Not a creature was stirring...

'Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring
(mostly because they were all tired from wrapping presents)
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care (but not until after the fire in the fireplace).

The children were nestled all snug in either their crib or Grampa's lap.
The process was interesting, due to fatigue and excitement.
Tears were shed and tantrums were thrown
But thankfully, we're all safe at home.

...He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

(with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Well, as promised, time is moving quickly around here. Between the holidays and the new addition to the family, we're keeping busy!

Luckily, our new addition is proving to be a keeper. While he hasn't been as great a sleeper as he was at the beginning (and very few of them are), overall, we aren't complaining. He is generally pretty easy to soothe to sleep, and though he isn't sleeping super long stretches at night like his sister did at this age, he did have one blissful 7 hour stretch the other night, and he averages about 3.5 to 5 hours at night. He has a good natured disposition, only gets fussy when his tummy is bothering him (and like Molly, it seems like he has a little more tummy upset than average). No social smiles yet, but it's right around the corner. He's a healthy little guy, with an unofficial 1 month weight check at just over 10lbs.

Molly is an awesome big sister, so far. She loves her little brother, loves to give him hugs, loves to "help" soothe him (her developing fine motor skills impede this impulse, so we typically have to distract her because she's a little too rough with him right now). She helps me pick out his clothes and helps bring things like blankets, diapers, and pacifiers. According to those who watch her when she's away from the house, she talks about "Baby Wes" (her nickname for him) all the time. We're not sure how long this attitude will last, but we're enjoying her positive outlook while we can.

Unexpected donation

This afternoon we decided to spend some quality time with Molly by taking her to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. We had it all planned out: my mom would watch Wes while we went to Baltimore with Molly after she woke up from her nap. We purchased our time specific tickers online and got everything ready to go. Usually it is about a 45 min drive so we gave ourselves extra time and left an hour early.

Well, as the old saying goes, no plan survives first contact. In this case the enemy was DC traffic. Our 45 min trip turned into a 1.5 hour stop and go fest. And that only got us within 20 miles of Baltimore. At that point we gave up. The aquarium's box office had already closed so we wouldn't be able to get on anyway. Needless to say we were not thrilled. And we still had to fight traffic to get home.

The one saving grace through all of this was Molly. She was amazing the whole trip and barely made a fuss. Although she probably did think we were a little crazy to take a 2.5 - 3 hour car ride just to end up at a restaurant that was 10 mins away.

At least our ticket money went to a good cause.