We have company...

The Mundays are sleeping over! We had them over for dinner and we are having a little New Year's Eve party--the kids are asleep upstairs. Our guest room is getting put to use for the first time since mom and dad left.

Things are going well here. Dylan continues to thrive on his bananas and milk. He is sleeping about 11 hours a night now, and Martin and I are LOVING it. He doesn't wake up until around 8:30 or 9:00 am. Tonight we even got a special treat--he went to sleep without crying for an hour or so. We've decided to have the Mundays over every night as they seem to be our lucky charm for getting Dylan to sleep.

Christmas was a great day, and Boxing Day was good as well. We spent both days over at the Gilberts' house, and got some great presents. Our Christmas was much more modest than it has been in the past, but we still enjoyed it. We've got some serious cleaning done in the house and bought some good stuff at Ikea. We also visited with Martin's friend (ex-girlfriend) Charlotte. I really like her though--weirdly enough. I never thought I'd get along with one of Martin's ex girlfriends, but she's a lovely person.

Sorry--this is a really rambling post. I basically just wanted to say that we're all doing well, have enjoyed Martin's time off work, and loved our Christmas gifts. And I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. I can't believe it's only a few hours away from 2008!

Well it is in fact Christmas morning, and we have had a jolly old time with young master Dylan. He opened his first ever Christmas present, although not the one we hoped (we bought him something on ebay but we did leave it a little late so it hasn't arrived yet - pictures will follow though!)

"how do i get this infernal wrapping off!!"

We have opened our gifts to each other here and also Dylan's as well. Thank you Sharlene for the smuggled goods, which Jamie found very amusing. The Frog is adorable too, as you can see below!

Dylan really likes his frog - especially the blue ring

Velicia and Eric bought us a delightful wall decoration which will be going up very soon, although we do need to find out if it removable before it gets applied as we may be changing the wall colour and don't want to have to lose it. But we definitely love it.

Hope everyone out there in the big wide world has or is having a great Christmas day and we wish very much that we could be with you! See you all soon-ish!

Extreme close up in the bath. Check out those baby blues!

Dylan enjoys his second banana. I couldn't get a video clip of his first one as Martin was at work. He LOVES his solid food!

"Daddy, I'm too cute to drown!"
Dylan and daddy have a laugh in the bath.

Dylan enjoys some tummy time. He'll be crawling before we know it!

Sorry about the delay...

I hadn't realized how long it had been since my last update. It's just been mental around here--pretty much as soon as I get Dylan to bed I've been crashing. But things are going well.

It's hard to believe that it's nearly Christmas! Martin's last day at work was yesterday--the Place is closed until January 2nd. Dylan and I are really looking forward to having him home with us for a while. They had a good run up to Christmas, with Martin working 60 hour weeks. Hard for me, but we need the money, so it's been good.

I'm doing ok. Coming down with a cold, but other than that I'm good. I'm looking forward to Christmas--everything is wrapped and under our lovely Christmas tree. I think I bought some stuff that Martin will like, and I'm pretty confident about the gifts we bought for family members (can't believe you opened yours early, mom!). As long as the mother in law likes hers, that's all that matters to me. She is the one who is the most difficult to please.

In Dylan news--we have had a full week of GREAT times. I started giving him banana on Wednesday, and he loves it! I am mixing a little mashed banana with baby rice and my milk, and he gobbles it down every afternoon and then feeds some more. He is sleeping more at night, AND he is taking naps during the day. He's so much happier now and I enjoy feeding him. See the video clip of Dylan having his banana. We are going to give him mashed potatoes on Tuesday.

Anyway, I am going to post a few pictures now and then go to bed. Dylan just dropped off to sleep. Just one more thing--Dylan fell asleep at about half past ten last night and didn't stir until 8:30 this morning. I love this sleeping thing!

Dylan is starting to play with his toys now! Of course, he only shows interest in things he can fit in his mouth. Still, my little guy is so much fun to watch playing!

This woman's name is Jennifer. I met her at WI (That's Women's Institute) and she reminded me so much of my dear friend Becca (see House of Wilcox Rocks) that I just had to get a picture. She's lovely and I think we'll end up being pretty good friends.

Dylan and daddy decorate the Christmas tree

Dylan and Marley, the next door neighbor. Marley was born just 8 days before our little guy, is about 4 inches shorter, and weighs 1 1/2 lbs more.

Dylan pulling a Michael Jackson as he rides downstairs for the day in Mommy's laundry basket.

Mommy, me and the Christmas tree!

A whole new me!

