Winding down the day...

As I was walking out the door at work yesterday, our CEO told me he was letting everyone leave at 1pm today!! A few minutes later, he realized that we were also scheduled to be open on Monday, the 31st and promptly decided to close our office that day as well. Yee ha!! Anyway, it will be nice to have another break. We are going to our friends, Shane and Sara's, house on NYE. That should be fun.

Last night Lindi and Ben came over. They have two little girls but did not bring them by so unfortunately I doubt I will see them for a long time. However, it was nice to see Lindi and Ben. It's so funny how much parenting conversation I engage in now.

I am one of the few in the office again today. It's just so weird to be the only person on the West Wing. Alex is at home with Solomon today. He again had to shovel the driveway as we received about 2 inches of snow again last night. It's crazy. There isn't anymore forecasted for a while, although that could change overnight.

I talked to my friend Chris yesterday. As usual, he was so funny. I told him that my New Year's resolution was to stop watching Days of Our Lives and he gasped as if I had just told him I had cancer. He said he was "crestfallen"! That cracked me up. Hopefully, I can make the resolution last... just a few more days of Days.

Christmas is over

The big day is over.. It sort of depresses me because I really do like the holidays, but on the other hand, it's kind of nice to get things back to normal. I'm in the office today. It's weird b/c hardly anyone is here and not much at all is going on. In fact, our CEO called in sick today.... sick.. whatever. :) My mom is taking care of Solomon today since she is off of work.

Yesterday was fun. We exchanged presents with my parents in the morning. Solomon raked it in again, everything from toys to clothes. He especially liked his Jayhawk mobile that plays "I'm a Jayhawk". He loves it and gets mad when it's time to wind up the music again. It's pretty funny. We're training him early. The sweet little guy slept all through the night again!! It was great. I ate way way too much yesterday. My stomach hurt b/c I pigged out so much, but it was so yummy. My niece, Zoe, was wild yesterday, but I can't blame her much. There was a lot of excitement for someone that age. I can't wait to see Solomon in some of his new clothes. He has on the new outfit he received from Debbie and Jare today. It's very cute.

Just a few days in the office and then another few off! I love this schedule.

BTW, a quick shout out to Andy yesterday for his b-day and today to Bretty for his b-day!!

Our Christmas Weekend

So my boss let us all off at 1pm on Friday. That was nice. Alex and I decided to go to the mall to do a little last minute shopping. We were in a store when I felt Solomon poop. He was in the body carrier, so I just told Alex, let's go ahead and buy the shirt (he was going to try on) and then we'll go change him...Just then, I was holding onto his legs and thought he had drooled on his right leg.. Okay, NOT drool and now it was on my hand. We booked it out of there and to the unisex bathroom. We had to wait to get in but it was worth it to have two sets of hands instead of one. We cleaned him up and it took a while. He was gross and the bathroom, as most public restrooms are, was gross. The only outfit I had in the bag to change him into was a Halloween themed one. I keep it in there so if he gets messy at daycare they'll have something, but I won't miss it around the house. So, we were walking him around the mall at X-mas time in a Halloween outfit! Then, we went to Dillard's. As we were buying something, he had another loud blowout. The cashier said, "It sounds like someone had Mexican last night!" :)

After going home and relaxing for a minute, we went out to meet up with Lindi, Molly and Dan. It was SO GREAT to see them and we laughed a lot. I'm hoping to get to see Lindi's daughters before she goes home. Molly looks great pregnant.

Saturday, we (my sister, her fiance, Zoe, me, Alex and Solomon) all met up at my parents' house to head to my uncle's house. He lives in NE Kansas. The drive there wasn't so bad.. just sleeting a bit and raining. We ate too much there and in the early evening began to head home. The drive home sucked. The snow wasn't as thick as the wind was blowing initially. Then, the traffic started to really back-up b/c of the snow plows and people having to go a little slow in general. It took us about twice as long as normal to drive back. My dad was driving us, so we were able to keep Solomon occupied at least. needless to say, we were all really tired when we got home and Solomon slept really well.

Yesterday, we woke up with Solomon but when he went back to sleep we slept in as well. Then, we got up and shoveled the driveway. I have a feeling it will be a while until our cul-de-sac is snow free. It is really thick with snow. We pretty much vegged out the rest of the day and we cleaned up a little.

The biggest event for me of yesterday/today was (drum roll please), Solomon slept through the night officially for the first time. He went to bed after a big bottle (6oz.) and slept from about 9:30pm - 6:00am!!!! I was so excited. Plus, I just fed him and played with him a bit and he went back to sleep. I think he was just so tired again from playing with us all day yesterday and the crazy day before. Hopefully, it continues, but I am trying not to expect it.

