Stocking Exchange

About 8 or 9 years ago, my friends and I started an annual holiday tradition called The Stocking Exchange. Heidi and I sewed each of us a custom stocking and we all get together, bring food and small gifts and have a big party post-Christmas. Over the years I've come to look forward to this event as much as real Christmas.

This year Heidi hosted at her house, which is only a few blocks from our house. We walked Edie over in her stroller and I will admit, I was tired. Edie had been a pretty terrible sleeper the night before and I was a little fried. Edie is hit or miss with crowds and with all the holiday parties and family events over the past month, I was nervous about having to console her off and on throughout the event and wondered whether I'd really be able to enjoy myself. But we had SUCH a nice time.
Edie was so well behaved and I just felt so relaxed and happy that night. I looked around a few different times because I realized I had no idea where my daughter even was. She was that happy and my friends were so willing to hold her so that I could enjoy my food and wine. She even slept in Heidi's arms for 30 minutes while we all talked and debriefed on our family Christmases. The food was great, the wine was fantastic, but my friends are the best. Jeff and I are the only ones with a kid in the group (although that won't be true for long) and instead of making me feel like an annoying breeder, they just love Edie. They don't roll their eyes (even if they want t0) when I go into ridiculous detail telling them how frequently she woke up the night before, despite the fact that they have every right to ask me exactly what I expected when I had a baby - that I'd get to sleep peacefully all night?

Edie wearing a fake mustache like the boys. She hated it. I loved it.

Edie was showered with gifts - and not just any gifts - extremely thoughtful and adorable gifts - and I just realized how lucky I am.
Walking home after the party, I was filled with an overwhelming, corny nostalgia for my friends. Next year Edie will be chasing Darrah and Matt's little boy around at the stocking exchange,
and who knows what wonderful men some of my other friends will choose to share their lives with and bring to this party in the coming years.

I once met a man who had a fancy cursive tattoo that scrolled up the inside of his arm. It said, "I have nice friends". I should get a tattoo that says, "I have the best of friends".

Dear Edie,

You are four months old today! So much has changed this month for you. Your personality is more and more pronounced and I can tell that you are going to be a real character when you get older. Scratch that. You already are a real character.
You can go from total joy to complete rage in mere seconds, but if I do something funny while you're screaming you'll often stop mid-cry to watch with fascination. I call you my little Faker Baker. You also talk like crazy; babbling with such intensity that you appear to be speech-making. You're laughing all the time these days and funny noises and voices are most often the things that make you giggle.

You adore bath time and recently started splashing like mad while we bathe. You must love the feel of the water slapping your hands and feet because it looks like you're doing jumping jacks in the water. You got some bath toys for Christmas and they've added to your bath time fun. You still love to stand whenever possible but seem to like cramming things into your mouth even more. You like reading Goodnight Moon (and other books) before bed and started helping me to hold the book and turn the pages this month, which I think is the cutest thing ever.

While you rolled over a few times at the start of this month, I think you decided "been there, done that" and have since boycotted the whole rolling over business. You still enjoy tummy time, you just seem to have more interest in cramming the nearby toys into your mouth than you do in rolling over again. This week during tummy time I noticed you lifting your bum and trying to get on your knees as if to crawl, so perhaps you're thinking that crawling is your next big project.

One of your biggest accomplishments this month is the transition you made from our bedroom to your own crib in your own room. Sadly, you've decided that sleeping for long stretches this month just isn't your thing. While you used to sleep for 7 or 8 hours each night before waking to eat, you now prefer 3-5 hours at a time. Thankfully you also started to go to bed earlier and without as much fuss as last month, so we're grateful for that. Your Dad most often puts you to bed each night at 9pm and you wake up promptly at 8am, usually with two midnight wake-ups in between. You still sleep swaddled every night, but we're starting to wonder if you might outgrow it this coming month. Sometimes in the night I hear you grunting in your sleep as you strain to bust out of your swaddle, but I'm still nervous to experiment with an unswaddled night, so for now you are still our bedtime burrito. Your napping schedule is getting more routine, with 20-25 minute naps in the 10 o'clock hour, noon hour and 2 o'clock hour, then your only lengthy nap around 5:30pm, which will usually last one to one and a half hours.

I go back to work 20% starting this coming Monday and I'm already dreading the thought of someone else witnessing all your little quirks. Luckily it will be your Grandmas that will be watching you while I work, so I'm sure I'll get a detailed account of your accomplishments when I return. Until then, I'm trying very hard to appreciate all our time together.

We went to my friend Deb's house yesterday and you played with her daughter Alison and your other friends Mae and Emmeline.

Edie and Mae
Mae, Emme, Edie
Alison, Edie, Mae

While watching you four grin and giggle at each other, we found ourselves already reminiscing about the days when you were "tiny". The truth is, I suppose you're still tiny, but seeing as you now weigh in at about 14 pounds, it's hard to imagine that you were ever so small that you fit the length of my forearm like the picture I included in your One Month letter.

love you Shorts,
Mom

A thought crossed my mind today

Before I had kids, situations would arise in which I would have to make a decision. For example-

1. The alarm goes off at the usual time. You didn't sleep very well and you dread the thought of going to work. Do you hit the sleep button while debating whether to call in sick or do you suck it up and get out of bed on time?

2. You know you need to schedule a dentist appointment but you hate dentist. Who doesn't, right? Do you put it off until tomorrow (or the day after that...) or do you call right now and just get it over with?

3. You know you need groceries and you're driving by the grocery store on the way home from work. Problem is, you're super tired, you can see that there aren't any parking spots in the supermarket lot and you're wearing your uncomfortable shoes. All you really want is to get home and put on your elastic waist pants. Do you pull in anyways, park far away, hoof it to the store and get stuff to make a well balanced dinner OR do you drive straight home and eat Annie's Mac and Cheese or Trader Joe's frozen gnocchi for dinner instead?

The thought crossed my mind today that being a parent is sort of like NEVER being able to choose the easy option in any of those scenarios.

Dear Great Gramma,

Thank you for the beautiful stroller. I find it very relaxing:

Christmas 2009

These photos are totally out of order, but I haven't the energy to rearrange.

Maurice got catnip in his stocking which we brought back in this box. In the past we've given him catnip and he's gone a little crazy. Like slap Jeff in the face crazy. We hid the catnip but he was still super pumped to hang out in the box and just enjoy the aroma:
Ooooh... bubble lights
Seriously, how pretty is my baby? Answer: PRETTY.
Hilarious:
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire....
Toby and Edie do tummy time:

She loved the sound of tissue paper crumpling:
Looking a bit more like a Bruton if I do say so myself:
I would have thought Sophie the Giraffe was overrated, but dude does Edie love her some Sophie.
At our house just before leaving for Bellingham on the 23rd:

Merry Christmas!

Here are two of our favorite photos from the new camera to tide you over during the holidays.

What a difference a year makes

Me, exactly one year ago today: