Christmas Remembered

Starting cinnamon rolls Christmas Eve

Stockings...guess which one is Ollie's!

Opening the stockings...mmm, animal crackers!

Christmas morning at the Johnsons

Picture of Grandma with my new camera

Playing "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" (we weren't) and eating cinnamon rolls

Kiss from Grandpa

Christmas jammies!

okay, maybe we had too much fun posing...

Dad's already looking tired and we only just got to Grammy and Grampy Sargents!

Oliver went nutty for these crackers! He carried the bag around all afternoon!

A quiet moment with mom

Christmas afternoon at the Sargents'

love love love this shot!

much better! Oliver loves his Pooh Bear Chair!

Kayley loves her baby cousin!
The mayhem

Grammy Sargent with her favorite Grandson!

Post Christmas Update

I got a new digital camera for Christmas, a kodak easyshare, it is wonderful, i love it, but i can't figure out how to get the pictures onto the blog so Christmas photos and videos are to follow when I figure it out (aka when Shane gets home:) )
This week Oliver learned how to say no. He's really good at it. Its actually kind of helpful because he says it as he is about to do something naughty, so we can get to him in time!
We also found out on Christmas Eve that he has an ear infection so he is on antibiotics for another week, but he is feeling so much better already, its great! (and don't worry, I will still give him his full dose of antibiotics)

Christmas cookies

On Sunday Shane, Marisa, Oliver and I decorated Christmas cookies. The general consensus was that Marisa is a TERRIBLE cookie decorator. The picture here is the only good cookie she made. Sorry Ris! Cookie design is just not for you!
Next topic: Shane as a child. I have had this picture of Shane on the fridge for a few months now and everyone who sees it thinks that it is Oliver at first glance. I have to agree. What do you think?
We are only waiting for one more person, Gabriel, to arrive, and then we will have our Christmas crowd complete! Mom, Dad, Grandma, Marisa, Gabriel, Shane, and Ollie. Of course we're bummed that Les, Rob, Melody, Miranda, Josh, Bek, Judah, Delilah, Mikey, Di, and Aaron could all be here too, but we take what we can get:)

miracles DO happen!

Last week my parents' home teacher went over to help cut and stack some wood. That evening he called them up to inform them that his ring had fallen off of his finger, probably while chopping wood. Every night after work for the entire week he came over, metal detector in hand, scouring the back yard for his wedding band.
Then the ice storm hit.
I'm sure that they gave up hope, because I know my parents and our family had. It had probably washed away in the rain, or been buried by the snow.
Friday morning, after the storm had died down I went over to my parents to use their hot water (they have a generator!) as I was walking back, something caught my eye in the driveway. I can't really say why it did, because the sun wasn't out, but I did see a small glint. I looked down, and buried under about half an inch of ice was a wedding ring. I dug it out and started screaming, "I found it! I found it!" We had to wait an entire day to tell them we had found it because they still didn't have their power back on. Apparently my parents' hometeacher was giddy.
He informed me on Sunday that they had been praying all week long that somehow the ring would show up. He then told me that I had been the answer to their prayers.
I am so grateful that the Lord was able to work through my hands to help out these faithful people. It reallly increased my faith in miracles too!

First Born Tag

*1. Were you married at the time?* yes
*2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant?* well...i guess we'll have a scottish baby...
*3. How old were you?* 20 when I was preggers, 21 when I had him
*4. How did you find out you were pregnant?* home test because i was 3 days late
*5. Who did you tell first?* My stupid boss so I could leave work early
*6. Did you want to find out the sex? Definitely, we could barely wait the 16 weeks!
*7. What was your due date? October 26, 2007
*8. Did you deliver early or late?* two stupid weeks late
*9. Did you have morning sickness?* never, although i used it as an excuse to get out of class (I was still in college)
*10. What did you crave? peanut butter and bagels, fried clams
*11. Who irritated you the most?* everyone who didn't notice i was preggo! I wanted everyone to know!
*12. What was you first child's sex?* boy
*13. How many pounds did you gain throughout your pregnancy?* 35
*14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?* just being 2 weeks late
*15. Where did you give birth?* LRGH
*16. How many hours were you in labor?* about 5. I had Pitocin at 9, but didn't feel contractions until about noon. I pushed for 15 minutes.
*17. Who drove you to the hospital?* my husband
*18. Who watched?* Shane, Mom, Erica Russell (my midwife) and two nurses
*19. natural or c-section? natural
*20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain?* hecks no! I kind of meditated into a trance, it was pretty cool
*21. How much did your child weigh?* 8lbs 12ozs
*22. What did you name him/her?* Oliver David Sargent
*23. How old is your first born today?* 13 months exactly!

