Dead battery

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice, or winter wonderland fun! We had a great Christmas with Corbin and family. Unfortunately my camera battery is dead and I cannot find the charger for the life of me. So until then, I cannot post the most recent pictures. Just imagine a cute little 6 month old little boy ripping wrapping paper and finding treasures inside of boxes. Or just the box themselves :-) He is a mover and a shaker. I feel that any day he is going to get up on all fours and the chasing will begin.

4 generations of skiers

Today the sun came out just for us to go skiing for the first time of the season. It was a gorgeous day! The perfect day for four generations of skier to be out. My grandpa, my mom, me, and Corbin were all out, ages 91-6 months! Pretty cool! Here we all are. This is a bad picture but it shows all of us- Grandpa, Marge, mom, dad, Jed, Kara, Adam, me, and Corbin in his Chariot!

Corbin got pulled by his uncle Jed, his grandpa, and finally Adam. Each one got a workout! Corbin slept the whole time.

Grandpa and Corbin.

Makes those hills even harder :-) Maybe Adam will now be my speed.

Sleeping away!

It was Kara's first time out on cross country skis! She did great!

And here are the four generations of cross-country skiers! Pretty cool!

Snow in the NW

Well we made it to Bend despite all the NW snow that shuts everything down! We were lucky that Adam didn't have school on Thursday or Friday so we could pack and then leave earlier than 5 pm on Friday night. We left Bellingham after Corbin's 6 months doctor's appointment. He is 27 1/2 inches, 85%ile and 16 lbs 10 oz, 35%ile. Tall and skinny! Anyway...we left Bellingham in two cars because Jed and Kara were going to be flying into Seattle and then driving our second car down to Bend too. The freeways were pretty good leaving Bellingham until we got to Arlington which got slammed with snow. The freeways were all icy and crunchy. Sometimes only two lanes were clear. It was slow going until Everett. Then it got clear again. We had gotten the tire fixed on the Nissan but when Adam stopped for gas, the tire was low again! So to make a long story shorter, we left it in Seattle with Kevin and Meghan to get it fixed again (thanks guys). After all that we were only ahead of our original schedule by a few hours! We made it to Portland just as it started snowing again. Stayed with Sam and Ali. Got up to more snow. Needed the chains to get out of the city streets of Portland. Got on the freeway. Went really slow. Got almost up to Mt. Hood before we had to put the chains on again. Chains. Then dry road to Bend. Snow again in Bend. Few! It was a snowy and long trip. Corbin was a super trooper. He slept most of the way! And hardly cried at all! So was Brindzi! So now here we are at my parents house. Now Jed and Kara are having a hell of a time getting here through Chicago, Portland, and then Seattle. They are hoping to skip going to Seattle and just get off in Portland...so much for getting the tire fixed. Oh well. Hopefully they make it somewhere. I am glad I am not flying.

Here Corbin is all snug in his Chariot with the ski attachment! We didn't have ski's on because we didn't want to ruin them on the trail, although the coverage was better than we thought. It worked pretty well to just pull it. His head was a little bobbly but next time we will fix the head rest a little. My parents house is right on the canal with access to some awesome trails to the river!

Corbin all snug as a bug with Grandma!

He did much better in the snow this time. Brindzi wanted to let him know how much she loves the snow!

Hmmm...I seem to be stuck in here!

Recipe for Fun

Take homemade Pizza (with help from Trader Joe's), a salad made by a German, some red wine, Italian chocolate and eat. Put the baby to bed. Get dressed in warm winter clothes and head outside. Take one old runner sled, two flimsy Fred Myers sleds, 2 dogs, 2 good friends, a light up baby monitor, some snow, and a dead end hill and mix it all together. Fun on a snowy night in the NW.

