Two Months

Dear Cole,

This month has been a busy one!  You took your first few car trips and did great- even when we were stuck in Thanksgiving traffic.  You are still a mellow little guy and seem to go with the flow most of the time.

Likes: You are still a cuddler and love to sleep in someones arms.  This month you've enjoyed looking at the Christmas lights.  When we're sitting on the couch, you'll stretch your neck so you can see the lights.  You also love loud noises (which is good considering the loud big brother you have!) especially the vacuum, bath water, hair dryer and even the blender!

Dislikes: You are beginning to have a strong hatred for your car seat when it is sitting still.  As long as we're moving, you're ok, but as soon as we stop, we start to hear grunts that are typically followed by screaming!  This is great for longer car trips but terrible for our trips around town.

Eating/Sleeping: Not much has changed in this department since last month.  You are in a pretty good schedule during the day.  You eat just about every three hours.  Then you have some "play" time and then you sleep for an hour or so before it's time to eat again.  At night, you've had a few longer stretches of sleep, but for the most part, you're still waking up about every 4 hours.

Playing:  We've seen lots of smiles this month, and you've started talking to us lately too.  Baby coos are one of the sweetest sounds.  We all love listening to you talk- especially your big brother!  He tries to translate for us sometimes.  I've also noticed you focusing more on the toys that hang on your bouncer and swing.

Stats: You were a trooper at your 2 month appointment.  Of course, you screamed when you got your shots, but it wasn't long before you were mellow little self again.  You are a tiny little guy.  You weigh 9 lb, 10 oz (4%), and you are 22 inches long (12%).  You are still growing right along your own little growth curve, so the doctor isn't concerned.  You're still wearing newborn diapers and clothes.  We have a closet full of 0-3 month clothes that I'm ready for you to grow in to!  

This next month brings some big changes for our family as I head back to work and you start spending the days with Misty.  Levi is excited to have you at "school" with him, and I know you'll do great.  We love you so much Cole!

Santa, Trains, and Gingerbread Houses

This Christmas season has already been so much fun with Levi!  Levi is totally into all of the excitement of the season.  In fact one night (actually early one morning!) he woke up and seemed to be upset.  When I went into his room and asked him what was wrong he said, "I just wanted to talk to you about Christmas cheer!"

Levi got to see Santa (from afar) and ride a train through Aunt Blair and Uncle Kyle's neighborhood.  His obsession with trains has intensified over the last few months.  When he's playing with his trains or sees one somewhere, he'll look at me and say, "I just love trains so much!"

We pulled out Polar Express one weekend and with a 3 year old boy you can't get much better than the combination of trains and Santa! We've already watched this movie more times than I can count.  We even had a family pj party with popcorn and hot chocolate.

We have done a couple of crafty Christmas activities (which I much say I'm pretty proud of considering we have a newborn in the house!)  We decorated a foam Christmas tree and gingerbread house from Target.  They were perfect for us this year.  They came already constructed and with a variety of stickers to decorate with.  Levi loved it!

We also decorated a real gingerbread house.  Levi was very particular about where things went and loved getting to play with the icing and candy!

We also made a trip to see Santa.  We went at 10:00 one Monday morning with Sarah and Miles.  We were the only people there and were able to walk right up without waiting at all!  Cole was crying which concerned Levi.  He was worried Cole might be put on the naughty list!  Santa was great and even called Levi and Cole by name (which Levi loved!)  

We had talked about going to visit Santa, but I wasn't sure how Levi would do.  I was pleasantly surprised with his reaction.  He walked right up and started talking to Santa.  He climbed up in his lap and smiled for the picture.  Then he told him he needed some new trains- a new engine and a few passenger cars to be exact- and some new cars too.

We have had a busy December so far and are looking forward to more fun with family and friends!

Brooks Thomas Griffith

Little did we know that when we left Dallas after Thanksgiving we'd be back in less than a week!  Blair called me on Wednesday morning and told me she thought she was having contractions.  They were strong enough that she cancelled all of her clients that day but seemed inconsistent.  According to Kyle she had a very productive day at home and even had a productive shopping trip to Target- lots of nesting!  Right before we left for church, she called me back and told me they were headed to the hospital!

Wednesday was my dad's birthday, and I think we were all hoping Brooks would make his appearance in time for him to share a birthday with Pops!  Things did progress very quickly, and my mom, Aunt Amy, and I enjoyed texting back and forth all night long.  We had so much fun waiting to hear that Brooks was here, and I was glad to have some "company" up with me for Cole's 12 am feeding.  

I guess Brooks decided that he wanted his own special day, and he was born at 1 in the morning on Thursday, November 29th.  He was almost 9 pounds and had a beautiful head of hair!  I wanted so badly to be there with Blair, so Cole and I headed up first thing Thursday morning.  We spent a lot of time hanging out at the hospital holding sweet baby boys.  We enjoyed the confused looks and comments we got when nurses and doctors came in and saw Cole and Brooks!  They were almost the same size- and Cole was 5 weeks old!  

It has been so fun to be pregnant and due so close to my sister.  We have compared notes and complained to each other throughout our entire pregnancies (and now life with newborns!)   We're so happy for Blair and Kyle and so excited to welcome sweet Brooks into the family!