Alex and I went to workout this morning and are planning to go to church with my parents this evening. Solomon is sacked out for his afternoon nap. He has on his special Reindeer outfit that Grandma bought him. It has matching shoes that are pretty cute.

Tomorrow, we plan to head to my parents' house and do the Christmas morning/presents thing. Last night, Alex and I exchanged presents. He bought me a small flat panel TV for the kitchen. That is a great gift for me b/c I always feel torn when it comes to making dinner b/c I want to watch something like a KU game more. I bought Alex an ILap. It's a thing you put on your lap and put your laptop Mac on it. They get hotter than most laptops.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Last day before Christmas break!!

Remember when you were in school and the last day before Christmas break, Halloween, and the last day of the year were pointless? That's what I feel like today. I don't want to do any work. I am actually saving some work for next week because it will be so dead around here. I do get off at 1:00pm today!!

Alex sent me this "modified" picture of Solomon today. I thought it was so funny.

We are going to my dad's youngest brother's house for the Longenecker Christmas tomorrow morning. They live in a somewhat remote area of NE Kansas. It's kind of close to Garnett. Alex has never been to their house and it's been years since I have been there. I think we'll probably go to church with my parents on Christmas Eve. Alex and I always watch the movie "Elf" that day too. Then, on Christmas Day, we'll head to my parents' house for presents and pigging out. My mom always makes monkey bread and chex mix just for me. I love those two items so much. I'm excited to open Solomon's presents for him! It's been so long since I opened any toys.

Tonight, I am going to go hang out with my friends Molly and Lindi. I haven't seen either of them in a while. Molly is preggers and I'm sure she's very cute looking. I am SO EXCITED to see them both. We will laugh a lot. I can't wait!

I think my friend Brooke is due any day now. She is having twin girls. I wish her and Andy luck!! Wow, that will be an adventure for sure.

It could be a few days before I blog again so Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!!

First Week Back

My first week back hasn't been too bad. It was just so chaotic to get to work on Monday. I had so many bags... bags of diapers and wipes and his diaper bag, my laptop bag, my purse, my pump, etc.. on and on and on. It was crazy. I think Solomon is doing okay at the babysitter's house. You never know b/c he can't tell us. It drives me a little crazy, but I think he's okay. My big hope is that he's not just being left to stare at the TV half of the day from the couch. Tonight, I kept holding him in front of the bathroom mirror and letting him stand on the countertop (with my help of course). He smiled and laughed and my favorite, squealed with delight! It was so cute.

The things that annoyed me about work before are still there. I feel out of the loop too, but I don't care as much as I thought I would. It is nice to be around adults again and everyone was very nice and welcoming. I had Tuesday afternoon off to finish Christmas shopping so it's been a nice slow transition back to work.

I must go to sleep as I'm sure little man will get us up at least once!

Last Day

The final day before I return to work..

I let Solomon sleep in a little b/c I was just so tired this morning. He woke up (for the final time) a bit before 8am. We went to the gym and then to Zoe's Jitterbug performance. It's always hilarious. It's a dance class that she takes at her daycare. The kids are so funny. Most of them don't know what's going on for most of the dance, but complete a move here and there. It's pretty funny. Plus, there are always kids who get scared and just sit there and stare at the audience. Zoe gets really excited about at least once move in every dance and repeats it a lot. She also says "hi" to all of us in the audience and waves a lot... very cute.

I think we'll just relax at home tonight. Alex had a photo shoot and is on his way home. Solomon is so cute right now.. asleep on the boppy. I was trying to figure out what I need to take to the daycare for tomorrow... diapers, wipes, milk (I don't know how much to thaw), an extra set of clothes, etc...

Tomorrow, is our holiday work luncheon. On Tuesday, I get to take off at noon and plan to finish up my holiday shopping before picking up Solomon. It's just so weird to be off for three months and then go back... strange. I wish I had known what I know now at the beginning of maternity leave. I would have been a lot more laid back about things. It took me a long time to enjoy Solomon as much as I do now and even longer to enjoy my time off. It's just the craziest thing ever, but it has been a great opportunity to spend it with my new favorite person.

Snowy Saturday

It's been snowing off and on since yesterday. The roads aren't too bad though and here in
Wichita we didn't get nearly as much snow as the forecasters had predicted. That always seems to happen. Alex and I went out to lunch and grocery shopping. It was a little annoying b/c it was so cold out, but Solomon didn't seem to mind. I'm watching the KU game now which has pretty much been a blowout since the first few minutes of play. Solomon has been trying out his gift from Grandma Thomas, a singalong play stage, and I've put him in his walker a few times. His feet just graze the ground, but he smiles when I put him in there. I think he likes that he feels he can sit up on his own. He's wearing his gingerbread Christmas outfit that my mom bought for him. Tonight we plan to watch a movie and stay in.