Half a year

Corbin is one half year today. 6 months! Wholly cow! I have a six month old! There is a snow storm outside. It's almost Christmas. And I have a six month old! Here are a few things he is doing now.
1. He can completely sit up on his own. Sometimes he falls over and bonks his head. Other times he gently leans over and rolls to his stomach.
2. He can roll from his back to his stomach to the left side.
3. He does a million push ups and kicks his feet and hands like he is swimming.
4. He scoots his way around by pushing up and then going down in a different direction. Sometimes he scoots himself backwards from pushing up and back.
5. We set him down a couple of times now and left the room and came back and he had moved several feet. One time he had ornaments in his mouth. Yesterday he moved across the rug and had a present in his mouth. We never see him move this much but he does!
6. He can roll onto his back from his stomach but doesn't do it much.
7. He has eaten rice cereal, avacado, sweet potato, green beans, and squash. Pears will be next.
8. He is cutting a tooth. Right bottom.
9. He rolls onto his stomach now to sleep sometimes and dosent roll back.
10. He is still waking up more than once a night but is putting himself back to sleep.
11. He LOVES pee-ka-boo.
12. He likes to sing songs.
13. He makes all kinds of noises. His latest is a grunt or a growl.
14. He is the best and I LOVE him SOOO much!

Earlier this morning, Corbin thought the snow coming down was pretty cool. Better to look at it than be in it, he thought. There is WAY more snow now.

There is probably 4-5 inches out. Adam is still at school. Who knows when he will get home. There was school for everyone in the county this morning, then it started snowing. It's nasty out there. We went out to try to go to play group and stop by LeSwabb one more time for chains for the Nissan, Jed and Kara are driving it to Bend this weekend. By the time we got to LeSwabb the roads were bad. I decided to head home in order to try to make it up the hill this time. On Sat. night during book club it started snowing. Everyone left to get home safely. 4 of us live on or at the top of big hills, so we wanted to try to make it up. My friend Aki was driving her little Honda Fit, not a snow car, and we decided to try to go around the big hill by going on a smaller more gradual hill. But we got stopped because of a 20 car pile up. Then we tried to go another way but got stuck and then the traffic on Lakeway was all backed up the other way because of the pile up. So we headed back towards the big hill. Jen had said she made it up to her turn off but then had to stop because of a car coming down the hill. She said you could make it if no one was in front of you and you could just gun it. So we made our way there... lots of people were out, slipping all over the place. We gunned it up the hill and made it half way. We pulled onto a street and decided to walk the rest of the way and Aki's husband would meet us at the top with their Subaru and take me home. Right after we pulled over. We saw 2 cars go sliding down the hill. One into the guard rail across from us, the other one bounced off the first car, the guard rail, and was doing circles down the hill! It was crazy! I finally made it home safe and sound. Adam and Corbin were warm and dry inside. I was REALLY glad I didn't have Corbin with me. So today, I stopped at Julie's house and she helped me put on the chains while Corbin slept in the car. I made it up the hill! If I didn't have chains, I wouldn't have. I brought the Becco with me and Corbin's snow suit just incase we had to walk! Now I just wonder when Adam will be home... Most likely no school for him tomorrow unless we get balmy weather!

In which snow comes to Corbin and Brindzi

Firsts today:

1. Blinding whiteness everywhere
2. Cold rush as the door opens

And likely to come soon:

1. Yeah, but what does it feel like?
2. Walking in a winter wonderland

A busy week!

As you know, we decorated for Christmas on Sunday. Here is the finished wreath that I made over Thanksgiving weekend.

Then our tree fell over. Here is the ghetto tying to the window sill. We went even more tacky by using white string, instead of something clear like fishing line!

All the ornaments that fell off and didn't break!

The completed "Charlie Brown" free, one sided tree!

Corbin thinks it's pretty cool. He keeps looking at it while he is nursing. I also think we timed it just right... he isn't mobile so we don't have to worry about him getting ornaments or pulling it over (it's tied down tight) and next year he will know the meaning of not putting things in his mouth!

