Cheers to 2015!

Happy New Years Eve! I'm spending it exactly as I hoped I would be... at home with my two boys. We did manage to make it out to dinner to celebrate and let the baby stay up a little past his bed time since he slept all the way through dinner (living on the wild side)! And it is 11:30 and we are still up so that is just about as impressive as it comes. I will probably be regretting it at Liam's 1:30 feeding so naps all around tomorrow! :) 

The absolute best part of my year was becoming a mom and beginning this amazing adventure with my best friend. These 2 boys of mine have my whole heart. Rue too! I know I probably say this every year but I truly mean it ... this was the best year yet! Cheers to 2015! May it be even better. :) 

Liam's first Christmas {2014}

This Christmas was so special this year. Liam's first Christmas! While he won't remember it, Nic and I will and he was our most favorite gift we were given this year. The holiday came and went faster than I expected it to and as I was taking it all down yesterday, I couldn't help but feel a little bit nostalgic to put away his first Christmas ornaments and say goodbye to it all until next year. I realized though that every Christmas is bound to get better and better as he grows and begins to recognize the magic of it all. I already can't wait until next year! I know, I'm crazy. 

Santa Baby. Is there anything cuter?! He didn't exactly love the hat but the hat sure loves him. ;)

He just started holding his hand like this with his thumb between his two fingers and it is the sweetest thing.

On Christmas Eve Eve, we celebrated with Nic's dad and his family at their house. They had all kinds of appetizers. My favorite was the shrimp dip. I also tried fruit cake for the first time (not a fan). We had a really great dinner (ham, mashed potatoes, and cooked carrots) and even better company.

We spent Christmas Eve at our house with Nic's mom. It was a little unconventional this year (we had pizza for dinner haha) but perfect in my book. We laughed our buns off at Christmas Vacation. That movie is such a classic and never gets old! Afterwards, we exchanged gifts and Liam got his first loud musical toy! What are grandma's for right?! It will be so fun when he is big enough to play with it. For now, the lights are his favorite part! We ended the evening with ice cream sundaes which probably had more toppings than actual ice cream. mmm  

Grandma's make the most snuggly pillow.

One of my childhood traditions that I am loving carrying on with my own little family is getting new Christmas jammies and a book on Christmas Eve. Liam got his Christmas jammies from his Grandpa and Grandma West a little early this year so he wore them several times before Christmas Eve came. He also got several new Christmas stories that we read together and quickly became some of my favorites... Snowbunny's Christmas Wish, Merry Christmas Mouse!, and Olive the Other Reindeer. 

Besides having the tradition of adding an ornament, the last few years we have added something new to our tree and this year it was a star. I bought our tree topper from West Elm later in the season on a great sale so it didn't show up in the mail until Christmas Eve. Better late than never! It is the perfect addition to our tree this year!

We spent our first Christmas morning in our home this year and opened presents together as a family of three in the living room. I got Liam a few things for Christmas and wrapped them up for Nic to open and be surprised. I had a baby's first Christmas ornament made for him from Shutterfly using one of his baby pictures, a stuffed hug me monkey that he can pull on and it retracts on his carseat, my new favorite favorite book You are My I Love You, and little animal bath toys. We woke up to a complete blizzard outside! Having a white Christmas is so fun unless you have to travel in it. We waited around until late morning to see if it was going to stop but when it kept falling we knew we needed to just go. The first hour of our drive to Meridian was a bit sketchy but after several prayers and driving very slowly, we made it there safely. We celebrated with my mom and brother by relaxing around the Christmas tree together. I ate one too many pieces of almond roca and am ready to start this new year with far less sugar around! 

First time meeting his nephew.

This grandma was in heaven!