I tag Becky, Shauna, Jen H., Jenn M., and all of the other moms out there!

Preparing for Christmas

So we have never had a tree before out of sheer laziness. We always spend Christmas with our parents anyway. This year, though, was going to be different. This year our little boy was going to havea good old fashioned Tannenbaum...or not. We couldn't really find a place to put a tree and were fearful of what Oliver would do to it once it was up. So we compromised...
This way we were able to decorate and display our ornaments without worrying about Oliver breaking/eating them...or the tree!

We also hung up our stockings...

and set up our Nativity Scene (from Mexico on our honeymoon)

Oh how I love Christmas:)

Also, the temple was great. I am so glad we went. We had a quiet, reverent time at the temple and had a great, rowdy time Texas Roadhouse with the Simpsons!

I love to see the temple...

Well, the stars have aligned and at long last I am off to the temple. The last time I was there was last October. I've had some separation issues with my little man, but Shane and I have both gathered the strength and courage to leave him for about 8 hours to bask in the quietness that is the temple. The silence of the celestial room is something both of our brains need right now.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Well, the Sargent household had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The food was absolutely delish and nothing beats being surrounded by family. We had all of the Thanksgiving staples; turkey, stuffing, gravy, green beans, green bean casserole (yuck), jellied cranberry sauce, homemade cranberry sauce, biscuits, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, deviled eggs, and salad. The coolest part was that Oliver had a little bit of everything and loved it all! He was pretty much passed out for the entirety of Thanksgiving last year, so although he was screaming for food most of this one, at least he was alert!
We ate rather late (630) because Shane had to work until 6. We were all settling into our Turkey-coma's at about 730 so we had our desserts last night. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate cream pie, and ice cream. YUM!

Yesterday, in case you hadn't heard, was also Black Friday. I went whole hog this year and went with my MIL and SIL to Wal-Mart at 430am to stand in line for a half an hour. There was nothing that I was worried about getting, it was just for the excitement of it all! And exciting it was! At 430 there were probably 100 people in front of me in line and by 5, when the doors opened, there were at least as many behind me, too. The store was okay except for around electronics, you really could not move. I had to abandon my cart because I would have been stuck next to the laptops (no, Shane, that is not what you got) until next Tuesday! The line to check out was pretty ridiculous. I hopped in a line, and then saw that there were two lines, but, wanting to keep my place, I stayed in my slow line. It wasn't until my line got to the register that I noticed that my line went to ONE register, the other line went to ELEVEN!!!!!! So dumb. So by 7 we were out of Wal-Mart and moved onto Target, which was good for DVD's and not much else. Then we went down to Salem and hit Kohls, who had a super long line, but they're so efficient that it went super quick, Christmas Tree Shop, and Barnes and Noble. By now it was about 230 so we had lunch. My SIL had packed turkey sandwiches and chocolate cheesecake...just the pick-me-up I needed! We went back to Penacook to pick up my car and I left my MIL and SIL there and proceeded on to the Outlets where I hit Old Navy ($10 sweaters!), Banana Republic (50% off the entire store!), and Carter's (50% off the entire store!) I finished shopping at 6pm, 13 hours after I had started. It was so much fun and I already can't wait to do it next year!

The spread

Where's m'turkey!?

The line outside

The line inside

The damage

The damage!

First Foreign Object

Last night when I was changing Oliver's diaper I noticed something a little odd, so I took a closer look...was that...a decimal point button...of a calculator!? That is correct, Oliver swallowed his first non-food object (well...that I know about and have evidence of). Needless to say the calculator has been thrown out and I think Oliver's bowels have been cleaned out!

