We're all still here!

You might not think so based on total absence of blog posts for the first quarter of the year (I think in quarters now at my new job...and I didn't work last weekend for quite possibly the first time EVER, save for my "break" in DC, whaaaat?), but we're all still here kicking it! Here, watch Holden grow up kinda fast...

And I just saw that the poor kid had on long-sleeve stripes for pictures three months in a row...sorry, baby, those Carter's onesies are a wardrobe staple for you. I'll try to mix it up a little bit.

Already ten months old!! He's allllll over the place right now and is SO much fun. Less fun? Constant ear infections that refuse to be solved by every antibiotic known to man, so on Thursday my poor baby has to have a teeny bit of surgery and get ear tubes. As an excessive worrier, I plan on being a little bit of a hot mess come surgery time, but hopefully this will get us on the road to a healthier little guy who doesn't have fluidy goop clogging up his ears.

Lack of blog posts due to general life craziness, but we also added streaming to our Netflix subscription, which caused me to lose hours of my life to things like House of Cards and An Idiot Abroad over the last couple months. Oops. Resolve to not binge-watch everything just because I can.

Happy spring!

Hi kitty cat!

Holden has a minor obsession with Harrison. Shockingly, this relationship works for both of them. And really, that's all.

Love you, kitty.

Face-off! No one was harmed. Harrison really just wanted his catnip mouse that Craig is dangling.

Excuse me, baby, but this is really my ottoman. I guess I'll let you borrow it for just a little while.

I still can't believe this is ok with Harrision.

Hello, cat. Hello, baby.

Harrison is...protecting?...Holden while he sleeps.

Harrison used to be much more suspicious of the baby...and the feeling was a little mutual.

Oh, the early days - comparing the size of the baby to the size of the cat

And a very merry Christmas to all...

...and to all an incredibly short Christmas summary in the form of very few phone pictures. We're pretty tired around here. But for all of the best reasons. Except for a lingering cough for our poor sick baby; that is not one of the best reasons. Sigh. Almost there. I'm extremely grateful for all of my helpers over the last week and really miss them. Love you, family.

Presents are pretty cool, Dad

We bought chocolate chips with the intent to bake goodies...but so far they've only served as a toy for the baby.

Story time with Auntie Manda!! Please also observe the proximity of the cat to this situation and chalk it up to a Christmas miracle.

Christmas is exhausting, y'all. Also, I'm totally about to outgrow my space egg swing. Yeeps.

Go away, germs...and bobcat

Poor baby Holden has a double ear infection (both ears!!) AND the flu. So basically that's where the last few days have gone. And having a sick baby is just one of the worst things ever. The end.

In completely unrelated news, there's apparently a tiny little bobcat who thinks our patio furniture is basically where it's at. Whaaaat?!?

So I called animal control, who promptly came (arrived 15 minutes later, so impressed!) and scared him away...and HE. CAME. BACK. And snuggled up in the cushions again. After Bob* dashed off again, Craig rearranged the cushions to make it a little less inviting. And hopefully that's all it takes?? Because I don't really want to have to figure out how to keep a little bobcat away - we have enough going on INSIDE the house.

* obviously the bobcat's name is Bob. duh.

Stranger danger has not yet set in

At least not when Holden has a full tummy and is kinda sleepy. Or possibly as long as he has some hair to tug on. Because our first meeting with Santa went extremely well!

We went to the Santa at Shops of Legacy out of pure convenience since we had a birthday brunch for Craig at Jasper's on Sunday morning with his mom, and this particular Santa was about a three minute walk away. And yes, we're those people who shelled out $50 for a sheet of photos and a digital copy of the image, but it was SO EASY. Minimal wait, happy helpers, and a generally pleasant experience. Yay!!

Holden was just so cute with him - he sat there and gazed at his face, then nuzzled in like he wanted to take a nap in all that fluff. You'll notice Santa kinda has Holden's right arm tucked down - yup, there was some serious thumb sucking going on (sleepy baby!), and we needed to try and get a smile. So out of frame is mom playing peekaboo (currently the hottest game in town) to encourage grins, and it actually worked.

Oh, and rest assured that beard is legit - Holden gave it a mighty tug for us.

Happy holidays, little bug - can wait to create all of these memories and start new traditions with you. This whole holiday season business has me feeling pretty mushy this year.