Week 5 in Review: Christmas Time is HERE!

Well we made it through the Christmas travels with a babe in tow. Peeps, he did so well. I am still in awe of what a routine can do for a lil guy and his parents. He slept great in the car and slept decent outside of the car (sorry Klinge siblings for a night of cries sporadic on Christmas night), ate great, and loved to be held by any and all parties. We began the weekend by opening gifts at home on Christmas Eve morning. Rollie got clothes, formula, a dino bowtie, an A's hat, and even a pair of shoes. Mom and dad were spoiled as well being the highlight gifts of a flannel tunic for me and snowboard pants for Caleb. 

We then packed up shop and headed to Milwaukee for my mom's Christmas. We had the usual guests as well as some of Dennis' family. It was nice to be with everyone and play a ton of games until the early part of the morning. We even visited Elmbrook Church in Brookfield for their Christmas Eve service which is a HUGE church and many o people came to worship Jesus on His birthday. After the movie, the family went to Star Wars movie. I have not seen a Star Wars movie in it's entirety before so I was thoroughly entertained and so were the rest of us. 

Our lil elf on the shelf, no amused as you can see.

Thanks, Aunt Jeanne, for this memory
to look back on when I am 18!

Our Christmas Stocking Stuffer

Rollie loves Christmas ALMOST as much as daddy.

Lil man got tuckered out

On Saturday morning, we left early to go to Waverly to see all the peeps. Okay, okay... my baby sister, Anna, lives in Belgium for the year. SHE CAME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! I cried a lil when I saw her because it was a complete surprise to all of us she was coming home. Something about all being present for the Klinge siblings that gets me everytime. It doesn't happen but twice a year and when it does I just really value that time. We played Family Feud, went on a scavenger hunt, and watched some Christmas videos from years past. All in all a good time. We were in Waverly for all but 24 hours before taking the trek home and were quite ready to be sleeping once we got back.

Spoiled lil kiddo

Cypie Jean in the Christmas spirit

Kendall got a FANTASTIC dollhouse

This is what Waverly Christmas is all about, family time.

Sometimes there are tears...
that happens a lot too.

 HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEKEND: Rollie met, for the first time, all of his GREAT grandmas. He has three and we made it a point to have him introduced this weekend. To think that there is two whole generations inbetween Rollie and these pretty ladies is hard to wrap my head around but he has a lot to learn from these gals before too long. Such beautiful women to raise such great families.

Gramma Mary (My mom's mom)

L to R: Gram Gert (Caleb's dad's mom) and
Gramma Briden (Caleb's mom's mom)

 To conclude, this photo of Rollie sums up what this weekend felt like for us... Cray-cray.

Week 4 in Review: ONE MONTH OLD!

Rollie made it, he is officially one month old and his momma is so proud of him. Peeps, I love him so much. He makes me so happy. We had a big week of visiting those that are in town for the holiday season so Rollie was tested in the car. Result: he did pretty well. He does get quite lonely in the back seat by himself but he copes well with his sound machine. Have I told you all of the sound machine addict that I have on my hands. My lil stinker doesn't care for a pacifier, a snuggly blanket, or anything when he goes to bed. All he cares about is the soothing streams of "mountain rain" and "endless waves" from the iTunes store. He doesn't fall asleep without it regardless of where he is or what else is going on. In hindsight, this will be great if it continues as I will not need to rid him of anything but if I forget that lil machine of his, I have no idea what I would do. Back to my friend visits I had... I met a BFF in Eau Claire, WI on two separate occasions as well as one visit in Stevens Point. My friend Sarah and I met up after a LONG time of not seeing each other (okay, just 4 months but still a long while for us.) to do a little Christmas shopping and indoor walking at the mall. I am so thankful for the time I had with her and how we were really able to catch up. It was a success and Rollie did great in the ergo while we just kept walking but it was certainly a tag team experience. I never registered before baby that there are things like going the the bathroom while shopping that a baby can certainly get in the way of as well as eating lunch with a baby strapped to your chest.

She is just the prettiest I feel.

On the way home from visiting with Sarah, my HS bff called and wanted to meet Rollie that same day. I was able to manipulate Rollie's feeding and sleep schedule for it to work perfectly. The thing about Hannah is that I will ALWAYS make time to see her if she is in town because she lives in SC on the east coast. Her mom came with her who is like my second mother so we had a great visit and Rollie learned how to be held for two hours without sleeping. The ergo infant insert is a lifesaver for Rollie because he came be snugged into that cushy thing and just look around. It was great to reminisce about the times past and introduce them to Rollie. 

