And Now, For A Word From Our Sponsors

Today was pretty darn good as days go. Thanks to an unfortunately sick baby, I got up earlier than I normally do. Usually, this would be a cause for tears and a good long wallow through the trenches of self-pity, but not so today. With my early start, I managed to:

• call the NHS direct line to make sure of what medicines I can give Ethan for his cold. There's not much on the list at a mere 2 months old.
• Call the GP to get him an appointment to have his first round of immunizations taken care of.
• Go to Boots and pick up a bulb syringe, saline spray, and a little something extra.
• Go to M&S to try and hunt down ties for my brother-in-law's wedding in 6 days.
• Call my mother-in-law to coordinate the details for picking up said ties before we head to their house on Christmas Eve Eve. (Yeah; it's juvenile and redundant-sounding, but I had to.)
• Go to Sainsbury's to do some last-minute grocery shopping for odds and ends.
• Pick up lunch at McDonald's and get back home to put away said groceries and take a break watching an episode of Downton Abbey.
• Head back out to the GP to keep the aforementioned appointment for E's shots.
• Swing by Boots again to pick up some Calpol to keep Ethan happy if he's feverish or coldy or fussy and angry after his doctor's appointment.
• Get back home, watch some more Downton Abbey, then tidy up, get dressed to hit the gym, and get dinner started.

All this motivation is brought to you by...nail polish.

I fully admit my shallower side. Nice new nail polish got me through the day. Now if only the Husband would get home so I could actually go to the gym and drop my book back at the library...

A lovely curry dinner

Open Letter to My Son

Dear Ethan,

yup. What my bedroom curtains were missing was the lovely aroma of baby urine. Thanks for adding that missing ingredient by thoughtfully soaking said curtains during your diaper change today. I mean, hey: anybody can pee on their own clothes. An amateur can even pee on their mom's clothes; but only a pro can take aim and soil the curtains. I salute you, little dude. Peeing that far behind your own head takes stamina. Never let it be said that any kid of mine did things by halves. Way to be a champ...and a little human super soaker.

Sincerely,

Momma

Oh me?

A Smile?

After yesterday's first official legitimate smile, today was time to attempt to recreate the phenomenon. Because, let's face it: if it's not on film I can't talk about it obsessively! :) The thing is, E's smiled so infrequently thus far that every time I can coax even the tiniest of smirks out of him, I freak out like it's the best thing since Nutella on sliced bread. Yesterday morning's smile, therefore, produced nothing less than a fit of excited giggles that could put a 13-year-old Justin Bieber fan to shame. Hey: you've got to embrace the patheticness that comes with being a parent. Suddenly, your child's every sniffle and fart is a cause for celebration. And by celebration, I mean putting on the embarrassing baby voice and congratulating your baby:

"Look at that! That was such a good burp. Yes it was! Yesitwaaaaas!"
"You peed, baby! You peeeeeeed! And it's everywhere! Yes it is! You peed everywhere!"
"[gasp] It's a naked baby! It's a naked baby in the bath! You're having a bath, baby boy: you're having a bath!"

(Admitting it is the first step. But admitting it doesn't mean I'll stop. Unlike other addicts, I can't just quit any time I want. I know that now.)

As with anything with a baby, trying to capture a smile on camera takes several attempts. Here now are the very best of our outtakes:

Power to the people! Holla!

Wassup!?

How you doin'?

So...you feelin' lucky...punk?

Flash those cute little gums!

Unfortunately, the best smile I've seen yet still hasn't been immortalised on memory stick, but we'll get there. The best attempts seem to come in the morning, so tomorrow - as Miss Scarlet said - is another day!

Getting in the Spirit

We went on a walk today. A nice long one, too. What does that have to do with getting into the Christmas spirit? My iPod and the attendant podcasts and songs. I've been struggling to feel like it's finally the Advent season and that Christmas is right around the corner. As it turns out, what I needed wasn't so much my Advent Santa counter, or my Grandma's Nativity, or even my tree. I needed Christmas music! So, I got out into the seasonal chill with Ethan in his jogging stroller and popped in my headphones to enjoy some decent Yuletide tunes and really start getting into the swing of things.

Hey you: keep walking.

Mommy and son catching some mid-winter rays.

With that in mind, here are my current top 12 Christmas listens. Why 12? Because there are12 days of Christmas, fool! And why "listens"? Because one isn't a song, but rather a testament to my super nerd status (a.k.a. a Christmas podcast). PS- this is where I insist that you follow the links...for your own good and all.