Yesterday I was looking around the house and feeling completely overwhelmed by it all... the taking down of Christmas decorations, the endless piles of glitter scattered all around our house, the overall mess of not cleaning for a couple of weeks. It is so much more fun to put it all up than to take it down isn't it?! I was really wanting a team full of Christmas elves to find their way to my house but I got my act together and did as much as I could during the day while Liam snoozed away in our favorite solly baby wrap and the night time elf came to my rescue when he got home from work. Bless him! I still have the cleaning ahead of me but I'm sort of taking it one space at a time to really deep clean and take it as an opportunity to reorganize and get rid of things that are simply causing clutter around here. I love that about the new year. If there are two words that this new year needs to be for us are ORGANIZED and PREPARED if we have some hope over survival when I go back to work. With a mere 12 days before my maternity leave ends and I have to find out what life really is like as a working mom... you can find me spending every second snuggling and squeezing my little boy. 

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year! XO

P.S. Past Christmas's ... 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013

Merry Christmas! | #sharethegift

Just dropping in to say a quick  Merry Christmas before continuing on in the festivities! We have already shared a Merry Christmas Eve Eve with Nic's dad and family and a Merry Christmas Eve with his mom at our home. Liam has been stealing the showing at both places as he should be. :) Today it is to grammmasita's house we go. Boy does it add on a lot of extra gear and packing to do with a baby in tow but I would not have it any other way. In fact, I just wanted to share a picture of our most precious gift of all this Christmas... 

That sweet smile has forever changed our world. While he won't really remember his first Christmas, I still found myself lying awake late into the night last night with the anticipation of Christmas morning lying ahead. I know it will only get better watching the magic of Christmas in our son's eyes as he grows. One of the best parts about being a parent in my opinion!

 I also wanted to share another very special gift...

Last Christmas we were given that sweet little nativity one piece at a time in the days leading up to Christmas. While we weren't in town, baby Jesus was left on our front porch on Christmas morning next to my note thanking the thoughtful secret friends/neighbors for bringing the spirit and true meaning of Christmas into our home last year. I felt that same spirit as I unwrapped each fragile piece this year and placed it on the mantle above my kitchen sink where we would see it every day as a constant reminder this season of our savior for he is the ultimate gift! My ultimate gift. I can't think of a better way to spend this morning but to #sharethegift.

Merry Christmas friends and family!! XO

Liam's birth announcement | {2014} Christmas Card

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!! Or as I recently learned, some say Merry Christmas Adam! 

By the time I had Liam's newborn pictures/family pictures taken and back to me, it not only was time to get birth announcements made and sent out but also Christmas cards as well. I found the perfect card this year through Shutterfly that combined both events. Genius! I LOVE how it turned out! So there we are... had a beautiful baby boy this year who was our best gift of all and a very Merry Christmas to you!

 Love, the Williamson family of three! :)

one & two month favorites

As a new mom, I love when other bloggers share favorites posts about what they love for their babies. I think they are so helpful and were my go-to resources when preparing for my own first baby! They definitely helped me to know what to register for or purchase when I had no clue where to even start. While all babies are different, hopefully some of these things can be helpful for you whether you are a new mom yourself or have a close friend or family member having a baby soon. Here are just a few of our favorite things that we have used daily in the first two months with Liam...

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

1. B A B Y  S O C K S  A S  M I T T E N S ... We quickly found that mittens are a must with a newborn. Their nails are SO sharp and even though they may look silly, it saves them from scratching the crap out of their face which Liam has done at time or two when we thought to ourselves, "Oh, we can leave them off for just a bit." Yeah riiiight. We tried multiple brands of mittens and he would manage to pull every single one of them off so we found that just a standard cotton pair of baby socks worked the best. We could always keep them on him for more than 5 seconds and they double as regular old socks as well. Two for one! We really liked the kind that fold down like the ones pictured above because they were longer so even if he managed to work them part way off, he wouldn't get them all of the way.

2. C A R T E R ' S  L O N G  S L E E V E  M I T T E N  O N E S I E S ... Even after discovering the sock trick, we found onesies with mittens attached to be lifesavers! Carter's are our favorite brand because they seem the softest and wash really well. They are easy to get on and off and only have a couple of snaps for a quick diaper change. Onesies in general are just great. 

