Brunch with family, friends and SANTA!

We had a big day - we went to the club for brunch with Santa. Matt, Courtney, Sue-Sue, J-J, Amanda, Kyle and Cole - joined us for a great time.

Crawford was so excited about seeing Santa again, that he wore his Christmas pj's to bed last night! Before we left, Crawford and Conlee posed in front of the tree (dressed in their Christmas finest). Aren't Crawford's dirty bucks adorable?
A pic of Conlee's beautiful Christmas gown. I hope you can see the adorable satin bows on her shoes.
As Bo would say - for me it's all about "the" picture - and this is it for the holiday. My two kids with Santa - I love it!

Crawford loved Santa and really enjoyed the over-sized nut crackers. He told Babe on the phone about the "nut crackers" he saw.

Ready for some grub. The boys were so good! They ate great and colored like big boys. Bo and Kyle took them for a ride in the cool car (aka - golf cart) after lunch.

Lazy Days and First Bottle

Despite a "to do" list a mile long - yesterday the Garmon's took it easy. Here's a pic of Conlee getting her afternoon nap (yes momma cuddled beside her for some shut eye).

We did have one big event last night - for the 9:30 feeding Bo gave Conlee her first bottle. She drank 3 ounces in no time. So, that hurdle is out of the way. Here's to the pump and dump (am sure I'll put it to use over the holidays).

A day of firsts

It's only noon - but it's been a big day of "firsts" around here!

It was the first time for me to do "morning time" by myself (almost). Bo had to leave for work early - so I had both kids eating at the same time. Before he left, this is where Bo put Crawford - under his "covers" (his new favorite word) on the couch watching Baby Einstein's. It was the first time for me to venture out into public with both kids - ALONE. It went as smooth as possible - I think I may be able to do this. Next attempt - the grocery store (still puzzled about where to put them both on the shopping cart).

Our outing was to take Crawford for his first "real" hair cut. He did great! Such a big boy.

Conlee did great too!

First "blow-out." I blast him with my hairdryer at home and he always bends down to avoid the air. He did this in the chair too.
First sucker. Note to self: do not open the sucker while still in the beauty shop - it will end up on the floor in a pile of hair. Thank goodness Crystal had plenty of back-ups.

First walk to the bank with J-J. We went to show J-J and Sue-Sue the new "do" and J-J and Crawford walked up the street to the bank.
First bag of popcorn. Technically I think he may have had some at a basketball game, but I wasn't there to witness it. So - for me this was his first bag of popcorn. I think he may be begging to go to the bank every Friday. Popcorn counts as lunch - right?

First official picture of the new do. He looks so grown-up!

Family of 4 for 4 Weeks!

I can not believe that Conlee turned 4-weeks old today! The time has literally flown by. I guess it helps that she is such a wonderful child. We feel very blessed and are very thankful.

Conlee weighed 7.4 on Monday - so things are looking great weight wise. She is definitely on a schedule (I hear her get restless about 10 minutes before it's time to nurse). She is eating every 3 hours during the day - so she's on a 1 1/2 hours awake/play time and 1 1/2 nap time. She is like clockwork. A prayer of thanks for BabyWise and The Happiest Baby (if you don't know what I am talking about - send me an e-mail and I'll clue you in).

She is tracking objects with her eyes and has finally started "playing" with some of the toys that are within her grasp.

On a different note - Crawford "rediscovered" his bowling set today. It was a wonderful "indoor" activity. We played for an hour!

When I would knock the pins down, Crawford would yell "knock" and he'd fall out on the floor.

Pops' Joke

Most of you won't understand this post, but for those of you who know my dad well - he has a famous "ice cream cone" joke. Bo snapped this pic of Conlee last night. I thought Pops would appreciate that Conlee would "pass" the test.

Hotsling!

I never used a carrier with Crawford (he hated the Baby Bjorn). But, with Conlee - I bought into the hype and purchased a Hotsling. I pulled it out yesterday to carry Conlee across the street. She loved it! Am sure when the weather turns warmer - and we are out and about more - I'll get a lot of use out of this.

Snug as a bug!

Tis the Holiday Season!

I've always loved Christmas, but this year is the BEST! Watching your kids experience the joys of the holiday is the best present of all (while Conlee may not understand any of this - she still gets time in front of the tree to enjoy the lights!).

We've been in the spirit this week: lots of "projects" (what Crawford calls arts & crafts); cooking; gift opening (we are practicing); drives to look at lights; and watching holiday movies (Shrek the Halls is still the favorite).

Below are a few of my favorite moments from the week:

So technically - rocking in Conlee's chair should result in a time-out - but it's REALLY hard when this is what you find.

A pretty little girl in an adorable outfit.

So is it true? Can standing too close really hurt your eyesight? Only Mickey can keep his attention like this!

A few "projects." Note to self: make sure the pipe cleaners are "tight" on the tambourine. If not, you could have dried macaroni ALL over the house!!!! The upside, one of Crawford's favorite things is using his broom - so at least I had help cleaning up the mess!

Frosty! Crawford yells this when he sees it on the fridge.

PB&J - so I know you aren't supposed to have this until you are 2. But, I had one and he begged for a bite. He made it with no allergic reaction - and the way I see it - we now have another protein that he'll eat (not to mention how portable this meal is). For those wondering - the scratches came from a run-in with the entertainment center. Of course, wanting to open it to watch Shrek :)

Conlee is still receiving beautiful gifts from all of our wonderful friends (thank you all). Crawford enjoys "practicing" opening the gifts. Thanks to Jon and Amber for the adorable hat!


Making Christmas cookies! He loved it. Oreo Balls - the BEST toddler assisted recipe (1 pkg Oreos; 1 softened cream cheese; combine in food processor; shape in balls; coat in chocolate).

