Our week in review

This week was a fun one~

I got to go to the Dentist and Laurelea went with me and took this picture without me knowing...

 As a reward for letting the Dentist look in her mouth she got an ice cream cone!

 She also played with her new bath paint!

 And we had some vestibular reset (roll around like a baby) family time

 We got a sprinkling of snow from Storm Juno, and the kids were appropriately bundled to face the conditions

Will- 5 months old!

Will you are growing and changing by the minute. We've had you at home for most of the month to try and get you on the mend from the junky, wheezy symptoms you seem to get with your winter colds. A huge thanks to Grammy and Grandpa Robert for coming in and helping us in back-to back weeks! 

You are such a happy little guy and your face just lights up when you smile, which happens pretty often. Your favorite person is probably your sister and you light up whenever she is around. You two have started engaging with each other this month and it is really amazing to see the affection that you share. 

You started eating solids and are really going to town on them. As of right now we are in the orange food group. You eat sweet potato, squash, and carrots. You could also be turning a tad orange! Right now you eat between 6 and 10 ounces a day and are still eating the same amount of milk, too. The bummer is that you are actually not sleeping through the night like you did for two wonderful nights, but we will get there and you will, too :)

We've still gone to see a doctor once a week and you are just over 15 lbs and 26 inches long. 

We still do two breathing treatments a day and will probably continue on this regimen until the cold season is behind us!

Love you little dude--we are hopeful that this next month your colds will decrease and you can be the happy little guy we know you to be all the time! 

Uncle Chris and Nikki

Last weekend, Chris and Nikki came for a visit. We had a fun filled weekend. We went to Union Market, managed to get out for some cosmic bowling adult fun, and visited the botanical gardens. I was really bad about taking pictures, but we did get some cute pics from the botanical gardens.

We really enjoyed getting to spend some quality time with both Nikki and Chris and hope they come back to visit again soon.

In the jungle

 Laurelea was very excited to do the scavenger hunt

 She is standing next to a Laurel tree (which she thought was pretty cool, although her expression says otherwise)

Solids!

We went in for a weight check and Will gained a pound since December 23rd. Our doctor recommended that we start solids so we started Will on sweet potato's on Tuesday. He is a fan and loved them. He is eating up a storm! 

 L and I then made some baby food!

 Big sister approved

 L helping with Will

Grandpa Robert's Visit

Grandpa Robert came in to help us out with Will in early Jan. He had Will during the day while we worked. I even managed to get in a work trip to NC and he stayed with Will. It was a huge help having him and we really appreciated the visit.

We made steamed clams one night and L was helping me pick through and toss the "bad" clams.. Will loved it too :)

 We had our first big storm when Grandpa was here. L and I ended up having to hike into preschool one morning. She was convinced it was a blizzard. I was just convinced that schools and the government should have been shut down.

 Grandpa and Will

 Will got these new toys and loves his cars! Thanks Hays/Clays and the Walz family!

 The weekend that Grandpa left I started working on my spin studio. I'm pretty impressed with how it turned out! We converted an old bathroom into a studio. We found free spinning classes online and it's been a great way to get back in shape without the hassle of going to the gym!

 This is just too cute! L and Bitty in matching jams

Climb Zone

We were feeling pretty cooped up having been sick for so long so we tried this new ClimbZone in the area. It was a pretty cool facility and we will definitely try again when the kids are a little older..

Each wall was a different theme and different skill level

 They had a bounce house slide and several big bounce houses- L loved this part!

 Cory climbing

 Me climbing

NYE

Between Christmas and New Years was a blur. Vicki was here and it was so helpful as Laurelea came down with the flu. So we had two sick kids and thankfully an extra set of hands to help out. We had planned to go to a neighborhood party for kids, but ended up staying home and banging pots and pans out on the deck (A Will family tradition). L thought we were a tad nuts, and wasn't a fan of the noise. Vicki, Cory and I prepared a special NYE dinner that we enjoyed after the kids were down.

Christmas Day

Cory and I were up by 5 as we were so excited for Christmas morning. It really felt magical and had all the elements that we recalled from our childhoods. Laurelea walked around and was really at odds for where to start and what to open first. She settled into it after a while and really took her time, opening gifts, playing and then opening more. It took most of the day for her to open all her gifts but it was so special to see her continued excitement for all the gifts she received and all those she opened on Will's behalf. 

That afternoon we went over to the Clay's/Hay's for dinner. They cooked a delicious roast and we contributed the sides. It was a feast and our kids exchanged gifts...

 snuggle time with Will

 He loved this toy from Nana and Papa!

 The aftermath..

 Our fancy/pants dinner

 the kids opening their gifts

Christmas Eve

On December 23rd we were back in the hospital again with Will. I took him to his 4 month apt and our pediatrician was concerned with his lack of weight gain and continued breathing struggles. We tired a few treatments and didn't see much change so we headed back to Children's. We were distraught at the idea that he might be in the hospital for Christmas. We were thankfully discharged and got to bring him home for Christmas with the family. I've been late in getting the blog updated as we have had incredible family support over the last few weeks to help keep him out of day care and on the mend. Thanks to both Vicki and Robert for making the trip out here to help out. 

So back to Christmas Eve at the Carlyle's

Cory and Will opening jammies

 Adorable kids in their Christmas Jams

 These faces just crack me up right now

 Christmas Eve dinner was butternut squash soup and prawns with home made bread!

 Laurelea and I made cookies for Santa- He needed chocolate chip-obviously :)

 She was super freaked about the chance that he would come into her room... so we posted this sign on her door

 This was what our living room looked like Christmas Eve-L's stash

 Our tree

 Will's gifts from Santa