3. S N U G A B U N N Y  R O C K  N'  P L A Y ... We use this for Liam's bassinet and he LOVES it. It keeps your baby upright while they are sleeping in case they are a spitter-upper like Liam. haha I've never had to worry about him somehow managing to work himself in a dangerous sleeping position that he can't get himself out of either because it doesn't allow for much movement. You can also manually rock it if your baby loves that kind of motion like Liam does. Plus a baby with bunny ears is a total bonus in my book! ;)

4. P U J  T U B ... I chose this bath tub on a whim based on only a few reviews and not a whole ton of research. It was kind of one of those last minute purchases for me. When it came in the mail I was surprised by the material. It is basically a soft foam that folds up with magnets and fits in most bathroom sinks. The quality didn't seem great to me at first until I actually got a chance to try it when we brought Liam home. We have honestly really loved it. It folds up or hangs nicely for storage, drys quickly, and fits in our bathroom sink perfectly. It is comfortable and soft for a first bath and comes in fun colors!

5. C L O T H  D I A P E R S  A S  B U R P  C L O T H S ... These Gerber cloth diapers are THE perfect burp cloth. They are large and cover more surface area then a lot of cutesy burp cloths out there and are thick for holding a lot of baby spit up. Best idea ever!

6. B O O N  L A W N  D R Y I N G  R A C K ... This is not only great for letting bottles air dry on but even better for pump parts if you happen to be nursing. 

Hope sharing a few of our favorites was helpful!

xo

the fourth trimester

Did you know there is such a thing?? A fourth trimester? I didn't either until I experienced it and man can it be hard. Physically, emotionally hard. 5 weeks of Lochia. 6 weeks of recovering from stitches. Many sleepless nights with every 2 hour feedings. A roller coaster of emotions I tell you what. Still not fitting in all of my clothes like I used to and having to continue to wear some maternity clothes without a baby in my belly. It has not always been fun times! Most days I don't even get fully ready anymore. I jump in the shower to wash off the dried spit up and then put my hair in a wet bun and call it good for the day. I think there have been only a couple of times so far where I got fully ready (showered, hair, make up, and dressed) all before 10 A.M. and on those days I felt like super woman and I only have one child! haha Heaven help us when we all have to be up, ready, and out the door by 7:15 for work when my maternity leave ends. BUT.... 

The fourth trimester is also so amazing. Newborn snuggles all day long and constantly surrounded by that incredible newborn smell. I could hold Liam in my arms all day, staring at him, singing him songs, watching him smile back at me while he drifts off to sleep. We have spent many days doing just that together and it has been wonderful. I'll miss it so so much in 3 weeks. I cry just thinking about it.

The truth is, I wouldn't trade that fourth trimester for the world because the hard parts have been worth every.single.second. I completely adore this little boy of ours and am so lucky to be his mom! 

two months

t w o   m o n t h s   o l d

stats

..................

11 pounds, 3 ounces

22 inches long

loves

...............

wearing only a diaper.

staring at lights.

going on a drive.

nursing.

mornings.

baths.

snuggling.

dislikes

...................

his crib.

shots (but who doesn't!!)

My little Liam,

You turned two months old on Monday! So far you have two nicknames,,. little handsome and L man. You have had lots of visitors this month. All of your grandparents have gotten to see you and absolutely adore you. We celebrated your second first holiday, Thanksgiving, and although you couldn't actually eat the turkey dinner yourself, you sure had the after effects that turkey has and snoozed the afternoon away. Those little legs of yours are starting to have some serious power behind them and you now push yourself up with your arms when you are on your tummy. Even though your head still bobs around, I know you will be holding it up on your own for more than a few seconds any day now. By far my favorite memory from this month is that you started smiling!! Before now it was only when you were dreaming but now you take one look at me and flash that big old grin of yours and my heart melts into a puddle on the floor. You wake up somewhere between 8:30 - 9:30 every morning and it is my favorite time of day because it is when you are the most smiley. You got your first set of shots today and it was the saddest thing in the whole world watching you feeling pain. I felt terrible! We just don't want you to get sick. Forget cute baby clothes, you love being in only a diaper! Baths are your favorite. You could be really upset one second and immediately calm the next as soon as we put you in your bath. You despise your crib but we are working on it. You are the nosiest sleeper in the world so we have to transition you sometime but I don't blame you because it is hard for me not having you in our room too. We love you more than you will ever know!

