finally got to wear his new snow suit, he's growing so fast I was afraid it wouldn't fit him even though it's 6-9 months. The sleeves are slightly long, but he'd freak if his hands were covered anyway, so I just rolled them up. (He's trying to sit down in his marshmellow suit.)

We drove to Ogden to see lights. Tad did awesome and seemed to enjoy looking up at the trees while Fred & I froze!

Back at home, it was time for presents! I gave Fred a box set, seasons 1-4 of "How I met your Mother". Then we ate our delicious Jambalaya. I was stuffed after the first bowl, but had to go back for more. I really shouldn't have- it was painful being overstuffed! We watched "It's a Wonderful Life" while we ate. We watch it every year, surprisingly it's getting better for me each year. A birthday wouldn't be complete without dessert - no matter how stuffed you are! I combined Fred's favorites: Peanutbutter, chocolate & cheesecake. Overall a pretty mellow birthday, but a very "Fred" birthday and that's all that matters.

Ready to eat!

Tad LOVES his new high chair.

No, he's not eating solid food yet, though we plan to ask the doctor about it at his 4 month check up. He eats 8-10 ounces regularly and I'm thinking it's about time to start some rice cereal to supplement. He was extremely happy to be in his high chair & I'm not sure whether it was being up higher where he can see everything or because of his fun toy (Jen you're a genious!) .
We've been putting him in a highchair at restaurants (with a blanket for support - he's not sitting up on his own yet) & he sat in a highchair for Thanksgiving dinner & Sunday dinners at Grandma's. He can sit for a few seconds by himself on the floor. He hates to lay down so he better learn soon!

This week he also showed us that he can lift a blanket to play peek-a-boo! And my favorite.... he splashes dad when he's giving him a bath. (Yes, I helped teach him that. Ha ha!)