Lesley's Life Log: Christmas Catch-up

Well, I was in the middle of cleaning my living room, but my Hoover Hard Floor Cleaner decided to not work (the suction function isn't working so its leaving the water on the floor) and Nicky is taking a nap - that all means computer time for me! There is so much I need to catch you all up on since Thanksgiving. Luckily, Scott reviewed some of details from our Xmas festivities in his blog, so check that out. I also still have a few pictures and videos to download off my cell phone, so I guess Nicky will have to post those on his blog. Anyway, here's a quick review of the last month or so.

Fantasy Football: I finished the regular season in first place in my league with a record of 12-1 -- pretty damn good for my first season in fantasy I say! I went into the playoffs with some injuries and a bad feeling as I was playing the leading scorer in our league during the first round. Don't ask me why my opponent was in 4th place - he had the best team overall I think, and Scott and I agreed on this. I had called it early in the season when I told Scott I was gonna end up playing this particular team in the playoffs and I was gonna lose. Guess I'm psychic. I did lose (and horribly - my team just laid down and died that day) but won my next play-off game and finished 3rd in my league. My previous opponent in the play-offs went on to win the title. I did think it was cool that #2, #3, and #4 in our league were all women. Girl Power! Too bad the guy took the top spot:(

Nicky and I finally got over our 3 week long head cold from hell. It was pretty horrible for Nicky the first week with the congestion. He couldn't breathe at night which meant he couldn't sleep (which meant Mommy couldn't sleep very well) or nurse very well, the poor guy. After the first week, he felt better but the snotty nose and drainage went on for-ev-er. Finally, no post-nasal drip. It didn't keep us from getting outside a few times to get some fresh air and for Nicky to play in the snow. He liked watching it fall the first time he saw it, but he wasn't too amused with playing in it. I don't think he liked getting wet or cold (btw, he does have gloves but had taken them off before this picture to feel the snow)!

Despite not traveling and it being just the 3 of us for Xmas, there still seemed to be a lot of prep for the holiday season that I had to do. With Christmas shopping online and in-store, decorating the house in a semi-babyproofed way (Nicky still tried to destroy the Xmas tree), doing a little baking, taking Nicky to some of the Christmas activities around town, and just catching up with normal household stuff after being sick, I was so dang busy.

Nicky and I had a wonderful time at a friend's house last weekend for a bake and play visit. My friend, Amanda, invited us over so Nicky could play with her 16-month-old, Lexi, and Lexi's 15-month-old cousin, Aiden, and I settled in for some holiday baking along side the hostess, her sisters, cousin, and mom. We had so much fun! Her family was so warm and welcoming. We both had a great time and stayed all day - and night! There was sleet and blowing snow going on all day, so we ended up staying the night.

I took Nicky to the Union Station here in KC to see their huge toy train display and to let Nicky ride on the kids' train. He loved the train display!! He just giggled with delight and ran around looking at different parts of it. On the kids train, I had to keep reminding him not to stand up:) We even made the local paper's website - the roaming photographer captured us exploring (see here) and Nicky on the train (see here). We then went to Crown Center so I could get a few last gifts and Nicky could see Santa. Nicky was a bit wary of Santa so I sat with him. Last thing I want to do is have him wailing in the picture and contribute to a fear of Santa in the child.

Nicky has been attempting to go down from 2 naps a day to just one. He had it down for a week but then Christmas excitement and activities threw him off and he ended up needing 2 naps for a few days (including Christmas eve which made mass a joyful experience since Nicky was a total crab). Now, he's back to 1 nap which is nice. It gives me more flexibility in planning our days and that one nap is for a longer period of time so I try to get some things done while he naps. Plus, he sleeps a little longer at night and goes to bed a bit earlier - nice bonuses for us.

Christmas went well and I really enjoyed it. Like I mentioned, we went to Xmas Eve mass again this year at 6:30pm. Nicky was a crab and really needed a second nap so I spent the majority of the mass in the crying room with him. He was very active and trying to fight sleep. Luckily, there was another active 2 year old in there so I didn't feel so bad. By the time we got home and ate our Xmas Eve meal (the traditional lasagna:), Nicky was asleep so he didn't get to open presents that night:( However, the next morning, he went at it. He ripped some paper, examined his new toys, and played in the boxes everything came in. We gifted the kiddo some hooded animal bath towels (kid-sized to replace his baby ones), some alphabet magnets for the refrigerator, a cheap boombox to replace the one in his room that died, a bunch of board books, some wooden musical percussion instruments (so he can be a drummer like his daddy), and a bunch of wooden cars from the dollar bin at Target in his stocking. He also got a hilarious Tickle Me Extreme Cookie Monster from his Godmother, Tiffanni, which he was wary of at first, but has since warmed up to. His other favorite toy is a toy laptop of clothes from his Grandpa & Grandma Huizenga that he likes to pound, I mean type on. Along with the clothes, books, more toy cars, and money that he received from his other grandparents, great grandparents, uncles, and great aunts and uncles, I'd say he did okay! I am enjoying my new PJ's, silicone bakeware, watch, bluetooth headset, and book. Scott has made airpopped popcorn almost every day since Christmas when he received his airpopper. He is experimenting with different types of popcorn and toppings.

We did absolutely nothing to celebrate New Year's Eve since Scott was getting a head cold and didn't feel like having any alcohol. Dang winter cold season:( I hope we can get our immune systems back in line so this trend won't keep going this winter.