We moved here for family and I’m trying to take advantage of it! My sister Shelby lives an hour away from us but I made my first trek (alone) down to Bloomington from Indianapolis this week. I was a little nervous to drive for over an hour with him in the back seat. I hate not having instant access, but at least I finally got my rear view mirror fixed so I can see him.
It went well…he slept the whole way there and back! Success but long drives aren’t my favorite thing. Either way, we made it down to make some Christmas cookies with my parents, sister and her family. We have a weird family with weird work schedules so it just worked out for us to all be available on a Monday morning.
The kids are fascinated by Jacob — “he’s so tiny” is what they say a lot. They kind of tiptoe around him, as everyone always says, “Be careful, be gentle.” But it’s really so cute to see them check him out.
I couldn’t help but feel grateful to be there. This is why I came home, to spend these moments with the people I love most. I love the scene of everyone at the table decorating — even my Dad got into it. We’ve been icing cookies with my mom our entire lives and this might be the first time he’s ever actually iced with us! I wish I could find the photos of us doing this very same thing back in the 80s. Definitely an Andersen household tradition.
I didn’t do a whole lot of icing, as I was concerning myself with Jacob and learning how to baby wear. There are SO MANY baby wraps out there…but they all see confusing. I am wearing the Baby K’Tan here, but just got a Ring Sling delivered yesterday that I plan to try today. However, several people have now told me the Lillebaby is my best bet. I have someone’s old Ergo in the baby’s closet for when he is bigger to. I had no idea this baby wearing thing would be such a project. I’m learning…
Anyway, so we listened to Christmas music and I ate far too many cookies. I think I had probably 8 cookies total for lunch and my stomach did NOT thank me for that — it felt like a wreck thanks to all that pure sugar. Oh well — Tis the Season!
I drove home early to avoid traffic and just ensure a smooth first trip down. Okay, we did it! I brought home some cookies for Rick as well — we both have a HUGE sweet tooth and do usually keep quite a few sweets in the house. For me, it’s kind of liberating have spent so many years avoiding keeping anything “bad” on hand for fear of a binge. Now, I definitely probably eat too much sugar, but it’s not something that makes me feel out of control. Victory!
Jake had plenty of fun with his cousins and just hung out, as a newborn will do. I had to do one pumping session and fed him twice while we were there. Feeding — yes, I still owe you an update — is most certainly the most stressful part of having a baby in my opinion.
Anyway, here’s where he hung out:
I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas — how did this happen?! We’ll be spending Christmas Eve in Bloomington with my family and then heading to Avon for Christmas Day with Rick’s family. That’s the great thing about living so close to everyone! So much to be thankful for this year 🙂