The Christmas Chaos of 2013

The Proctors had an amazing 2013 holiday season!  I was fortunate to have several days off for Christmas and New Year and we whooped it up!  It was a crazy sprint to the finish to get ready, but we did it.  We celebrated Christmas with the Dee family on Christmas Eve afternoon and followed suit with the Legere (my Mom's family) family gathering.  The kids opened gifts and the big kids had a Yankee Swap.  Food was delicious!

Christmas Day was super special - I woke up before the kids and anxiously awaited their expression in seeing Santa's loot!  Totally worth the hype of having Eddie the Elf, being good for Santa, late night wrapping, and online gift buying.  Abby.was.ecstatic!  We had a bit of a lazy day before we got on the road to Woburn.  We had a late afternoon dinner before staying the night.

A few days later we celebrated with the Dee side up in Turner.  Yummy breakfast of steak and eggs and my favorite tradition of the gift auction. The kids had a blast!

The holiday season is over and we relished the 9 days off from work and with our family.  So.much.fun.  

Sam's One Year Stats

Sam had his first year appointment on and we're in good shape.  We hit on all of Sam's success in his first year and according to Dr. Erin he's doing great!

He's our peanut!

Height:  28.5" (10%)
Weight: 19lb, 2oz (17%)
Head circumference: 18.25" (59%)

He's a pretty sweet rockstar, that Sam I am.

Happy FIRST Birthday Sam!

Oh yes it's true! Our little son is turning one!   One.

Sam is an amazing little guy.  Healthy, funny, adorable, inquisitive, sweet, snuggly, squirmy, and curious. He's starting to say more sounds, eat more and more meals with us, and to confidently take more steps.  Sam continues to sleep well (knock on wood!), smiles constantly, snuggles his head in your neck for a hug.  He loves playing with his oversized lego's, walker, and his new cars.

Sam has his check up tomorrow and we're expecting a good verdict.  He has 10 or so teeth, feels like he weighs a ton, and his nogging is huge!  In more personal news, I officially stopped pumping on Monday and we're about to finish up the last two bags of frozen breast milk tomorrow.  I won't lie - this part is a little bitter sweet. For the past 10 months or so, I have pumped 5+ times a day and became an exclusive pumper in the breast feeding world.  We were fortunate to give Sam only breast milk until recently when we added whole milk.  We are working on using only sippy cups, but this sensitive (I take after my Dad) little guy is going to give us a run for our money with that one. 

We absolutely adore watching Abby and Sam play together.  She is such a great big sister and helps him with everything - including opening his birthday gifts.  We are so lucky to have two awesome kiddos.

The Magic of Christmas

We get ready for Christmas the Friday after Thanksgiving - it gives respect for the day of gluttony and family.  And, also something to look forward to.  We went to the tree farm right around the corner from us and cut down our own little seven foot tree.  Because we shook out the squirrels and we didn't to wait for it to "fall" we were able to decorate the tree that night!  What a sight!  It's a beauty- Candles are in the windows, wreath is on its way, stockings are hung, and Tchotchke stuff has been displayed.  I recently had to explain the definition of tchotshke to Tim as he used the term out of context.  No, Tim, the advent calendar is not "shlotskey".  Well, maybe, but it's not.

Many families struggle with the commercialism of Christmas.  We try blend a lot of Christ with the Santa aspect and think we do a pretty good job.  Our nativity is up and we talk about how we celebrate Jesus' birthday.  I do agree that society as a whole has gone a bit overboard with the Black Friday sales, etc.  I read a quote recently, "Only in America do we trample over shoppers to get the best deal a day after we celebrate all that we are thankful for."  How true. Good thing I did my shopping online.

Eddie the Elf has come to visit us as well! He came to visit a few years ago and has been checking on Abby, and now Sam, for two years.  Abby named him Eddie, after the character in the movie.  Many people claim he's a creepy looking elf.  While I don't deny that, the joy and fun that all of us have with Eddie is fabulous.  He reports back to Santa and misbehavings or good deeds the kids do and sometimes even gets into a little mischief himself.  Eddie is a lot of fun to have around!  Abby's anticipation, excitement, and creativeness is pure magic.  Isn't that what part of this season is all about?

Thanksgiving round up!

We had a blast visiting the Proctors down south!  We enjoy great company, lots of laughs, amazing food,  a lot of charades, and a little soccer.  The B family are hostests with the mostests - a beautiful table spread.  Mr. Sam even took his first couple of steps! Abby had her birthday part five and Sam even had a taste at opening gifts.  Boy, oh boy do we have a lot to be thankful for.  We had a lovely time!