Shaping the cookies into balls. Notice the chocolate all over him. He sampled as we cooked.

While she's not eating cookies - she is a good eater. She was up to 7.2 today and we graduated out of our "preemie" clothes.

Sleeping Beauty

Getting into a Routine

Conlee was 3 weeks old yesterday (I can't believe how fast it has gone by). I am a little shocked at how easy it has been to settle into a routine with 2 kids. Of course, a lot of this is thanks to "easy-going" Conlee who was on a 3-hour eating schedule by day 2 in the hospital. At 2 weeks - she easily transitioned to a 4 1/2 hour span at night - allowing her parents to get more than 2 1/2 hours of sleep at a time :) She is a dream child (fingers crossed that it continues).

Yesterday was Wednesday (which means I have both kids at home alone). Here's what our day looked like:

• 6:15 am - Crawford up in his crib yelling "eat-eat" (the child may not eat much - but he LOVES his breakfast)
• 6:45 - Conlee eats; I say a sheepish good-bye as Bo heads off to work
• 7:30 - get Crawford and Conlee dressed, make beds, straighten up the house and head out the door to Sue-Sue's

Conlee bundled up to go to Sue-Sue's. I gave her a pacifier for the first time - just to see what she would do. She took it with no problem. I then wanted to see what she would do without it - and of course - she did just fine. Crawford didn't take a pacifier, so I am thinking if Conlee stays as laid back as she is - then I will just skip this with her as well (one less thing to "give up").

• 8:10 - drop Conlee at Sue-Sue's and Crawford and I head to the gym. I was a little scared that Crawford would want to stay at Sue-Sue's - but he knew he was going to play with Cole - so he didn't miss a beat.
• 8:30 - 9:30 - body pump - so nice to be back at the gym; not so nice to realize just how out of shape I am!
• 9:45 - head back to Sue-Sue's and feed Conlee there.
• 10:30 - back at home; Crawford and I do a project.

Crawford and I made "daddy" a Christmas tree. He seemed to really like this project - especially gluing the berries onto the "dots." However, this ended as soon as he realized it was way more fun to "stomp" the berries into the ground! Notice Conlee's bouncy seat on the kitchen table in the second photo. Poor child lives on the table and in the crib - for her own safety :)

• 11:30 - lunch time (I figured out how to get Crawford to eat lunch; fix my plate and he'll want whatever I have!).
• 12:00 - Crawford's nap time - YIPPIE!
• 12:30 - Conlee eats; and we have some 1:1 play time - just the girls.
• 2:00 - Crawford wakes up from nap.
• 2:30 - I shower (yes - this is 2:30 in the afternoon). I put Conlee in her crib and lock Crawford in the bathroom with me (so he won't tear down both trees).
• 3:30 - Conlee eats; Crawford watches Shrek the Halls on dvr - it's like he is hypnotized. When it goes to commercial he yells and signs - more, more! I seriously think the kid will die when he finds out that back in the day mom and dad couldn't fast-forward through commercials.
• 4:00 - Sue-Sue comes for a visit and Crawford decides to really show out.
• 4:20 - Crawford rips an ornament and ribbon off of the tree. While running from me trying to put him in time-out - he slips and falls on the ribbon. Lots of crying ensues and "daddy, daddy" (dear Lord - Bo won't be home until almost 6:00).
• 4:45 - the boo-boo bunny does the trick and we are back to playing. Crawford and I spend the next hour in his room working puzzles, playing the drums and reading books.
• 5:45 - Bo walks into Crawford's room and asks where Conlee is - I look at him as if he is stupid and reply, "The kitchen table, of course."
• 6:00 - Bo takes Crawford to the grocery store; Conlee and I have some 1:1 time (poor child this is only the 2nd time today).
• 6:30 - dinner time for both Crawford and Conlee (Crawford actually ate green beans). We are bribing him with the chocolate advent calendar Susan gave him. If he tries his veggies - he gets to open a door on the calendar and get a chocolate. Not sure what we'll do when December 26th rolls around!
• 7:00 - family play time

We put Conlee on her play mat to see how Crawford would behave. He was wonderful. Got down next to her and showed her how everything works. BEST TIME of the day! I love my kids.

• 7:15 - Crawford bath time (bubbles and markers still making him scream with joy for bath time).
• 7:40 - Crawford's bed time. He just started not wanting to go in the crib (freaked us out on Monday night - he has NEVER had a problem before). So - we read books, say good night to our "friends" and put him in bed. He immediately jumps up, yells, screams and cries. Bo and I make a break for the door.
• 7:45 - silence in Crawford's room - YIPPIE!
• 8:00 - Bo and I eat dinner (this is an improvement - we normally eat at 9:30).
• 9:00 - watch the Victoria's Secret fashion show (funny how when I think about it this might have been Bo's idea). There is NOTHING more depressing to a woman who recently gave birth - than the VS fashion show. I am turning my depression into motivation (which is hard because my calf muscles are so sore from body attack yesterday).
• 9:30 - Conlee eats.
• 10:00 - I hit the sheets for 1 1/2 hours of sleep.
• 11:30 - Conlee eats.
• 4:00 - Conlee eats.
• 6:15 a.m. - the day starts all over again! Only this time, it's just Conlee and me at home (hence the reason I have time to blog).

Pictures from Chris Stinson

I've been meaning to post this for over a week - but got caught up in all of the holiday festivities. Chris Stinson has the photos up from Conlee's photo shoot. Take a look and let me know which are your favorites.

http://www.stinsonphoto.com/; proofs; password - garmon (fyi while on his main menu - check out the picture of my two guys under the "style" section).

Conlee's weight update - she weighed 6.11 oz. this morning!!!! She's getting so big.