BTW, today is Solomon's 3-month birthday.

Baby Sounds

Today on Oprah, there is a woman who claims to know what your baby wants based on the sounds he or she makes. It's pretty cool. She's isolated five sounds that mean hunger, discomfort, sleepy, lower gas and tummy gas. It does seem like she's figured it out. The babies did seem to respond happily when she told the moms what they wanted. The sounds are a little difficult for me to distinguish, but I think if you listened to them several times, they would be easier to tell apart. She says babies change their language after three months though, so I guess Solomon is on the verge... I wish I would have known this before. There was also this kid that lost his eyes as a child due to a rare form of cancer. He now "sees" with his ears. For instance, he can detect that an object is on the left side of a table in front of him and that it is glass. He can basically hear the vibrations that come off of the object based on a clicking sound he makes. Isn't that crazy and amazing?

My personal email account isn't working right now and it's driving me nuts! I can't take it.

I just switched our car and homeowners insurance today. We're going to save a lot of money every month and get better coverage. It's worth shopping around every few years even though it's a pain to do so. We are getting a small discount b/c we're now driving around little Solomon! It is true that I try to drive a little slower and safer now, so I understand why they do it and it works for us.. yea, discount!!

I'm almost finished Christmas shopping. I hope to finish up this weekend. Hopefully, everyone else is finished with theirs!

He's talking... but it's difficult to say about what.

Solomon has been talking (making sort of organized sounds) for a while now, but in the past few days to a week, they have been much more frequent. He seems to be "talking" all of the time. It seems like if Alex or I make up a response he gets so excited about it. I love watching it and hearing him. It's so cute. I wonder what he's talking about. Also, last week, he discovered his toes. He actually looked at them actively started to touch them. I can't believe I have to leave this cute little man most of the day starting next week. :( He is so sweet. Of course, give me 10 minutes and I'll be praying for him to shut up when he starts crying! :) He only got up once last night... well a couple of times, but all within one 1/2 hr. He refuses to stay asleep in the middle of the night when we don't feed him at least once. Again, I believe this might confirm that he's in the midst of a growth spurt.

Alex and I just got back from the gym. Alex has a few appointments today but decided to spend a little time with us.

Yesterday, we went with Alex to a photo shoot on the West side of town. Then, we had dinner and ran some errands. Solomon was so good the entire time we were out. He snarfed down half of his bottle at Target.

I am going to have dinner with my friend Bethany tonight. Her birthday was on Sunday, so we're going to celebrate! I'm looking forward to it. Solomon will hang out with Alex for the evening.

There's a lot to do around our house, so I'm going to try to accomplish some of that today before I go out for dinner.

Last week

I have reached my final week of maternity leave. As I've said before, I have mixed feelings about going back to work. Solomon is taking his morning nap right now next to me. He was giggly and smiley most of the weekend... such a sweetie.

My parents came over on Friday. We had pizza with them and Zoe. My mom decorated my tiny tree with Zoe. Zoe has started prefacing many of her sentences with the word, 'actually'. It's pretty cute. On Friday, they went to a local senior citizens center and sang some Christmas songs. Zoe kept telling us that "Actually, I went to sing for the seniors." At first, we thought she was talking about high school seniors. She's so funny. She's always very excited about what she has to say.

We went to KC on Saturday for my brother-in-law, Stephen's 50th B-day party. Solomon was passed around quite a bit. It's always weird for me to suddenly realize I have no idea who has my child. It was a nice visit. The food was really good. Alex videotaped the party for Stephen. We had a small ice storm on Saturday morning and on Sunday, but the highways that we spent most our time on were totally fine. The worst problem we had was that the windshield wipers kept freezing on the way up. It really wasn't a big deal though. We stopped on the way up and saw Alex's friend Adam and his wife Alyssa. Sunday morning, we had breakfast with my friend Cherie and her little guy, Eli. Solomon didn't sleep very well, but I'm not sure that it was being in a new place or just the phase he's currently in. Alex and I are contemplating the 'cry it out' method. For everyone (and believe me everyone seems to have input on this topic) who says it's a good idea to let them "cry it out", there's someone else who says to do something else. I'm not sure what the answer is, but hopefully this whole sleep thing works out soon.

Like I said, Solomon was pretty good, except for when we were driving home and he started yelling. We had to stop at a rest stop, feed him and change him. It seemed to work, at least until we got into the car again... Then, he started crying again. Since we knew all of his needs had been met, we just let him cry. He was just sick of the carseat I think. I don't blame him.