Well, maybe that's a bit dramatic. My hair started falling out about 3 weeks ago (post pregnancy hair loss--ugh!), and it has been driving me nuts. So I took the plunge and got it cut yesterday. Check out the before and after pics! Sharon (the hairdresser at The Pamper Place) cut nearly 12 inches off my hair. And I wasn't at all sad to see it go. I feel like I just lost 10 lbs and I feel cute again. I almost felt like I was hiding behind all that hair.

The family is doing well. We got a Christmas tree, and it's up in our front room though not decorated yet. I think Dylan is really going to enjoy the lights.

I'm going to bed now, since the little monkey is asleep. He's stopped sleeping through the night. He was awake at 3 am last night. Argh!!! I almost wish he'd never slept through at all as I was just getting used to sleeping all night long. At least he goes right back to sleep as soon as he's fed. I want a nap!!!

The old hair

The new haircut!

Not much going on...

Dylan is sound asleep--he actually went down without a fight tonight. As he gets older and more aware of his surroundings, he sleeps less and less. He just wants to be up and playing and looking around. But I find that I don't mind so much, now that he is a happy and smiling baby.

For the last three months people have been asking me if he's a good baby. I've very dutifully said yes, but now that he actually IS being a good baby, I'm beginning to realize just how high maintenance he's been. Honestly, no wonder I was at my wits' end! I felt like maybe I was just being a big baby about the whole motherhood thing--that maybe something was wrong with me for not loving every second. Now I know that it wasn't me--he was a very demanding little guy and took up every minute of my day. Now he will happily sit and entertain himself for 30-45 minutes at a time, and he really is a joy.

I'm starting to feel like a human being again instead of just a milk cow and zombie. And the more Dylan and I are together, the more we are learning to live with each other. He smiles more for me than for anyone else. It irritates Martin, but I love it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I adore my baby! He has totally taken over my life. Every waking minute is spent with him and I am consumed by his care. But we have a good time together, and even though I've never worked so hard in my life I have also never done anything as rewarding. There are times when I wish I was still childless (I never thought I'd ever say that!) but those times are few and far between. And when Dylan smiles at me, or giggles and bashfully looks away with that adorable little grin of his, my heart melts. I can't imagine not being his mother.

So, I think Dylan has discovered that he is totally irresistible and i think he is mounting a major charm offensive against the whole world. Just recently I think he has been working on his "what me, I didn't do it look!" And you know what? it is working how can you stay mad at this face!

What, little old me? How could you possibly think I have ever done anything wrong!?

OK, now that you have entertained me, I am finished with you. You may go. Well, be gone!

So you see, no-one can resist me. My plans are falling into place, first Barton, then England. Soon, the world will follow! Mwoa ha ha ha ha ha!

.....Dylan, I told you, no world domination until AFTER your second birthday! Hi, Martin here. Now that I have Dylan sorted, let me know what we have been up to. Christmas plans are heating up here in Barton. We had the Christmas Fair here last weekend which wasn't very popular from what our local publications would have us believe, but I had a great weekend as we were super busy at work. Now that December has arrived, the Christmas party season is hot on it's heels. We had one at The Place last night and they are going to be coming thick and fast for the next few weeks. Which means I am going to be a busy bunny for that time, which is good and bad. Bad because I will be at work a lot more. Good because it will help our bank balance a lot!.

Jamie, Dylan and I are looking forward to the Christmas Market in Lincoln next weekend. It is one of the biggest in Europe and is awesome. WE will try to have some pictures for you if the weather is good. Going to go now so I can watch the best show in the world; MATCH OF THE DAY!!!!

Smiley Baby...

Dylan woke up on Saturday morning and decided to be a happy, smiley little baby. Not that he wasn't adorable before, but he was really cranky in the afternoon and early evening, and made my life difficult from about 3 pm until he went to bed at about 9 pm. Now he is cute. Still high maintenance (we have to hold him and play with him all evening or he cries), but now he is cute when we play with him. He has started giggling and smiling a lot more now, and as he becomes more aware of his surroundings, I don't have to entertain him as much. He likes just looking around and taking it all in. It's a welcome break for me!

I got him weighed at the baby clinic yesterday. He's now tipping the scales at a whopping 15 lbs. 3 oz. He still isn't fat, though he's got chubby little cheeks. He's really long and lean, with just a nice amount of baby fat. I really do have the cutest baby in the world. I really hope he holds on to his cuteness and he is a good looking little boy, teenager, and man. Life tends to be a little bit easier if you are attractive.

Martin and I are both doing well. Life is pretty monotonous at the moment, but it'll be busier and more exciting over Christmas. We've got the Lincoln Christmas market coming up, and Martin has a week off work between Christmas and New Years. The house is getting better--I'm taking an interest in making it look like a home now that it's not a builder's yard in the front room, and it's starting to look really cozy.

