Wednesday, December 29, 2010

A Christmas Trio

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! Like a beautiful and delicious three layer cake, it's best described in three parts-Christmas eve, Christmas day, and the winter wonderland afterwards!

On Christmas Eve we started a new family tradition- a birthday cake for Jesus. We read the Christmas story from Matthew, sang happy birthday and enjoyed our cake as we celebrated the true meaning of Christmas. A few days earlier we enjoyed a joint church service to rejoice in the saviors birth and great sacrifice for us-a gift beyond measure and much greater than anything we will ever recieve wrapped under the tree. Thank you Jesus for your great and never ending kindness to us!
On Christmas morning the three of us shared a special time at home exchanging our family gifts and watching Evan with excitement as he welcomed his very merry first Christmas. At 8 months, I think he was more interested in the wrapping and bows, but was spoiled sweet none the less! After his morning nap, we headed to my parents house for more presents and a delicious prime rib Christmas dinner.

 Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way-oh what fun it is to ride to Goldsboro for Christmas day! See father and son looking dapper and dashing in their new winter wear...
After an entire day full of ribbons, bows and gifts galore, we wrapped up Christmas with ice cream Sundays, a fun game and a surprise giftcard palooza (which later made for an amazing Smithfield shopping trip-or two)!
The day after Christmas we were able to spend time and celebrate with Chris' mom and family who came down from PA. It would seem that they brought the northern weather with them as we awoke to a winter wonderland that day. White as far as the eye could see-and just one day after Christmas! It's now 3 days later and there's still snow and ice on the ground-watch out Wilson!
Evan's first Christmas was one to remember-thanks mom and dad, grandmas and grandpas, for making it so special!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas weekend! :-)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Bows are not for boys

 Dear Mommy,
In case you didn't notice,

I do NOT-well, maybe a little bit...

 Nope, definitely do not...

   
do bows!

Monday, December 20, 2010

A Gingerbread House Decorating Party!

Graham crackers, royal icing, great friends and candy galore makes for a  delightful gingerbread house decorating party!! I was SO excited to host this delicious get together-what a sweet success it was!




And the best part is, the houses turned out super cute! A special thanks to all the mama's and their little elves for coming over-it was a ton of fun and hopefully a "first annual!"
 

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Winter news

There's nothing like a parade of pictures to catch up on December! I've been so busy living and enjoying life lately that I haven't taken out much time to stop and blog about it. Between the holiday hustle and bustle and the ever present needs of our 7 month old bouncy baby boy, December has warped by us lightning speed and left us breathless in it's dust-or should I say snow!

Where to start?! Last Friday we were Raleigh bound for Chris' birthday. Happy 26th babe!
While we ended up having to take back his main gift, he did happen upon a brand new "Droid"  phone at Best Buy, and was more than happy with the trade off. And, since the phone was FREE that weekend, it was a Win-Win-Win situation for all. :-) He also got new running shoes and shorts, and is excited to put them to good use once we get our gym membership going.

Evan is almost 8 months old now and I can hardly believe it! I'm not comfortable at all with this new age, it's far too close to the big "one" and I want him to stay my sweet chubby cheeked baby forever! Seriously, could someone invent a "time freezer?" It would totally make Regis and Kelly's top 10 Christmas gifts, and I would be first in line!
On the work front, Chris continues to love his job at BB&T-especially during this fun Christmas season of cookie swaps, holiday parties and secret santa! :-) For me, this month marks a huge milestone as I wrap up work with GlaxoSmithKline to delightfully don the title of full time stay at home mom! Working as full time home manager, wife and mother is an honor and joy, and Chris and I are so thankful that moving to Wilson has made this dream a reality for us!

Also headlining the Scott family news this week-Dinner with the Powell's and company, Christmas shopping, a second snow and goodies from the Grandmas! Evan says thank you for his adorable winter outfit and soft, cuddly Christmas story bear...I think somebody's ready for his first Christmas!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

7-and a half- Month Summary

Okay so I'm a little late w/ this 7 month update-I plead December! To start, I frequently turn to the "Babywise mom" blog for helpful hints and references for this or that. I especially find her "baby summary's" by week tab helpful, so here goes Evan's 7 month update in the same manner. I am really loving this age!