1. Gabriel's Message - Sting 
2. Gaudete - Medaeval Baebes
3. O Come, O Come Emmanuel - The Fray
4. Happy X-Mas (War Is Over) - Maroon 5
5. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid
6. This Christmas - Chi Rho
7. In Dolce Jubilo - Medaeval Baebes
8. Mistletoe and Holly - Frank Sinatra
9. Christmas is All Around - "Billy Mack" aka Bill Nighy
10. Ave Maria - Jewel
11.  I Saw Three Ships - The Lower Lights
12. A Christmas Primer - Mormon Matters Podcast

The podcast I highly recommend to those with a strong mental constitution. I make that caveat because there is lots of academic banter and discussion about the intricacies of the Christmas story in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke and a decent amount of concentration is required to get something out of it. The nice thing is that at the end, the conclusion of the discussion reaffirms everyone's faith and their wholehearted enjoyment of the Christmas season and its message no matter the historical vagaries of the scriptural account.

Gotta love having a baby as an excuse to catch up on all sorts of interesting listening and watching during the day. Here's to jingling bells, dashes through the snow, one-horse open sleighs, and continuing to get into the mood as Christmas approaches!

6 Week Photo Shoot

Has it really been 6 whole weeks since I first got to hold my amazing baby boy? It's still weird every now and then to stop and remember, "Oh yeah: I'm a mom now! That's my son." Calling Ethan my son still hasn't lost its novelty. I know I spend every day with him pretty much non-stop, but that doesn't mean it's sunken in yet; the reality of having a child.

That said, I have gotten pretty used to basking in his above-average cuteness. I've got the whole indecently-proud-momma routine down pat. I can be nauseatingly infatuated with my child like the best of 'em. Just witness, for instance, the lovely photo shoot we staged after watching about 6 episodes of Up All Night. Which, I have to add, is most definitely my new TV jam. Line most true to life? When Christina Applegate tells her BFF that the only way she fit into her work clothes was because, "I'm wearing a girdle and two pairs of Spanx!" Preach, sistah girl; preach.

I see you...

Having a whale of a time (har har)

stretching

And now...Blue Steel!

Frank Sinatra's got nothing on these blue eyes

This is my serious face.

Trim the Tree...Like A Boss

That's right: the other way we ring in Baby Jesus Month in this house? By trimming the hell out of our fake Christmas tree. My wreath had already been hung on the living room door, so now it was time to break out the big guns. It says something about me that the largest collection of stuff that I personally have stored in our hall closet is a giant box of the Christmas decorations. My grandmother's Nativity set from the Holy Land, the tree, the lights, and every last Royal Historic Palaces and Gisela Graham Christmas ornament I could get my hands on for the past 4 years. As the Husband so aptly put it when I cackled with glee, I am the anti-Grinch: nefariously drumming my fingers and twirling the proverbial goatee as I contemplate new and exciting cinnamon-scented depths of holiday cheer and festivity.

I got out the Nativity set. I unwrapped the fake candied fruits. I untangled the gold pine cones so lovingly crafted by my own two hands. I cranked up the Christmas music like I was DJing a frat party and - appropriately - did my best loud drunken co-ed impression as I belted out the chorus to Band-Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Why? Because it's Christmas, fools. And I do Christmas like a boss. Next stop: Christmas cookies!

6 feet of Yuletide glory...

a new addition this year: tiny feathered birds

another new addition: red and white jingle belled shapes

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I guess it's December now, which in our house means it's time for the Grim Challenge. After all, what better way is there to ring in the month where we celebrate the Baby Jesus than by running through mud, water, and muddy water for 9 miles? Of course, having had a baby 5 weeks ago, I haven't actually been capable of running for more than 30 yards for the past 5 months or so. So I rung in Baby Jesus Month December by standing in the cold with a stroller, drinking hot chocolate, and sneakily feeding my baby in the back seat of the car while the Husband ran the course.

Next year, I will return - in all my glory - to run the insane cross-country that is the Grim. But for now, I was content to be the photographer. Well...one of many photographers. You see; Seb decided to run in costume this year, on a dare, and so he ended up being quite the centre of attention through the whole thing. In fact, as I was waiting with Little E at the last giant crater full of water, everyone cheered the loudest when he came charging through in what was left of his cardboard and duct tape masterpiece. Take a look:

Like the tag says, let's get dirty!

Slogging through the last crater!

40 hours, 300 metres of duct tape, and a shed-load of patience got us this impressive robot costume. Now if only we could have gotten a miniature model put together for Little E...