My Birthday

My birthday happened to fall on a Saturday this year. That morning Eric made pancakes for me while we decided what to do for the day. It's not always easy to think of something on a cold, wet January day with a baby!

We pulled up a list of places that offer freebies for your birthday and made note of each place I wanted to go. First up, free drink from Starbucks on our way to the mall.

I got a free birthday gift from Sephora (skincare sample set) and then some free Auntie Ann's for a needed snack while we took a break to feed Bonnie.

We walked around a bit and then got three free cookies from Great American Cookie before we left.

Before we headed home we stopped by Nothing Bundt Cake to get a free personal birthday cake - this year I decided on white chocolate raspberry. No regrets.

That night Katie was so kind to offer to watch Bonnie for us so we could have our first date night without her! It was SO nice going out to eat just the two of us.

We went to Bonefish Grill and got a free appetizer while we waited. We realized halfway through that we hadn't talked about Bonnie at all (up to that point).

Meanwhile, she had a great time with Aunt Katie and her cousins.


Once we got home, we put Bonnie straight to bed, opened a couple gifts/cards, and had a delicious strawberry cake Benny made me.


It was such a fun day and perfect for me - I have the most fun when we're getting a good deal :) I also was just so thankful this year to be celebrating my birthday as a family of three. It's not so bad getting older!

Bonnie is 2 months old!

Bonnie is 2 months old! She is now 3 weeks past her due date and growing like a champ. She has really filled out this month, finally getting some rolls on her legs and sweet chubby cheeks. Bonnie is still breastfeeding well, eating every 3 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night. She takes 2.5 - 3 ounces from a bottle or around 3.5 ounces from the breast (her pediatrician still has us going to a breastfeeding group every so often to get her weight before and after feeds). At her 2 month appointment she came in just shy of 9 pounds at 8 pounds, 15.5 ounces. Her newborn clothes are now becoming a little snug. She is mostly in 0-3 month clothes, although a lot of them are still a little big on her.

She is awake for longer stretches in the day now, and we are just recently starting to get onto an actual schedule in terms of naps/bedtime. Her feistiness is starting to show more, she is very good at telling us when she is upset or needs something. Otherwise she is still pretty even tempered, she doesn't seem to get fussy for no reason.

Bonnie's sleep has still been a bit of a toss up, having some good nights and some bad. Thankfully we are getting more good nights than bad. Within the last week since we have been getting her on more of a routine, she has had much better sleep at night. She typically goes to sleep around 7:30 and will either wake up twice to feed at 11:30 and 3:30, or three times around 10:30, 1:30, and 4:40. Then she is up for the day around 7 in the morning. She still sleeps in the rock n play in our room but she has been taking naps in her room during the day. We are also working to start getting her comfortable taking naps in her crib every so often.

Bonnie still loves to be held as much as possible. She likes to be worn in a wrap, and doesn't particularly love the swing but every once in a while shows interest. She likes tummy time and is still working on her head/neck control. Most recently she has started smiling!! This is the most exciting milestone so far. We still have to work for her smiles but we are sure now they aren't gas related. She also has the sweetest dimples when she smiles. We are loving starting to see glimpses of her personality.

Grammy and Opa Visit

This past weekend we were fortunate enough to have my grandparents drive all the way up from Texas to visit us! We love them so much and so very much appreciate our time with them.

They hardly got past the front door before Bonnie was in Opa's arms. She couldn't of been more content with him.

Later that afternoon we went over to Katie's house - their bunch is a little more lively than ours at this stage!

We got to play cards with them, which is where our family's love for games started.


Bonnie slept through it.


The next day we went to watch Eleanor and Jane's soccer games.

The grandkids love their Grandma!

Which is true for our generation too :)



Later that day we took a walk down to marina.

We relaxed on the screened in porch.

And the girls got as much Grammy time as possible.


Unfortunately Opa wasn't feeling great this day, but we're so thankful we had a full day with him the day before.


We spent lots of time just relaxing and enjoying each others company.
The weekend went way too quickly but we enjoyed every minute we had with them! Thank you so much for driving all this way - we love you both so much!!

Christmas

This year we stayed in town the week of Christmas. My mom, Dave, and Eric offered to come down to make it easier on all of us since Bonnie is still so new. Earlier in the week we took Bonnie to see Santa for the first time!

One of my friends got her a Christmas outfit at my baby shower just "in case" she was born before the holiday.


It went great - she basically slept through it as she does most things.

The night before Christmas eve we drove around looking at lights. Benny even brought a thermos full of hot chocolate and a bag of marshmallows.


Christmas Eve we met up with Katie and family to take a walk around Colonial Williamsburg. We had such great weather all week! Sunny and in the 60s.



That night we attended the Christmas Eve service at church.


On Christmas morning we took our time getting up and moving. Our mornings have been much slower since Bonnie entered the picture - it takes a while to get everyone ready for the day!

Benny's sister sent Bonnie a first Christmas outfit and bow.



We opened a few gifts from Eric's family and each other.

Christmas afternoon we went over to Katie's house to lounge around and hang out. They also made a delicious roast for dinner!

Cousins!

Friday our family drove down to celebrate with us!


We did our traditional 'Christmas Eve' pizza and games. I always love these game nights when we have everyone together - it's so fun!

We had 'Christmas morning' at Katie's house. We had delicious cinnamon rolls and an egg/sausage bake for breakfast.


Mom has really been getting into crocheting and has made some impressive sweaters and head wraps for the kids.

Bonnie is in my arms - she slept and ate through the whole occasion, as usual.

But she did get a little play time on the floor with her cousins.

Thank you for hosting us all Katie!

It was such a warm day - it felt like Spring! We all took a walk down to the marina and enjoyed the day. That night we had some yummy lasagna and got to play new games Eric got us for Christmas. We had such a good time, we love when everyone is together. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!