Merry Christmas!

Whew! It's been a while since I've posted anything - I wonder what's been keeping me so busy;)! On Christmas eve I woke up feeling so blessed and thanking God for many things, specifically for the way I was awakened. Tiernan often wakes up talking and even laughing, and that was one of those mornings. How great is that? What a great way to wake up - to your baby laughing! Well, that morning Tiernan treated us to a gift we've been working very hard to get - his first rollover. He would lie there forever on his tummy and get soooo close, but he'd never go all of the way over. G and I figured it was because he is so big - it takes alot of work moving all of that mass! I was on the phone with Mom and Dad when he did it, so they said they were happy they could "be there" for the big event. That night we went to G's Aunt Kathy's house for his family's get together. What fun! Unfortunately we couldn't stay as long as we would have liked, but it was wonderful to see everyone.

Skye, G, Jeanne, and Elias

Kealan loving Christmas and her Princesses from Brent and Blake!

Christmas day was so relaxed, we didn't even get to opening the kids' stockings from Santa until the next day! Grandma and Jaypa stayed the night with us, so we had Christmas breakfast with them - you guessed it - Bacon Maple Bar sandwiches, quiche and fruit. YUM! I have to tell you that when we got together with our dear friends Chuck, Nicole, Dave, and Rebecca a few weeks back, Rebecca brought Bacon Maple Bar sandwiches for us and she's a vegetarian! We spent all day with The Lillies (Jeff, Joelle, Mara, Trynne, and Bergen) and had such a blast! It was very laid back and we spent a good portion of the afternoon playing with their new gift from Santa - Rock Band on XBox. SO MUCH FUN! G and I have never been interested in gaming at all, but now we're talking of treating ourselves to a system for our birthdays just so we can play Rock Band! It was a rad (yes, I'm bringing "rad" back for 2008 - watch out), however we missed Mom and Dad back in Ohio terribly, and it's just not the same without them!

Auntie Joelle and Tiernan

I had a bit of a let down on the morning after Christmas - Santa always brings a Lifesavers Storybook for Kealan, and now Tiernan, and of course G and I get to enjoy them until the kids can. Every other year of my life they have come with a roll of Butter Rum flavor - the only one I'm really interested in. This year, nada. How could Wrigley's mess with tradition?! I called them immediately and complained. Apparently other people have been pretty peeved as well, because the woman told me they have received many complaints about it. So I've been on the hunt for rolls of Lifesavers Butter Rum and I can't find them anywhere! I tend to get pretty obsessive about things like this, so one day I will get my hands on them!



On Thursday I was walking through my living room when I happened to see a cop car pull up directly across the street. I called out to G that fact, and watched as he got out of the car with his gun out, and started walking up the hill. Some other cops followed as they showed up, and had their guns out as well as they hid behind the trash cans and recycling containers at our neighbor's house. I quickly made sure everyone had their shoes and coats ready, grabbed my keys, diaper bag and Teddy Bear, and watched from my upstairs window. My neighbor, Lisa jumped in her car with her kids and took off down the street as I was talking to my neighbor/friend April, telling her what was happening. April ran outside to tell Lisa to get in April's house. Lisa thought someone was in her house because she heard a bunch of noises upstairs, so she called 911. It turns out that the air hockey table they had just bought and was still packaged had tipped over, causing other boxes to tip too. I'm so glad she listened to her instincts and called for help. I told her that they are there for a reason and to mind them!



On Friday Tiernan turned 6 months! My Oh My! I can't believe how the time flies now! Even faster than with Kealan. If I had a third child I can't even imagine how fast it would go. His appointment went great. Dr. Joe is still very impressed with his size and strength. He's slowed a little with his weight gain, and is now touching the charts in that regard - 21 pounds, 13 oz. He is still off the charts with his height - 28 3/4 inches. The nurse cracked me up when she asked how many times a day he ate solids. I said "not yet"! She couldn't believe it. I told her that we weren't starting solids until 6 months, and that he just had his second taste of formula the day before, just to make sure there weren't any issues there. She decided that I simply make cream. She might be right! He gets his first taste of rice cereal for New Years! We do have to call Children's Hospital for an assessment, though. For his Occipital Plagiocephaly or flat head. Tiernan was born with a bump on the back right side of his head, so from day one he naturally rested his head on the back left side. Since he was about a week old, I have been fighting against that with everything I can do. It was somewhat of an issue with Kealan due to her stroke, so I recognized what was going to happen pretty quickly. We rarely laid him on his back, only to sleep, and when he was sitting in his car seat, he always had a roll to turn his head. When we were out and about, instead of being in his car seat, I would carry him in the Moby or Baby Bjorn to take the pressure off of his head. We put all of his toys and crib soothers on his right side so he would turn his head, and I would wake up several times at night to turn his head. All to no avail. He'll probably have to have a helmet, but hopefully it won't take to long to reshape it - I pray!

Kealan is really into dressing up right now, and asked G the other day to be the Handsome Prince, "even though you're not handsome, Daddy". I beg to differ!

Well, Merry Christmas to everyone, and may you feel as blessed by God as we do!