I am convinced we will ALWAYS be
friends.

On Wednesday, Rollie and I went back to Eau Claire to see Bek, who lives in AZ right now, and I was able to meet her new baby, Abe. It is crazy to think that in my inner circle of 8 friends,  4 of us have had a baby in the year 2015. They will all be friends or spouses before we know it. When we met up, there were many people who cooed at our babies and told us of there lil ones that they had. People are so personable when it comes to babies, am I right? I am very much looking forward to her being back in MN this February for several weeks so I can squeeze her thunder-thigh baby more. 

5 months of chunk.

Selfie with babies!

I decided at my shower with the Klinges that I wanted to do a photo for each month of Rollie's first year. My SIL, Carrie, already had bibs for people to decorate at this shower so it worked out perfectly. There are two giraffe stuffed animals that I want to use for size comparison purposes so for now, I will use both, and cycle one out eventually. The orange one is Caleb's from when he was growing up, Jerusalem. The other one my mom purchased at a craft fair and his name is Geoffrey. My son is just the cutest, no?

What a big boy!

I feel like Rollie is smiling in this picture.
Am I just wishful thinking?

Next up: Christmas time with Rollie.

Rollie in Review: Week 3 (Grandma comes to visit)

Well folks, we had a visitor this past week. My mom came to visit the lil one and to assist her grown baby with night feedings and snuggling. She LOVES to snuggle that lil guy and certainly spoiled him with all aspects. While she was here Caleb and I went out to eat, just the two of us, which was so nice and I have already forgotten what it was like to not be concerned with an itty bitty's well being and not a simple conversation with the husband. I do not think we mentioned Rollie once and we were totally okay with that. Mom and I went Christmas shopping for peeps and also picked some items up for my grandma to wrap up for peeps too. We love to shop and find perfect items for all parties. The search is the best part of list shopping for us. We also just walked around with Rollie in tow and listened to him coo and murmur through life. 

Here we are, three generations of pure happiness. 

She is an amateur feeder but oh so good at being a grandma!

Shopping buddy for grandma.

What else did we do this week? Nothing is the answer to that question. With such a small child and all those public germs people have in the winter season, it is so hard to go out and about. I feel very couped up being home all day and then home all night but my highlights of the day are when Rollie wakes for his hour in between naps and is just the happiest lil guy I have ever experienced. People, he is like the bee's knees and is such a good baby. I know chaos is all but around the corner but until then, I am savoring the moments of perfection he has.

Enjoy this weeks photos:

He is all but completely formula-fed. Am I sad? Sure.
Do we have a choice? Nope. Will he ever know the
difference? Heck no.

Just the biggest daddy's boy there is.
Prefers dad on many occasions.

Dad and Rollie enjoying some morning
coffee clutch jabber.

Mohawk hair, just like cousin Miles.

Ka'Tan wearing was a hit with my main
squeeze. He purrs in that thing.

That lil winter flyer hat he wears gets me
every time. I love it so!

Christmas time is here and so is the full nursery reveal!

People, this kid we have here is 9 pounds. My baby is a whole nine pounds now and I just love every piece of that 9 pounds he packs. Also, this means we have surpassed birth weight and are on the highway to sleeping like a champ between feedings.

Here is Rollie, week 2. Enjoy the hunk of a child we have.

So... about that "newborn cocoon" grandma got for him. HA!

Those feet are so cute to me!

Family Photo

It is Christmas Time around here. We have a tree and then we have Rollie. How do we have both you say? Well, we went to the cabin recently and scoured the forest for the perfect tree. Rollie did great on the 2 hour straight drive and the tree only killed our gas mileage by like, a tank or so. It was great fun to be up there and it was even more fun decorating the 13' tree in our 700 sq ft apt. To say our house is cluttered with Christmas bliss and baby "needs" is an understatement. Please enjoy the photo montage of this joyous event:

Rollie is such a trooper.
I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

Mom squishing her kid while cutting down his own tree.

We love adventure

13' is quite heavy.

The proud new owner of his own tree

Grandma Kathy made that stocking for Rollie!
How cute, we love it so much.

Other than that, Rollie and I have been hanging out pretty well together. We get along during the day and he drools (literally) all over dad when Caleb gets home. It is probably my most favorite part of the day when Rollie realizes dad is holding him and Caleb talks gibberish to his son. Melt my heart why don't you?!?!

And the nursery is finished! Whoopie. 

I will let the photos tell the story on this because Caleb already revealed the crib he made and all the rest is decor that we love but doesn't have back stories. Here ya are!