Thomas: 7 months

I remember how in the first moments after birth, Thomas had a lopsided conehead from the way his skull had been molded on his way out. Now because of his cowlick and wavy hair that's still only growing on top of his head for now, he kind of has that same look! But he's handsome regardless.

It has been so much fun doing all the Christmas-y things with Thomas along for the ride. A couple weeks ago we took a hayride through some Christmas lights. I loosened the straps of my carrier so he could move around a bit, and he laid all the way back on my lap and just stared up the lights, completely mesmerized, like 'Am I dreaming this?' He was making everybody laugh and go "awww...." We went to a Christmas parade a couple weekends ago; and as the kids excitedly grabbed up the candy (and Timmy tossed some TO the people in the vehicles, because he likes to do the unexpected, lol) Thomas lost the battle of trying to stay asleep in the carrier against my chest. I thought to myself, does it get any better?

We couldn't all cooperate for this photo.

This year's Christmas card... can you guess whose smiling face was cut and pasted from another photo? Nope? Neither can I. Delaney's good!

He had his six-month checkup a couple weeks ago (I think? Things are a blur lately), and he weighed in at 18 pounds, and I believe he was 27 inches long. Super healthy. Still uninterested in solids, nursing quite a bit. Crawling, pulling up to stand, and babbling like crazy. The doctor playfully scolded Thomas, saying, "You're as high maintenance as a newborn. You need to be nursing less frequently, eating solid food, and sleeping at least six hour stretches at night." Then she turned to me on a serious note and said, "And how are you doing, Mom? Any anxiety, depression?" I was caught a little off guard. I know I probably looked like hell -- even after the best night of sleep, I could be cast as an extra on The Walking Dead before I put on concealer, and I was fresh out of it that day -- but it hadn't occurred to me I was supposed to be miserable. My heart is so full. But of course, some more sleep would be nice, and it's good of the doctor to be looking out for moms' postpartum mental health.

We are headed up to Massachusetts tomorrow to spend Christmas with Tim's side of the family. Thomas and I will be flying into Boston again while the rest of the family drives. Second plane trip for Tooty in his first year! I hope and pray it goes smoothly, and we make our connection in Charlotte. I'll have less than an hour to spare, so I'm going to be hoofing it across that airport.😬

I had a belly picture in front of the tree that came up in my Facebook memories a couple days ago, so I had Tim take an updated photo of us for a before and after. This year has been a dream. This shot really sums things up: I just don't have time to be old and gray and tired when I'm looking into that face and he's looking back at me.

December at home

I don't want to brag, but I am just obsessed with the way our house looks inside and out this December. I can't seem to stop taking pictures because there's always another kind of light that makes it even better, and I think I've probably captured every kind of light possible. I'll see if I can take a few minutes to share a few here before Thomas wakes up from his nap.

I love that there's this much color in the yard in December. All the new plants that were new a couple years ago have had a chance to mature a little. The camellias are dazzling me right now. 

I've never seen this holly look prettier. I think it has more and brighter berries this year. I've been incorporating some of these branches in my decorating inside.

I had fun decorating the front door. We hosted the office Christmas party a few days ago, and knowing all these people who've never seen our house before were coming, really lit a fire under me. Nothing motivates me quite as much as knowing I'll be having guests.

One of the many outtakes from this year's Christmas card pictures.😆

Our house is south-facing, so we get a lot of natural light through the front of the house in the fall and winter, while the backyard is much more shadowy. Then in the warm months the pool is in full sun, but there's less sun coming in our house, which helps keep it cool. Such a perfect tradeoff!

Because I spend way too much time on Instagram, I decided to try out dried orange slices, and I love how they turned out.

It is still such a pleasure, after all the years of living in base housing and other rentals, to have a home to call our own and make our own. And it's always good for me to take a minute and remember, at this most exhausting time of the year, that I am really living my dream.