The New Hannaford

This weekend there were big goings-on in the little town of Meredith. We got our very own chaing grocery store! For years we have had Jackson Star which is ridiculously ridiculously expensive, and because it is on 104 its a little out of the way too. So every week the town of Meredith collectively drove to either Gilford (for Shaw's or Hannaford) or Tilton (for Market Basket) to get our grocery shopping done. Not pleasant when gas was at $4/gallon.
So the grand opening was at 7 am and the first 500 customers recieved a "gift". Now we were pretty excited to get there to claim our prize, but I had no idea about some other people! One of mom's friends said she couldn't sleep the night before! Another arrived at the store at 615! Ahh, small town New Hampshire:) Shane and I got there at about 8 and we lucked out with a parking space but had to wait five minutes for a shopping cart! There were still plenty of freebies left, so we were happy. The line to check out was wrapped around half of the store but it seemed to go fast. It is going to be exciting to be making a dinner, realize I don't have an ingredient, and know I won't have to pay our life savings for, say, a bunch of broccoli!our freebie included pasta, sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, server, and a big bottle of EVOO-I'd guess it was a value of at least $20!)

cry baby...the finale?

So after that lovely night of waking up 5 times (in which the 4th time Shane said "Oh, is this his first time waking up!?") Shane and I both agreed that even though Oliver sleeps in a crib right next to us that we would just let him cry it out over the weekend whenever he got up. So two nights ago Oliver fell asleep great and then got up at 1230 and cried like crazy for 5 minutes while I was laying in bed trying not to move, hoping he couldn't see me. Eventually, though, he went to sleep and didn't get up until 530. Last night when I put him to bed he whimpered twice and fell asleep and didn't get up again until 5!!! It was lovely! Of course, I'm sure he will get a cold, or a tooth, or something that will make him stay up all night now, but for the time being WE DID IT!!!

boooooo

5 times again:(

cry baby update

Last night I nursed Oliver to sleep and he got up 4 times.

Tonight I nursed him, but he didn't go to sleep (which is actually what I was hoping for) I put him in his crib, kissed him, said "I love you" and walked out. The tantrum ensued...but it was 25 minutes shorter! That's right! He fell asleep in 5 minutes!! Very exciting! We'll see how many times he gets up tonight, because that is the real indicator of success.
My boy is growing up! He can put himself to sleep! (Everyone knock on wood that I didn't just jinx myself)

cry baby

Well last night for the first time in my little boy's life I made him cry himself to sleep. I had nursed him to sleep at 745. Fine. Great. But at 830 he woke up crying. I knew he couldn't be hungry, and that if I went in there he would want to be held and nursed, so I stayed strong and folded laundry downstairs. He cried for 30 minutes before finally falling asleep in a very awkward position (don't they always?) When I didn't hear him anymore I went to check on him, and that of course woke him up, but he didn't see me so he just went right back to sleep. For the past few weeks he has been getting up 5 times a night and last night he only got up twice! (330 and 6) I don't know if this will be an every night occurrence because I still like to nurse him in the evening, but it is good to know that he can actually survive crying himself to sleep!

PARTY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEETEST BOY, OLIVER!!! I'M SO HAPPY YOU CAME TO EARTH TO BE WITH ME!

Kitty Cupcakes!

On Wednesday I took cupcakes to my Breast Feeding Group to celebrate Oliver's birthday (which is on Sunday). Since his first word was "kitty" and he's a little obsessed I made kitty cupcakes! I saved one so that he can have a cake all to his own at his birthday party on Saturday! I also took the second tray to the nurses at the hospital because I had a really great experience with them a year ago!:) (don't worry becky, if it had been Franklin, i would NOT have taken them cupcakes!)

man. why's everyone raining on my parade?

GOBAMA!

Do you smell what Barack is cooking???


SMELLS LIKE A PRESIDENCY!!!!!

I can honestly say that I have never been prouder to be an American.

yucky baby food

Now let me begin by saying that I love Beech Nut brand. I like it a lot better than Gerber. The have bigger chunks in their food and seem to use less crazy sounding ingredients. Yesterday we gave Oliver the above food; Sweet Potatoes and Wild Alaskan Salmon. He ate it just like eats everything else (He is obviously a good eater). This was all fine and good until it came out the other end. Thats right. We are talking about the stinkiest, most gut wrenching aftermath I have ever encountered. All the moms out there know how hard it is to actually gag at your own child's "waste" but my goodness that tested my gag reflex to the max! I know this was a gross post, but I just needed to share my disgusting experience and hopefully help others avoid this unfortunate mistake!