Nursing
Over the past month we shifted to a 4 hour schedule and he is now down to nursing 4x/day. Thankfully, the transition was smooth as butter so I know he was good and ready. After much deliberation, I decided to drop the dream feed cold turkey and it went surprisingly well. The next night was a repeat success, and so on...praise God!

Solids and finger foods
Evan is now eating stage 1 & 2 solids for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and enjoying his share of Gerber "puffs" for snacks throughout the day. He isn't into self feeding as much yet as he still has the fist thing going on and hasn't yet found his pincer skills-but with his appetite and determination, I'm sure it's just around the corner! We also started his sippy cup(water) at 6 months, and have almost got that down save the head tilting part. He also likes to play with his food, often putting his fingers in his mouth, sucking down every last drop that fell on his bib, and banging his sippy cup like a drum. Mealtime manners-it's a work in progress!

Sleeping & naps
Nothing too new here, he still sleeps like a dream through the night and takes his naps by the clock. He is still taking that third nap, and we've been yo yo-ing between taking/dropping it these past few weeks. I think I've finally decided to let go and give it another week or two since he obviously still needs it, and then get to work phasing it out as our schedule permits.

Eczema
At around 3-4 months it became apparent that Evan's skin was getting increasingly irritated, dry and red. Like father like son, Evan has classic childhood eczema. While it's fairly common(occurring in 1 in 5 infants), the odds are all but multiplied when genetic. It ebbs and flows with the weather and what I suspect to be food allergies of some kind-fall was wonderful but this cold, dry wintery season is no fun!
Because there is no real cure, all we can do is moisturize, moisturize and moisturize, and treat symptoms as they arise. We are currently treating his flares w/ hydro cortisone, but all that really does is mask the physical symptoms(aka redness) so the best thing I've found is to be diligently pro-active and avoid the known triggers. What this means to our daily living is being careful w/ his clothing(cotton) and diapers, using "free" detergents, and being selective with our soaps and bathing routines. We use a humidifier in his room to keep moisture in the air, and also lotion him up at least 2x a day using Aquaphor or Eucerin cream. I'm praying this is something that he will grow out of with age, but if not, that's okay-there are much worse things out there than dry skin and I'm so thankful for my healthy boy! Babywise mom also has a great post on eczema-check it out here for more information.

Milestones
Crawling? Almost but not yet. Currently, his favorite mode de transoportaion is rolling.

The other thing that stands out to me from last month is his new vocabulary. He is a chatterbox when he wakes up in the morning! It started w/ the "Baaa's" and then the  "Dadadadaaas" and recently, Maaaamaamaama." I'm not sure he's quite connecting the words w/ their meanings yet, but I can dream! On a related note, he's also become increasingly attentive to his "baby Einstein" dvds and favorite books; it's so fun to see the little wheels turning behind his eyes as he continues to learn new things everyday.

Finally, our schedule:
7am-Wake up, nurse
7:30-Breakfast, usually rice cereal w/ Apple, then playtime
9am-Nap
10:30-Wake up, nurse, playtime and errands
12:00-Lunch, usually a veggie
1pm-Nap
2:45-Wake up, nurse, playtime
5:30ish-Family dinner(veggie + fruit)
6-6:45-Short nap, then nurse, playtime
7:30-Pj's, story, bedtime

Monday, December 6, 2010

Weekend Countdown

This first weekend of December was one to remember. Here are my top five favorite highlights, in very particular order. ;-)

5. Sweet, buttery movie theater popcorn
4. A delicous lunch in Goldsboro at Ruby Tuesday's to celebrate our December birthdays
3. Our first North Carolina snow and during the Wilson Christmas parade no less!
2. Getting my Christmas cards in the mail
and...drumroll please...


1. The engagement of my sister to her longtime beau Ryan. We are so excited for them and I still can't believe my little sister is getting married. Welcome to the family Uncle Ryan, and great job picking out the ring!! :-)