Welcome to Aidan and Jacob's corner!: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wow! It has been a long time since I have "blogged"....it was always the intention, as with most parents, to keep track of the daily happenings of our two little ones. Of course, as they grow older and begin to be more and more interactive the less time we have during the day for ourselves to catch up. So...here I am, over a month since our last visit trying to play catch up! Much has happened and the boys are growing more and more each day. I find myself having to go back through the pictures on my IPhone to remember all the amazing things that have happened since the last time I wrote. Of course, its not all roses. Our little Jacob continues to have colic and cry a good part of the day. I do try to wake up everyday and hope that the day will be better then the one before. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised and other times I am a bit defeated. I am reminded everyday, though, how lucky we are to have the boys and how much I love them.

In the month of December the boys really began to smile and interact a lot more. They are definitely morning boys...I am not sure where they got that from though, as Gavin and I are not. They have a "semi-schedule". They wake up between 7-8am to eat, play for a while and then settle down for a nap. They wake up around the time daddy comes home for lunch to eat again. We play a bit more and take a short nap in the afternoon. They spend a good part of the late afternoon awake and playing and then fall asleep for the night between 7-8pm. They wake up once a night to eat but for the most part go about 5-6 hours sleeping. Thank goodness! We have yet to put them in their crib. It is very convenient to have them in our room in their pack and play bit we know that the time is coming soon for them to move into their own room. It will be a big change for all of us!

The holidays were wonderful...full of family, friends and great times. The second weekend in December was the annual Festival of Trees fundraiser put on by the hospital. I went to help some of the L & D nurses decorate their tree for the event and had a great time. I brought the boys with me to help and Gavin joined us later in the day. I got to meet many of the nurses that I hear so much about. Later that week, we attended Trivia Night with the office and had a great time. The boys got passed around the event and even the CEO of the hospital held Aidan! The next night was the dinner and the boys got dressed up in their best sweater vests and jeans and Gavin sported his tux and I wore my wedding dress. We had another great night and the boys ended up sleeping through the entire event! It was a great way to continue with the holiday festivities! We also hosted a holiday party at our house for all of the staff in Gavin's office, as well as the nurses on Labor and Delivery. We had a great time and the boys enjoyed being passed around by all who attended. Gavin and I enjoyed a bit of a break as well. The girls were here for Christmas and we traveled to Shore Acres State park to see Christmas lights and went shopping in the big city of Albany. We also saw Santa! The day the girls flew in we decided to see Santa. After dinner with Nana, we attempted to head to the mall for a picture with Santa. After finding out it was a 148 minute wait, we began our journey back to Newport. About a half hour into the drive we spotted some outlets and wondered if Santa might be there. Gavin went to scout it out and not only found Santa but no line to wait in to see him as well! The kids and I hurried to beat the crowd. On the way there, though, Jacob got fussy because I was making him wear a hat so his head wouldn't get cold. Because of this we got a traditional Santa picture, screaming kid and all! We spent Christmas Day in Portland with Nana Lillian, Uncle CJ, Aunt Vicki and cousins Evan and Makena. Jacob had a bit of an issue with over stimulation and the first night away from home was hard on all of us. He screamed until about 2am and then finally settled down for the rest of the night. The next day we went to the mall to go ice skating and to do some shopping so Nana volunteered to stay with him. The rest of the trip was peaceful...for the most part and we all had a great time! New Years Eve was spent at home as Gavin was on call. We did make it to midnight though!

After the holidays my brother, Tim, sis in law, Alissa, and nephew, Sean, all came for a spur of the moment visit! My brother was actually stabbed while working and because of this off work for a bit. He was feeling fine so they decided to head out to meet the boys! We had a great time! Sean is a great big cousin to the boys and my brother and his wife got some good practice with the boys as they are expecting a girl in May! A great time was had by all!

As for the upcoming weeks, my dad and step mom are coming this weekend to see the boys. They haven't seen them since they were born! Are they in for a surprise. Aidan has his surgery on the 19th and I am getting very anxious about it. I know everything will be fine, but I am still scared for the little guy. I'll post more after his 'big' day!