We exchanged gifts with the kids in Alex's family on Saturday as well. Solomon raked it in. My mother-in-law bought him some clothes and the singalong stage from Fisher Price. I've heard kids love it. He has to be just a bit older before he can use it. Alex's siblings bought him some clothes, toys, a cute blanket/pillow set, etc... Also, everyone gave him money for his college fund we've set up. It was pretty fun to open his presents. He was already asleep and wouldn't have provided much assistance anyway!

Today, I'm going to lunch with my cousin's Scott's wife, Kristen and need to run a few errands. The first thing I need to accomplish is a shower. There was a story on the Today Show today about how Americans take too many showers and wash away all of the good bacteria that helps prevent things like allergies, etc.. I don't care. The few times in my life that I haven't taken at least one shower in the day, I have felt disgusting and my hair becomes and oil slick. It's even worse for boys... they are gross without a shower.

A little day trip..

ugh... for some reason I have to retype this because the internet connection skipped out for a second. I am sitting at a coffee house in Winfield, KS. It's really nice and Christmas music is playing softly in the background. I am here because this is the last day of classes at Southwestern College. Alex teaches a class there on Web Design and is the p/t Online Services Librarian. He thought today would be a good day to bring the baby by to meet the library staff and for me to meet them as well of course. Anyway, I'm waiting for Alex to finish up. We will then eat lunch and head back to Wichita. The weather guys were saying that the roads were so bad, but I didn't think they were at all. It's raining mostly with a little bit of sleep mixed in. A lady who owns this coffee house offered to hold Solomon for a bit earlier. It was so nice b/c it gave me a chance to eat my breakfast with both hands at little to no risk of dropping the food all over me or him. It was very nice. Plus, I could tell she enjoyed holding him and he even smiled for her a bit! He's asleep right now and snoring softly. :)

We're headed to Kansas City this weekend for my Brother's-in-law 50th B-day party. We are also going to exchange gifts with the kids for X-mas since we won't be meeting up with Alex's family over the 25th. I'm not looking forward to packing the car up again with all of Solomon's stuff, but at least this time, I think we're going to board Coco here, so that will make it a little easier. The other good thing is that i'm going to meet up with my friend Cherie for breakfast. I haven't seen her in a while and she hasn't met Solomon yet, so that will be fun.

A set-back

Solomon seems to be back to waking up more than once a night... (sigh)... I had a small breakdown last night when he woke up for the THIRD time. Many people seem to agree with my analysis of the situation. I think he's on a growth spurt and a tummy of milk isn't filling him up for long enough. It's soooo incredibly frustrating. I have to go to his doctor's office again today so I'm going to ask what I can do, add formula to the breast milk or cereal, whatever.. I just want him to sleep longer. He WAS doing so well, sleeping around seven hours straight and then this. One thing I've learned in the last three months is just when you think you can figure out a routine or read your child's mind, they change it up on you. Babies are unlike any other creature or object on earth in that way. I'm sure it will get better, but it's super annoying right now. Everyone has a different solution and honestly I appreciate that everyone cares enough to suggest something, but I just wish there were a magic bullet for this kind of thing.

This morning, Alex and I took Solomon's Christmas photo for our Christmas cards. It's pretty cute. I was contorted in this weird position behind him so it would look like he was sitting up by himself while I was holding him.

Tonight, there is a KU Basketball game and I am excited to watch it... It's something to look forward to. I'm in the process of changing the sheets right now as well b/c Solomon pooped out of his diaper on them! Nice. I say "in the process" because Solomon is asleep on the mattress right now, and I refuse to move him until he's awake.

New Solomon Video Clip posted!

I just got back from lunch with a few friends, one I know from the MBA program and another from KSN and Feist. It was fun. We went to Jimmy John's. I can't believe how loud they had the music on in there. Way too loud.
Anyway, I'm going to the gym in a few minutes and then to a meeting with our daycare provider this evening. I go back to work in two weeks so it's time to finalize all of that daycare stuff. I'm not totally looking forward to going back, but am trying to look positively at the situation b/c I need to. I like the woman who will be taking care of him.
Regarding KU: We won an awesome B-ball game yesterday in California against USC and found out the football team made it into the Orange Bowl as well! That's great news. Mizzou didn't get a BCS bowl game. They probably got screwed there although the BCS calculations are a mystery to pretty much everyone. The way I look at it, if anyone is going to get screwed, why not Mizzou?!! :) I can't think of any school more deserving of a good "screwin'" !! I can't believe i wrote that!

Check out the video I shot of Solomon playing on his jungle gym yesterday. It's super cute.

New pictures posted

We've posted the following new albums online:
1) Scott's (my cousin) pig roast - http://www.haverhillstudios.com/gallery/pigroast
2) Thomas family Thanksgiving and Solomon's baptism - http://www.haverhillstudios.com/gallery/babythomas
Hope you're having a great weekend!