Catch All

Think of this post like the Queen of England's annual Christmas broadcast in which she gives a sort of state of the union and shares her thanks for the year's blessings and hope for the New Year. Much less formal mind you, more like a list, and probably much worse grammar. Got to get back into it somehow and there's been so much going on lately that I haven't shared so I just want to dump it all into this post along with a few of my recent favorite pictures.

So here's what's been going on since I last blogged...in no particular order...

1. Tommy is now 16, almost 17, months old and becoming more and more of a full fledged, energetic, rambunctious, tender hearted, neck squeezing, strong-willed toddler. I plan to do a feature length 18 month update in January but for now I'll share just one my favorite things he does lately, which is come up to his mama, or daddy, or Hunley and emphatically lay his head down on us while saying "AWWWWW."  It is melt your heart adorable, I come completely undone, he has me wrapped around his little squishy fingers and it's a good thing because boy keeps me on my toes. So many major milestones have happened in such a short period of time. He is down to one nap a day, and as of last week he is fully weaned. And next week he's heading off on his first date and then I'll be moving him in to his dorm at college the week after that...
2. Speaking of weaning. It is by far the hardest thing I've done so far as a mom. I do not think this emotional rollercoaster/heart break is talked about nearly enough. Yes there are countless sources and posts about how to actually go about weaning and I honestly expected to feel relieved to be done with it. Done with the responsibility and the lack of ownership over my own body. I did not anticipate just how sad I would feel, and still feel, about the end of breastfeeding.  I know there are some real hormones at play here so I'm trying to think of it less as the loss of something so sweet and more like a passage into a new season, but I'm not there yet. It still feels like a loss. Tommy of course handled it like he's handled every transition, totally smooth despite his mom's bumbling about. I think we could have stopped sooner as he was only nursing a few times a day, for less and less time, and it was more for both our comfort, but I am so proud and thankful that we got to breastfeed for these 16 months. It truly was one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life.
3. If it had been just up to me, we might have kept on nursing until he formed the words and literally asked me to stop but T.J. had a work conference (our second trip to Colorado this year) that lined up just right! My mother in law came to stay with him while I tagged along, and thus ended the question of when should we wean. This was now the second time we'd left Tommy for longer than a couple hours and he did great again while mom and dad got to rest and relax in snowy Keystone. Well... mom did most of the resting since T.J. had actual conference obligations, but it was still a fun time away together. T.J. gave me my early Christmas present in the form of an indulgent massage at the spa, and I enjoyed sleeping in, ordering room service, and having no one else's butt to wipe.  Of course, after all the quality time with my husband, my second favorite thing was coming home to a big hug from my sweet boy.
4. Tommy and I also took a solo trip to Fort Worth, Texas where he finally got to meet some of his mama's best friends from college! It was such a sweet girl's weekend, made even sweeter by the addition of the two new baby boys in our little circle. I just loved seeing my friends love on my son and I loved having time to catch up on their lives. We just pick up right where we left off. As the Ben Rector song goes, you can't make old friends.
5. Tommy recently visited Santa and had a slightly different reaction to him than last year. Also... how has he grown so much in just one year!? We are looking forward to our little Christmas at home, just the three of us this year. Our house and halls are decked and Tommy gets excited to turn on the Christmas tree lights every day. We haven't had any ornament casualties yet, though not for lack of trying. This year he's slightly more aware of what's going on so we've introduced him to Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas, showed him the old classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas (which ended up being mostly just mom and dad watching the Grinch while he ran around as per usual), and we end each night rocking in his bedroom to the glow of his very own little tree. Having a little one definitely rekindles the magic of my own childhood Christmases and I love getting to create special memories for him.

(2017)
So that about brings us up to date! We have a lot of potentially big changes headed our way in the New Year that I hope to be more diligent about documenting and sharing here. Stay tuned!

Comments

  1. So happy to see you blogging again! Your little man is just the cutest and I cannot wait now to catch up in person and get an ‘awww’ : )

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  2. Our children grow up so fast. Tomorrow my daughter will be 42. In my mind I can still see her at Tommy's age.
    Enjoy.
    I hope your holidays are Merry and bright and the year ahead filled with much happiness and good health.

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    1. Thank you so much! This is such a fun age with Tommy! I know in 10, 20 years I'll still think of his as this busy, wild, sweet, hilarious little boy. Hope you have a happy holiday season as well!!

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  3. He is such a beautiful boy, Shannon, but I know you know that! LOL The Santa photos are SO great! Thanks for the catch-up blog!! Looking forward to your next post!

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    1. Thanks so much! He is the cutest and I don't think I'm biased ;) I can't wait to see what he thinks of Santa next year.

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