The Last Post of 2009

We had a great Christmas. El Jefe got loads of presents and while he didn't care much for opening them, but has really enjoyed playing with them.

I made prime rib for Christmas dinner and although it took a lot longer to cook than I anticipated and I wasn't happy with the rub nor the au jus, everyone else seemed quite pleased with the way it turned out. Oh, and El Jefe slept through the night on Christmas night. We were planning on repeating the gift opening the next day so he would sleep well again, but then I realized that I had actually had a couple of glasses of wine with Christmas dinner, and that was probably the reason he slept so well.

This year the husband and I gave each other an "experience" gift and we went out on a date! It was fun. We had a sushi lunch and saw Avatar in Imax 3D. The movie was good. I would definitely recommend it. It had some great themes and messages in it and it definitely made me think about the environment and our impact on it. I hope we manage to keep the earth habitable for at least my son's lifetime.

I had a great 2009 with it's ups and downs. But in the big picture, my ups were definitely a lot more plentiful than the downs, so I am blessed in that regard. I hope 2010 turns out just as great, or better!!

Pictures coming in 2010!

Musings

I haven't posted in forever. That seems to be the general theme of my blog. Whatever. Been busy. Life is pretty good. El Jefe still doesn't sleep through the night. We don't want to do a "cry it out" sleep training method, but everything else requires more time and patience, and it's hard to stick to a plan in the middle of the night, when you are up for the 4th time. It's much easier to stick him on the breast and fall asleep next to him. When we wean El Jefe from breastmilk to cow's milk, it will probably be easier, because he'll be waking up to a sippy cup instead of the breast.

At the same time, I kind of enjoy cuddling next to El Jefe. It's like our quiet, peaceful bonding time.

Someone asked me what was surprising about becoming a parent. My first response was the time it takes. Wow. I'm mourning the loss of most of my hobbies (have kind of been playing soccer), but I'll always have time for scrapbooking and cardmaking. My time with an infant at home is limited. And most of the mom's I meet who are scrapbooking are already grandma's or have children who sleep through the night or have family nearby to care for the little ones while they indulge in crafts.

The second most shocking thing about becoming a parent was the love you feel for your child. Amazing. And for us it wasn't an instant love, it took time. In the beginning, we were more in provider mode, meeting the baby's needs. Now, it's just amazing. I've had glimpses of these profound love...towards my husband, towards my parents in their unconditional love. But the love you have for your child is really beyond description.

Being sane when you have a baby can be hard. I'll blame mommy-brain on the fact that all week I thought the freezing temperature was 42 degrees F, not 32. The husband and I sometimes have trouble seeing the big picture and we get caught up in the little things over which we disagree. But over the weekend, the husband said something profound to keep things in perspective: we have our health and a beautiful son, let's not get caught up in the little things and be grateful for what we have; hings could be a lot worse and this will probably be the easiest we'll have it.

Maybe from now on I'll stop commenting on how I never post and just blog when I can. And hopefully you guys will just keep coming back when you can.