This Is Real Life.

I try to keep my posts as positive as possible.  I don't like to write about how tough it is being a mom, juggling full-time work and QT with the family, or complain about how no one ever talks about saying good-bye to sleeping in on the weekends or, my favorite, I no longer look forward to weekends to re-charge the batteries!  Though I do look forward to weekends, it's in a completely different way.  I think it's refreshing to share the hard times and for other moms to know they are not alone in this!

  We experienced a rough spot this past weekend.  And I must say, we were due :)  Xavier got a stomach bug that resulted in lots of (get ready for gross) vomit, diarrhea, and inability to sleep or eat.  Going in to this, Steve and I were exhausted and needed a break badly (hello MLK day off)!  But, Sunday night, we were up every two hours, changing Xavier's bedding, vacuuming up vomit, trying to get the last set of bedding washed and ready for the next time he vomited, disinfecting the carpet, disinfecting the baby...  I wanted a time out to sleep and I wasn't going to get it.

But, this is my life.  It's what I wake up to and think about every day.  How am I going to get past these rough spots, without going bonkers, and enjoy the present?  That's the biggest challenge and I find not many moms talk about that part!

Where's Xavier??!!

There he is!!

At the end of the day, the chaos is really worth it.  I now understand why mom's don't talk about how hard it is.  Living through it is one thing, but when I look back on it, I only remember the positive.  And when I think of the accomplishment of getting past this rough stage, I want to high-five Steve, YES! WE KICKED ASS!  I never think back on the screaming because I gave him bananas when he wanted mac & cheese or the smell of the sick poop and vomit that loomed most of the past few days.  It's more often the excitement he gets when we talk about his belly button, and the lift up of his shirt to search for it and stick his little finger in it.  And when I'm lying on the floor and feel a tiny hand on my stomach because Xavier is trying to lift my shirt to find my belly button to stick his finger in, that really gets me rolling!

Three-Day Weekend, with a side of love

Happy Tuesday!  We had ourselves an eventful three-day weekend.  I treated myself to some pampering on Friday night to get the weekend started.  It was very much needed and I came home telling Steve that from now on, I want all future gifts to be certificates to the spa!  There is so little time for truly relaxing at home, with all the things I feel like I should be doing, there really needs to be more spa-time in my life!

We took Xavier to his Valentine's photo shoot and got some really cute shots!

Our babysitter was open on Monday, so our plan was to drop off Xavier, and spend the day sleeping/dining out at quiet restaurants.  But, Xavier ended up getting this awful stomach bug.  He didn't show any signs of being sick until around 11:00 on Sunday night when he woke up crying from the puke.  We cleaned him up, changed the bedding, and laid him back down to sleep.  Then two hours later, he puked again, and this continued all night.  I guess the best part was how easy it was to get him back to sleep.  But Steve and I were exhausted and we weren't permitted to drop him at the sitter's.  It made for a long ass Monday, but to watch Xavier, you'd have no idea he was sick.  He was happy, playful, energetic, and not the least bit fussy.

In other news, Xavier has his very own Twitter page, found here!  He is talking up a storm, constantly mimicking my tone and volume, and I wanted to capture some of these early words.  I think when he talks even more, it will be a good place to look back on how he messed up words or said those funny things kids say!

Little Yellow Truck

COSI is a great place for us to take Xavier on the weekends.  We bought a membership and try to take him there at least once every weekend.  Now that he's walking, it's a whole different experience.  Last weekend, he walked straight to the yellow truck, where a kid was already sitting in the driver's seat, and tried to climb on top of him.  At this age, it's fun to watch him behave without any regard to social norms!  Anyway, he played in the passenger seat for a while, then moved over to the driver's seat after the kid left.  He liked pushing the buttons and steering the wheel.

After about 20 minutes of him playing here, we picked him up and moved him to the water table.  He didn't fuss, but we could tell he still wanted to play on the truck.  We figured it was good to let him explore other things to do.

He played with the water for a while, squirting the guns and dumping water on his clothes and the floor.  He's so cute in the little apron!

Then, out of nowhere, he walks away from the table,

walks right through a group of adults that were standing and talking, again, with no regard for social norms (haha!),

and just starts walking with that little apron on!  We took it off and he kept walking.  Where is he going?!

Ah, 

back to the little yellow truck!

We Had Ourselves A Merry Little Christmas

Wow, the day I have been looking forward to since the day after Halloween has come and gone with the blink of an eye!  We are so happy to have pictures and video to capture it all!

On Christmas Eve, Steve and I went out for a delicious steak dinner.  It's a tradition we've been doing ever since our first Christmas together!  We ended up opening all our gifts to each other later that night.

We set out cookies, milk, and a wish list for Santa (with some special requests crayoned-in by Xavier).

Xavier's two-year molars started poking through earlier this week, so he was not in the best mood to travel to my parents on Christmas Day, like we'd planned.  Anyone else experience this phase?  It's rough, like first day home from the hospital, rough.  We still visited Grandma and Grandpa last weekend and opened half his gifts.  Adding the Santa gifts to it made for one packed house!  By the way, it's amazing how many things parents end up having to build as a result of Christmas!  I see a lot more toy building in Steve's future ;)

Xavier loved his train set.  I don't know why, but we imagined him playing with it a little differently.

We spent most of the day in our pajamas, listening to Christmas tunes, and hanging out as a family of three!

Earlier this week, Xavier's babysitter threw the kids a lovely Christmas party, complete with Santa traveling for a visit all the way from the North Pole!  Xavier wasn't exactly thrilled to meet him!

The kids exchanged their Secret Santa gifts and snacked on candy canes and cookies.  Steve and I always think Xavier is such a big boy, but at that party, seeing him around the other kids, he looked so small!

It's been a busy month!  I guess that's why they call it the season of hustle & bustle!  Xavier had a great time with family and friends!