Here is what I see when I look at the video monitor. Last night was a rough night again...

Mmmmm... home grown green beans! Yum! He ate them all up...

Best buds!

Grow Luca grow! We looked at pictures today of when Corbin and Brody were Luca's size. It's amazing how fast it goes. And how it seems like they were never really that small.

Just look at those faces! I just want to eat them up!

The trials and tribulations of sleep

When Corbin was only 5 weeks old he started sleeping through the night, or at least 5-7 hours. Then it was 7-9 hours. I felt like I had the best sleeper in the world! I remember calling my mom and asking, "is it ok if he slept for 12 hours straight?" I didn't want to boast or brag, especially when some friends were having major sleep deprivation. Then we hit about 3 1/2 months- 4 months. He started changing his signals, was a little fussier, I thought he was teething (that is what we blame for everything), he grew out of his co-sleeper and was busting out of the swaddle. Everything seemed to happen at once and along with it, began the night waking. The transition to the crib was hard. He often ended up in our bed after he woke up the first time. We went back to swaddling him. I had always known that I would most likely let him cry it out at some point, but I imagined that it wouldn't be until 6-9 months. I can remember letting a baby that I was babysitting cry it out when he was 9 months. It was hard but he wasn't my kid and I was only babysitting. I had planned on reading a bunch about different methods for sleep, waiting until he was at least 6 months and then trying something. I would sit there nursing him thinking about what I might try. I tried letting him fuss for a few seconds before nursing him but then decided I didnt' want to be inconsitant and needed a plan instead of just trying a bunch of things. But this last month has been really hard. He began waking up every 3 hours again. He hasn't done that since he was a little baby. And not only was he waking up a bunch but then he would fall asleep nursing and as I set him down he would pop back up and cry. I would pick him back up and start all over again. One night it took over 2 hours! And then he would do it again in another 3 hours! I was getting tired. Over Thanksgiving he did it again... the first night he eneded up squeezed into the full sized bed with us and I hardly slept. Granted, it was a different bed but I was just getting so frustrated! Adn then I found myself getting mad at him. I felt horrible. He wasn't doing it on purpose. I would set him down in his crib and he would wake up and I would just let out this groannnn!! CORBIN!!! So last week I just decided to do it. I did a quick check with Becky (who has read ALL the books on sleep), my mom, and Adam and I talked and we decided to let him cry it out. I know a lot of people are against Cry it Out and go for more no cry solutions. I thought I might do a moderation of the two, and was going to do more reading, but I deciced to just go for it, I had reached my limit. I had also been watching him and he goes to sleep fairly quickly at night and for naps. I was worried that if I went in and comforted him, he would just get mad and want to be nursed. He is a pretty smart guy! And he gets to nurse throughout the day any time he likes, so he is getting enough milk. Like Becky I said I would give it 4 nights, if there was no improvement after 4 nights then we would try something else out. Also, I wasn't going to let him cry for more than an hour. I had never even made it past 2 minutes how was I going to let him cry for an hour! Becky suggested taking a shower, doing something where you couldn't hear him cry. Making sure you knew nothing was wrong, he wasn't sick, he wasn't teething, not too hot, not too cold, ect. I was all prepared for him to cry when I set him down. I had decided what I wanted to do in the middle of the night was take his 3 feedings down to 1. I know he can go all night but I decided to just take out the first one and the last one before morning. He was sometimes waking up around 11-12 then at 2-3 and then again at 5 am. So I would still feed him at 2-3 but not the other two. So that first night, he went down with no problem. No crying. No waking up before we went to bed. Then at 12 am he woke up. We heard him, he fussed. We didnt' do anything. He fussed. He cried. Then he stopped. Then he started again... it was hard! I couldnt' go and take a shower, I couldn't go listen to music, it was the middle of the night. He cried hard. I wanted SOOO badly to go in and let him know I hadn't abandoned him. But I knew if I went in, it would just make it worse and I would want to comfort him which would mean picking him up which would mean nursing. None of which in themselves are bad, but I want him to learn how to go to sleep on his own. Not always nursing. Then he stopped. It only lasted 30 minutes. A LONG 30 mintues for me but only 30 minutes. Then it was quiet. He woke up an hour later but it was around 2 am, which was when I said I would feed him. So I went in and nursed him. Hugged him. Kissed him. Told him I loved him. He ate. He feel asleep. He went down. Then he woke up again around 5 am. I let him cry. This time it only lasted 10 minutes. Oh what a night! His naps that day were LONG! The second night he sleep till 4:30 so I got up and fed him. He woke up at 5:30 am so close to when it was ok to get up, he cried for a little while but Gryffin, the cat, was going crazy. He was scratching at his door, meowing at us, saying, "he's crying, go get him." Cats are so inutitive. I was trying to tell Gryffin it was ok that we knew he was crying. Corbin stopped crying but Gryffin kept meowing. So I thought, maybe something is wrong. Maybe he can sense something I can't. So I went in. Corbin was sleeping but his blanket was all twisted up around him. I tried to remove it, but he woke up! So I just brought him into bed with me and it was time to get up anyway. So each night has gotten better. We started using the sleep sack blanket so he can't get all wound up. One morning, he was facing the other direction. We also set up the video monitor that our relator gave us. Now I can watch him. One night he was crying and I was watching him. He lost his blue soft blanket bear thing (lovey) it was on the other side of him and he was reaching the wrong direction. As soon as he found it, he stopped crying and went to sleep. So I am now putting two blue softy's in with him, one on each side! And if I can see he has lost them, I will go in and give it back to him. He is not waking up 3 times any more, or at least if he is, he is going back to sleep. Last night was the first time I had to put him down without hime being really tired and let him cry putting him to bed. I took a shower. Adam said it lasted 10 minutes. I am still nursing him to sleep for naps but if he pops back up, I am letting him fuss and walking out. He doesn't even cry for a mintue and is asleep! I would always go back in right away and get him but now I don't need too! At some point I am hoping to be able to set him down for naps without nursing. But I always want to nurse him before bed. I like that time in our routine. It's been hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. I am glad he can't yell at me, or stand up in his crib, that he is learning how to put himself back to sleep before either of those things could occur. It will be interesting to see how the holidays go, when he is sleeping in other beds and the same room as us. Hopefully he will just sleep the whole night through! I love him. I think it's the best thing for all of us. But it's definitely hard. So that is what we have been going through with sleep.