In other news, I have seized the financial reins back from Martin. He has been in charge of our finances since we moved here, and he hasn't done a very good job. Now that I am at home and have (a little bit) more free time than him, I am taking over again. My goal is to have our credit card paid off as soon as possible and to know EXACTLY what's going in and out of the bank each month. Once the card is paid off, we'll take a trip over to visit the family. It's only been a week since I took over, but we're already doing a little bit better. We've certainly spent less money this week than we normally do. The better I am at managing our money, the sooner we can come over for a visit. That's a pretty good incentive for me to budget well. I want to come and visit the family SO BAD!!!

Anyway, Dylan is crying and needs some attention. I'll try to get some more pictures and maybe a video clip posted soon. The little guy is getting so big and so adorable!

Random picture of someone's garden in Barton. I saw it and had to laugh. Take a closer look--there are 13 garden gnomes, plus a few fairies and a turtle. I just thought to myself, someone mentioned about 12 years ago that they liked gnomes, and that's all they've gotten for Christmas since then!

Dylan-chillin' in his Reebok classics and little hoodie. Grandad Gilbert says he looks like a chav. I think he looks adorable.

Dylan's baby blues--that's right, I have a blue eyed baby. It's a miracle, and his eyes are SO beautiful!

Thanksgiving...

A quick and early happy Thanksgiving to all the friends and family in the U.S.A. I am hosting a Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, but it really is going to be dinner--5:30pm since it's (obviously) not a holiday over here. I've got one pie done and another in the works, plus all of my vegetables are chopped and ready to cook tomorrow. The turkey is thawed in the fridge as well, and I am ready to cook everything tomorrow. Of course, there will only be 5 people for dinner so that takes away some of the stress of entertaining. Plus, nobody over here is really bothered. They're pretty much just showing up for the meal. Cathy told us she was coming, then made other plans! But now she's coming again, which is good.

Dylan is upstairs crying his eyes out. Since he got sicki (a little cold--nothing serious) he hasn't been settling very well at night. Once he is asleep he stays asleep for 9 or 10 hours, but getting him there is quite a chore. We bathe him, feed him, cuddle him, burp him, change him--pretty much do everything we can think of--and then let him cry for 45 minutes to an hour. I will just say at this point that I find it much easier to just let him cry than I ever thought I would. I just feel sorry for the neighbors. We don't have the thickest walls in the world!

In other Dylan news, he is now weighing in at a whopping 14 lbs. 13 oz. His weight gain seems to have leveled off a little bit. He only gained 3 oz. last week instead of nearly a pound. And that slowed weight gain is even WITH the addition of baby rice to his diet. That's right--Dylan is having solids (sort of). I started giving him the cereal on Saturday after much deliberation. I loved the fact that he was exclusively breast fed, but I was sitting and feeding him for about 3 hours straight every afternoon, and it was just too draining for me. I'm making the cereal up with breast milk though, and that makes me feel a little bit better about the whole thing. Anyway, he loves the cereal and is happy and healthy. And now I only have to feed him for about an hour in the afternoon. That's a big improvement.

Martin is getting a lot done on the house--the entrance hallway is nearly ready for plastering, and once that's done we will block off the old door and open up the new one. Exciting stuff! We also finally hung a towel rack, toilet roll holder, and mirror in the bathroom and got a great rug for Dylan's nursery (hooray for Ikea--the greatest store ever)!

Anyway, must dash. I need to make my pumpkin pie still. I just needed to update everyone. Next time it'll be pictures. Dylan gets cuter every day!

My first night out...

Last night I went to WI (Womens' Institute) and Martin stayed home with Dylan. He bathed him, fed him, and put him to bed without me, and he did a GREAT job. When I got home Dylan was in bed asleep and Martin was playing on the internet and watching Gladiator on TV. The only way it could have been any better is if he had tidied the house up a little bit!

We had the weekly weigh in today, and Dylan is now up to 14 lbs. 10 oz. He's so long though that he doesn't look fat at all. He does have a cute double chin and round little cheeks, but he's a long, lean looking baby.

Dylan also has his first passport. It's a british one, as we were just able to send away for that one and didn't have to make an appointment at the embassy like we'll need to for his American passport. His picture looks so silly, but adorable.

The two of us have been getting steadily better all this week, and now feel almost normal. Dylan had his first ever medicine (Calpol--it's like children's Tylenol I think). It was strawberry flavored, and he LOVED the taste of it. I'm still debating whether or not to start giving him baby rice cereal. I'm so torn! Any advice on that?

Incidentally, I love getting advice from people who already have kids. Having never done this before, I'm a little bit unsure most of the time. Keep the comments coming!!!