December Recap- bye bye 2014

Wow. 2014 is almost gone. What a crazy, crazy year it's been. This time last year neither Joe nor I would have ever guessed, dreamed or imagined that we would be living in WI with completely new jobs. We had a twinkle in our eye about #2 being on the way, but we didn't think he'd be born in a different state than his brother!

Moving has been hard. We really love River Falls and our new jobs, but it's definitely been hard to be away from our friends, especially with another baby on the way. It's always hard to make new friends, and we're struggling with that a little just because we've been so hectic and busy the entire time we've lived here that it's been hard to make time to connect with other people. Our resolution for the new year is to make that time. I'm joining a book club and possibly some sort of mom's group if I can find one that falls during a time we can make it. Joe's got some people he's started connecting with. We can do it! We've got a babysitter now, too, that we feel comfortable with so we can get out for an occasional adult night.

So, December.

Z still doesn't really care all that much about Christmas or presents under the tree. He doesn't care much about bows or wrapping paper, He would like to chew on the Christmas lights. Much to his chagrin, I do not allow this activity due to the potential death by electrocution.

This was our first Christmas spent without seeing our immediate families, and that was a bit of a tough pill to swallow, though it was the best choice. We really needed this time to regroup and get ready for the new year, new semester, new child, etc. We spent the 24-26th with the extended Blum family in the Madison area, and that was a complete delight. I am often thankful that I married in to such a wonderful family and this was another of those moments of complete thankfulness.

The highs of Christmas:
- I had the best Chinese food of my life. I am not exaggerating.
- Spending time with all the family. So nice!
- I finally, finally kicked the stupid month long cough a couple days before we left!
- The staff of the hotel we stayed at were really, really kind and helpful.

The lows...
- The first night we tried Z out in a toddler air mattress because he's really too long for the pack and play. It... did not go well. We all got very, very little sleep that night. Z just couldn't seem to settle, no matter what we did. It was very exhausting and frustrating for all involved. We saw that the hotel had cribs and requested one of those the next morning. They brought it up right away and Z slept in it without a single problem. The moral of the story is Z is not ready to move into a big boy bed. Noted, Z. Noted.
- Z also had a rough adjustment the first night we were there and he met everyone. There was a lot of flinging himself on the floor and crying. Toddler's lives are very difficult apparently.
- We missed our immediate families.

The other big news of December was of course learning that Bebo is a boy and getting to work trying to choose a name. It will probably take us until he is born to choose one so we've got to get going on this. After not knowing Z's gender, it's definitely a different experience knowing this time around. I had Z's newborn clothes out last night and boy am I excited to dress another little boy in that freaking adorable navy blue dinosaur romper!