Christmas:
The night before Christmas, we all went to mass and then everyone came over to our house "for drinks" but what my dad didn't realize was that was when we were giving him his outdoor bar that Robert made him. Robert spent a LOT of time on this thing - pictures below, and I have to say that was probably the highlight of Christmas. Apart from being Colby's first, of course. Since it was Colby's first Christmas, although the rest of my family was in town, Robert, Colby and I had our own Christmas and THEN went over to my parents to open gifts. This was a big deal for me because this was the first time that I was in town, but I didn't participate in the 7 am ritual of gift-opening! So ultimately a very good Christmas. The day after Christmas, we all went down to the "party house" at the Frio River and stayed with all of my aunts, uncles and cousins - and Mema and Great Uncle Harold! We had a game tournament of bocci ball, scattergories and washers which Robert and my cousin Casey tied for first place! It was great to be outside and playing, but this was the first time I realized this pregnancy has been giving me sleep anxiety...more on that later.
Front of the bar
Playing a game on Christmas
Colby's moose hat and Christmas outfit - thanks Aunt Angela and Amanda!
After mass on Christmas
At the party house
Colby's playing washers!
New Year's Eve:
My three sisters and I left the "party house" early to head to NYC! Angela lives there now, so we went partly to visit her and partly to spend NYE in NYC! This was the first girl's trip we've taken all together, and it was the first time we could all drink (apart from me, of course, although I guess I could have, if I wanted to). This trip to NYC was a bit different because we had all been to NYC several times before, so we skipped a bunch of the tourist stuff (although, we did see a show on Broadway). Mostly, though, we just tooled around East Village, where Angela lives and visited shops and bars and restaurants near her home that she hadn't tried yet. It was great! Then on New Year's Eve, we had booked a comedy show at a club near Times Square. It was madness trying to get there and Angela had to sweet-talk/lawyer-argue some policemen into letting us through some barriers, but we ultimately made it! We had made the decision early on not to be in Times Square at midnight, because we would've had to be out there in the cold from 2 pm, with no food, no bathrooms and alcohol was not allowed. So we decided the comedy club NEAR Times Square at midnight was the next best thing. HOWEVER, the show ended at 11:45 pm, and then a guy stood up and said if you want to go out to Times Square just head up these stairs and take a right! So we did...and there we were! Before we knew it the countdown started, midnight was here, music played, confetti flew and we found ourselves in between barriers in Times Square and only had to wait 15 minutes out in the cold! That was one for the books - New Year's Eve in Times Square
Colby's Birthday:
Next up, on January 6, Colby turned 1 year old! We decided, based on the fact that I wanted to make a lion cake, that it would be safari-themed. We invited some family members that live in Houston, my parents, some friends of mine with kids around the same age, and our neighbors. Bonus: my godparents were in that weekend visiting my parents so they came too! We had lots of snacky type food set out and the kids had fun just playing with all of Colby's toys. For decorations, we hung streamers and balloons, I printed out some pictures of Colby at each month of his life, and hung it as a banner behind his high chair. We set out some of his animals on the table, and of course made a lion cake. I also order a shirt from etsy that had his name and a lion on the front of a big number one. It's super cute, and he still wears it now! On top of doing the usual ceremonial cake-eating and present-opening, I decided it would be a good time to reveal the gender of our next baby! So Colby opened the present and out popped...a BLUE balloon! We gave out bubbles as party favors to the little ones. I don't know much about throwing baby birthday parties, but all in all, I'd say it was a success!
Speaking of a blue balloon...
Here's a pregnancy update, too! I am now just over 28 weeks pregnant, and since I'll be having a scheduled c section this time around, we will meet this new little one in no more than 11 weeks! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone! For the most part, it has been as easy as my pregnancy with Colby - no morning sickness, no cravings, no real symptoms at all, EXCEPT I seem to have trouble sleeping. At first it was sporadic, but these last four weeks I've averaged about 2 nights a week that I either haven't been able to fall asleep or if I fall asleep, if I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall BACK asleep! My OB assures me that this is a pregnancy symptom, so ironically, I can't wait until this baby comes, so I can get some SLEEP (even if it is only in 2-3 hour increments)! Other than that, this baby is growing healthily and I've had a very uneventful pregnancy thus far. I hope this baby can stay cooking a little longer than Colby did, since he was born just over 37 weeks, but we will see... :) I've been a little better at taking bump pictures every other week, so I put together a little documentation of my growth (I definitely popped from 5 to 6 months, and that was two weeks ago...!):
Finally, I just wanted to boast a bit about how smart Colby is - he can say "Dada" in a meaningful way, and "Boom!" which means "please stack up my blocks so that I may knock them down". He also can make animal noises for elephant, snake and cow (although sometimes he makes an elephant sound for zebra as well...). He's walking very sturdily now and thinks turning lights on and off is the funniest thing in the world!
Kevin, Shelley, Nicholas and Sveta
The Kenneth Butshceks, complete with new additions - Luke and Mita!
Colby got in the Xmas spirit with his outfit and played outside
Angela playing with Colby
Amanda, Colby and me!
The White Elephant exchange - there were over 40 participants!