This is from a while ago, but I dont' want to risk sneaking in during his nap for a photo... so just imagine him sleeping away all night long :-)

Christmas Party

Jill and Paul hosted a Christmas Party last night out on the farm. They have a funny stand of Christmas trees that have all grown together too closely. So they decided to thin them out by letting all their friends come and get a true Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, for free! Which is cheaper than our $10 tree from last year. Thanks guys!

Ours looks pretty good from one side...

But then you see the back side. Or the flat side. It was growing up close to another tree. Which we thought, perfect, it has to go up against the wall anyway...well... yes, true. But when a tree only has branches on one side, the it's lopsided. We found this out the hard way...once it was all decorated. It fell ontop of Adam today, almost ontop of Corbin. Lots of bulbs broke and luckily that was all. Corbin and Adam are both ok! Now we have not only a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but a ghetto tree too. We tied it to the wall! Maybe we will post pictures of our tree tied to the wall.

Corbin got some Juneau lovin.

Family photo! Corbin wasn't crying in this one!

Corbin and his buddy Luca, who is 4 months younger. Corbin wanted to give him a big hug! Luca wasn't so sure :-)

Too cute! We missed having Brody in this shot too, he was home with Grandma.

And last but not least, the Rock Band! Adam and Paul were pretty amazing on vocals!

Next post you can see our tree...tied to the wall!