elf yourself 2012

Anya's singing show for Seth

The 2nd Child

Here is Mr. Handsome at 5 weeks old. We are in total love with this boy! He is so easy so far.. sleeping and eating.. diaper change.. and repeat. He only gets fussy an hour or two before bedtime but he is already doing great at night. We wake with him 1 or 2 times a night.. not bad this early on.

He is growing fast! He is already wearing 3 month clothing and a few of the 3 month outfits that are on the smaller side are getting snug in the feet. He is a tall man :)

There is so much less anxiety the second time around. I just stare at his face in awe of how wonderful it is to have him. A baby is so innocent and perfect and watching them sleep just never gets old. I can't stop feeling his soft hair and head and kissing his little cheeks. I know he is our last baby so I am trying to take every bit of it in while I can. Before we know it these kids will be off with their friends and asking for the car keys.. but for now I will stare and smell away because he is ours to keep and I am loving it :)

Decorating the Tree

This year Anya was SO excited to decorate the tree. She remembered decorating from last year and couldn't wait to put the ornaments on. Every single ornament she pulled out of our box of decorations was like gold to her. She thought every one was special and showed us each with excitement.



Every year I get one special ornament for her (and started this yr with Seth).  I try to pick out something that she loves that year.  Her first ornament was a baby's first Christmas of course.  The past two years were Elmo and last year was Frosty the Snowman.  This year she helped me pick out an Ariel ornament.  She loves it!



This year we also have a new ornament that we bought at Disney World.  I think Dwight, Anya and I can agree that Disney was in the top 3 favorite memories of the year..

 

She couldn't wait to put the star on..



This morning Anya got an email video from Santa Claus! It was definitely a great moment watching her face as she viewed it. She re-watched it 3 more times!

Cutting down the Christmas Tree

I am going to start with my favorite photo from the day... Anya enjoying her hot cocoa after picking out our tree and watching her daddy cut it down.



We cut the tree down on Saturday and it was a very brisk morning! I didn't bring mittens for Anya so she borrowed Kai's who just happened to be there with his family too!



We finally found the tree..



Seth was staying warm in the stroller..

Here is one more of the delicious hot cocoa which brings Anya so much happiness!

The farm we go to also does wagon rides but we didn't get a picture. My friend Natalie did snap one of us on it so I will hopefully get that from her :)

Thanksgiving 2012

We had the best Thanksgiving! Seth turned 1 month old. Anya had a blast seeing the family. She loved playing with Abby and Grampy played hide and seek with her. The food was amazing! I made cranberry martinis.. yum! Seth slept most of the time which allowed for everyone to sit down and eat together at once. There is so much to be thankful for this year.  My top two are this family of 4 we have created and my health.  I am so happy to be here to watch these two kids grow up... they are the best part of life.  An extra bonus is Seth slept over 6 hours straight last night!!!  He's such a great baby!

 

4 weeks old today!!!

The month has gone by fast.. I can't believe Seth is 4 weeks old. He is exactly a month old on Thanksgiving. I can't believe he is ours.. love him!!

Christmas craft time :)

Anya has a mild case of croup so we have been staying home all weekend. Today Dwight took Seth to watch football at Ski's house and I stayed home with Anya to do Christmas crafts. We started with painting nutcrackers.  We were listening to Christmas music too of course :)

Anya and Herman

Preschool class portrait

Yesterday we had my sister and her family over. I love this picture of the guys with the kids. :)



Uncle Marty finally meets Seth..



I finally got a picture of my sister with Seth. Things were a bit chaotic at the hospital and my sister was the one behind the camera then. Now, we made sure to get a pic..



These two girls loved the sand table which is now a mud table!



Here is Anya's preschool portrait. I love it!!

2 week appointment

Seth had his 2 week appointment today. I had to be there at 9am with the two kids.. by myself. Needless to say, all went well and we actually were there on time.

He is 9 lbs 6 oz (70%) for weight and 22 inches (83%) for height. He is growing at the rate that the doctor likes to see.

He has been eating about 3 oz every 3 hours. Most nights he can go 4 hours before eating again which has been really nice. Last night, however, I fed him at 11pm and then he was up at 2am and 4:30am.. it wouldn't have been bad but then my sweetheart Anya was up at 6am due to the time change.

Things are going really well.. a lot smoother than I had anticipated. It feels great to not be pregnant and he is the perfect addition to our family. Seth joined me to vote today which was cute. It was sweet to see his little face in the booth with me. 

Family walk

Today we all got outside as a family for a walk. It was a brisk fall day and we all enjoyed it!

Happy 2 weeks, Seth!!!

We love you!!!

Trick-or-Treat 2012

Here is our little dragon and superman!!!



~Our family~



Seth thinks his costume is comfy!



This girl is so full of joy :)



Daddy and Anya..



Mommy and Anya..



Checking out her loot..

Seth's first playdate

This morning my friend brought over a lasagna and her son Desmond who is 3 months old. Seth slept through his first playdate ;) I think these guys will be best buddies soon!

Preschool Halloween Party

Today Anya had a Halloween party at school. The kids wore their costumes and Anya was very excited. It was supposed to be on Tuesday but it was canceled due to hurricane Sandy. We lucked out with not losing our power at all but others in town lost it for quite a while. Trick-or-treating was postponed until Sunday.
Isn't her class adorable?  Her class is normally 11 children.. 3 were missing from this picture..


   

Here are some pictures of Seth. He is such a great baby!


Yesterday I took both kids out with my mom for the first time. We headed to the outlet mall. It was really nice go get out of the house. Seth slept pretty much the whole time! My mom took this picture of me and the kids with her phone...