Love, Momma

one month updates here

Liam's newborn pictures

A week after we brought Liam home from the hospital we had a photographer come over to our home and take newborn pictures. I was nervous about it at first because we were being so overly cautious about exposing him to anything after having him in the NICU for so long that I don't think we relaxed for a second but I am so grateful to have captured him while he is so tiny and during our first days as a family of three. Here are a few several of my favorites...  

Our photographer also made this special video for us and even now, after watching it too many times to count, I still get all weepy every time because this was my dream that came true these two boys of mine. I love them with all that I am. 

Photos and Video by Jamie Findlay Photography

Liam's first Thanksgiving

One of the things I was looking forward to most about having a baby this Fall was getting to share all of his first holidays with him. First Halloween, first Thanksgiving, and coming right up, first Christmas!! Having him with us for his first Halloween and Thanksgiving have been just as magical as I thought they would.

On Thanksgiving Eve Liam sported an annual turkey bowl outfit thanks to grandma and grandpa West. My dad even submitted a picture of him in this onesie with his arms straight up in the air for an airline Thanksgiving Day contest with the caption "Touchdown for Turkey." Haven't heard if he won haha but if it were me, I'd pick his picture any day. Cutest baby there ever was! ;)

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house again this year and invited the grandmas over to join us. It was the first time both of them had seen Liam since he was born so needless to say, he rarely got set down. I don't think he minded one bit and the grandma's were in heaven!

It was nice having help with the cooking and cleaning since a big portion of the day was consumed with nursing. We did manage to squeeze in a couple of rounds of Rummikub. Such a fun new game we got when my dad and Edie were in town a couple of weeks ago. We filled our bellies full of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole... ya know, the usual. It was the perfect day!

In true over-the-top crazy first mother fashion, I HAD to put him in this turkey outfit that my mom's best friend Janel got for him. I'm pretty sure Nic was eye rolling at me and Liam was not nearly as thrilled as I was about him wearing it for very long but what kind of mother would I be if EVERYTHING wasn't festive and documented for these first holidays. ;) kidding. 

Gosh, isn't he the cutest?! I can't EVEN! He also had a corn cob outfit that I tried to put him in but he completely freaked because it was the equivalent of swaddling and he was not a fan. 

My brother's birthday also happened to land on Thanksgiving day this year and while we weren't in the same town to celebrate, we sent him this birthday message from his nephew to know we were thinking of him. ;)

Hope you had a wonderful Turkey Day!

one month

o n e   m o n t h   o l d

s t a t s

....................

7 pounds, 11 ounces

19 1/2 inches long

l o v e s

......................

Breast feeding.

Your swing.

Tummy time and kicking your legs.

Being held and cradled against our chests.

d i s l i k e s

...........................

A bottle most of the time but you will tolerate it when you have to. 

Being swaddled, especially with your arms down and inside a blanket.

Pacifiers but sometimes you will take one so maybe they are growing on you??

Getting your diaper changed, especially in the middle of the night but who would like a cold wet wipe on their bum anyway!

My little guy, 

You are one month old already and it has been one of the best months of your dad and I's lives having you finally here and with us!! You still wear newborn diapers and clothes but you are growing away so I don't imagine you will stay in them too much longer. There was evidence of that when you gained a whole pound between your first and second doctor's visits. You experienced your first holiday this month {Halloween} and wore a costume that was much too big for you but you didn't mind. You slept right through it. :) You are discovering your vocal chords, particularly when you think you are STARVING which is any time you are awake. haha When you are not eating, you sleep most of the time. You are so curious and it is fun watching your eyes dart around the room as you take it all in. You don't like to hold still and flail your arms and legs about. When you are on your tummy, you try to scoot yourself along with your back frog legs and get so frustrated when you don't get anywhere. You learned to lift up and turn your own head during tummy time at just two weeks old. We were clapping and cheering you on! You also had your first of many baths which you enjoy for the first few minutes and then decide you've had it after that. You've gone on your first and only walk in your stroller, the snow and cold temperatures keep us in inside most of the time. It soothes you to have your hands right up against your face. You have just about the sharpest nails in the world, even your nurse said so at your second doctor's appointment, so we have to put you in mitten onesies to protect your face. Here we were thinking we'd have a bald baby but your light brown hair is growing by the minute. While a part of me wishes you could stay this little forever, I love watching you grow. I love every minute I get to spend at home with you. We love you so much!!!

