Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Badens!

Celebrating Christmas as sleep deprived parents of a newborn & toddler was certainly a different experience! It was tempting to not put as much effort into our Christmas traditions, and while we did scale back, we still wanted to make the holiday special for Jacob and our little family. I think we did just that!

We spent a stormy Christmas Eve at Meme's house. Jacob had fun playing with Uncle Andrew and watching some fire truck excitement across the street. At one point during the day, when nobody was watching him, he decided to open a present!

That evening we enjoyed the delicious appetizers and dinner made by Meme, and Jacob and the pups opened presents from her.

It was late when we got home, but we still put out cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. Jacob couldn't get over how big the carrots were, and he wanted to feed them to the reindeer decorations in the neighbor's yard! Before bed, Scott read the Christmas Story and The Night Before Christmas to Jacob under the tree.

The kids slept in on Christmas morning after being up so late the night before. Jacob actually slept in until 10 am!!! We kept waiting and waiting for him to wake up! When he finally did, he was excited to see that Santa and Papa had come! He had fun opening presents, specifically ripping off the wrapping paper!

Uncle Andrew, Uncle Thomas, and Aunt Ryan joined us later in the morning. We exchanged gifts and Thomas and Ryan made a delicious dinner. Our oven ranged croaked earlier in the week, so we had to be creative with dinner prep! Luckily, my neighbor was incredibly kind to let us use her oven!

After everyone went home, we drove around our neighborhood looking at all the Christmas lights. It was a fun way to end our first Christmas as a family of four!

Bradley and Baden Family Christmas Celebrations

This past weekend was full of fun Christmas celebrations! On Saturday we headed to Aunt Laura and Uncle Al's house in Weaverville for the Bradley Family Christmas gathering. It was great to see our aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as introduce Lydia to the family! Jacob had so much fun playing in Grandma & Grandaddy's RV, raking leaves, and playing with Cousin Will's legos. He was really sad when it was time to go home!

On Sunday, Grandma, Grandaddy, Uncle Craig, & Aunt Lori came to our house for our Baden Family celebration. Grandma brought some yummy appetizers, and we exchanged gifts. Jacob opened a present or two, but was mainly interested in wearing a Lego bag on his head, which he was pretending was a race car helmet.

The previous weekend was also really fun, because Papa spent the day with us on Friday. He played outside with Jacob all morning. They went to the park and played in Papa's truck, of course! Then Papa got Lydia to sleep during Jacob's nap, so I was able to rest and work on a Christmas project.

Then we made yummy Christmas cookies with Meme the next day. Jacob was really excited about the icing, as well as using a butter knife to ice the cookies! For as long as I can remember, we've made these cookies at Christmas. It's fun to continue the tradition with Jacob.

Jacob has suddenly fallen in love with his baby sister! ♡ Last week he climbed up in my lap while I was holding her, and said, "Hey, Wydia." Then he nuzzled her face and kissed her cheek! It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen! Since then, he's been hugging, kissing, holding, and talking to her nonstop! He loves to help me by bringing me her diapers and burp cloths. It took him a little while, but we knew he'd come around! He's also been mimicking infant care with Monkey, which is super cute! He changes Monkey's diaper, feeds/burps, and rocks him throughout the day. Occasionally, Monkey has to be put in time-out for not listening or for jumping on the couch!

We've also continued to have successful outings. We've been doing some Christmas errands, and even had an impromptu lunch out! I nurse Lydia in the car before we head home from wherever we are and Jacob loves sitting up front while I do. Yesterday, Lydia had a dirty diaper that went up her back and into her outfit, which I didn't realize until I started to change her...on my lap...in the front seat of the car! They keep things interesting for me!

Lydia has been super smiley lately!

Happy 1 Month, Lydia Kate!

I'm about a week late, but Lydia turned 1 month old! She is such a sweet baby and makes our family feel complete.

Lydia at 1 Month...

•Weighs 9 lbs 2 oz (33rd percentile)
•Measures 21 1/2 in (54th percentile)
•Wears size 1 diapers
•Wears 0-3 and 3 month clothes
•Sometimes sleeps 4-5 hour stretches at night
•Loves bath time
•Loves to lay on her back and look at lights
•Has great head control and holds her head up
•HATES her car seat
•Refuses a paci and doesn't take a bottle
•Doesn't like to be held in a cradle position
•Is super snuggly when asleep
•Has started smiling (about 3 weeks) and cooing

Lydia has really grown on her big brother during the past month. He loves to help me change her diaper and is quick to tell me when she spits up. He also asks to hold her daily. It's so sweet to watch him pet her head and hold her hand when we read books at night. I'm so excited to watch them become best buddies!