Love, Mom 

Laundry basket tracking, a fun way to show his growth each month. :)

one of the best things about having a baby

One of the best things about having a baby has been seeing Nic become a dad. I always knew he would be an amazing one. It is one of the many reasons why I married this wonderful guy after all. :) But the moment Liam was placed in his arms and I got to watch the way he looked down at him like he would do anything in the whole world for this little boy, I fell in love with him all over again. 

He offers to stay awake at night time feedings with me even when there is nothing that he can be helping with other than keeping me company.

He changes some of the poopiest diapers which is something I never saw coming. ;)

He gets eye level with Liam when he has tummy time and talks away with him while Liam stares back in wonder. I can tell they are going to be best friends.

He already is Liam's biggest fan and encourages him when he tries to lift his neck and head for the first time or supports his feet as he tries to scoot himself along.

He prays for him, something he started doing when I was pregnant. 

He comes home from a long day of work and puts Liam on his chest where he quickly falls fast asleep, my favorite of all.

I posted this picture of Liam on Instagram on Firday morning and a neighbor commented on the picture and said she thought he looked just like Nic. I always hoped I would have a little boy that looked just like his daddy. :)

These two boys of mine make my dreams come true.

Liam's first bath

The day Liam turned a week old it was his 7th day in the NICU. Although as his mom, it felt like the millionth day. At his morning feeding, his nurse told me that he would be getting his first sponge bath today. Immediately I felt angry and devastated, feelings that seemed to consume me a lot that week. I was devastated that it was yet another experience I was being robbed of at home with my brand new little baby. The nurse sensing my feelings because let's be honest, I was probably wearing them on my sleeve because they felt impossible to hide, said that I could participate if I wanted to. Of course I did. I didn't want to miss a single thing and my feelings shifted to suddenly feeling grateful that we were going to get to be a part of it.

Nic and I came back together at his 8:30 feeding that evening. This was always our favorite feeding time with him because it seemed to be the time of day he was the most alert and made the most progress. The room was quiet and dimly lit as it usually was at night. Our favorite night nurse was watching Liam and she greeted us with her usual bubbly smile. She welcomed us to what she called "the baby spa" and explained the sponge bath process. Then she quietly stepped back and let Nic and I take over and share the experience together. Nic laid Liam on a towel and then slid his fingers into Liam's palms. His tiny hands quickly wrapped around and held on for dear life as I began running a warm wash cloth up and down his little legs. He began to cry from the cold so as soon as I was done washing off one part of his body, Nic would cover it with a towel and the cry would diminish to a whimper. After his body was clean I carried him over to the sink where I held his head under the warm running water and ran a brush through his hair. You would have thought he was going to dive into that sink at any moment. He was pushing away from my hands to get closer to the water. It was as if it was his favorite thing in the entire world! It may seem silly, but the whole experience felt like magic to me and so special. I don't have any physical pictures from it but it doesn't matter because those moments are ingrained in my memory.

Liam's first baths at home were equally as special as that first sponge bath in the NICU. Babies don't typically lose their umbilical cord until 10 - 14 days old and by the time we had brought Liam home his was barely hanging on by a thread. Because it still hadn't fallen off, we got to give him his first sponge bath at home. I think we both felt even more grateful for the first experience with the nurse because it made us newbies that much more prepared for this time at home on our own. It went very similar to the first time only this time, we captured the memory in pictures...

I adore this picture of Nic and Liam. Look at how sweet he is with his hands on his face and in his hair! 

A couple days later his umbilical cord fell off and heaven knows by that time he had enough very messy diapers to constitute another bath so we gave him his first real bath in the bathroom sink. I'm pretty sure he loved the first 5 minutes but then sort of lost his cool after that because he was hungry. I don't blame him one bit.

Oh my goodness, isn't he the sweetest?! And what better way to finish a first bath then with the one and only Sulley! :)