We have had quite the busy autumn/winter season here in our household.
As mentioned in my last post, I started a new job in October. Work has been all-encompassing since then. I now have a team of 8 and I'm in charge of all financial operations at my new company; it has been intense to say the least.
Surprisingly though, I am enjoying the challenge. My new company is only 10 minutes away from home, instead of 50 minutes at my previous job. This has made all the difference. I am getting nearly 7 hours more every week with my little boy in the commute time-saving alone. And if when I have a long or stressful day in the office, I'm only a few minutes from my family once I leave.
After the hectic first few weeks at my new job, it was great to be able to have a break in November and go back to Florida. We hadn't been since we visited for Thanksgiving 2 years ago. Back then, I was worried about how to cope with a 4 month old on a flight.
In hindsight, and with the recent memories of a flight to-and-from Florida with a toddler, flying across the Atlantic with a baby was a breeze!
After some tearful moments and lots of Peppa Pig on the iPad we made it safely to the sunshine state and had a great time with family.
We arrived back in the UK in early December. Last week, we hosted Christmas dinner at our house for the first time. I was nervous about this but it was better than I thoughts: Mr M and I could both drink freely without worrying who was driving home; we could put Nate down for a nap in his own bed while people were still here; and we had lots of leftovers to nibble on the next few days.
Now I am on another break from work. My new company closes down for the week between Christmas and New Year and I am enjoying the time with Nate before work starts again...
FLORIDA TRIP
CHRISTMAS
Today is New Year's Eve; the end of a busy, exciting, chaotic and amazing 2012. I started the year pregnant (in fact I was still keeping my pregnancy a secret when 2012 began) and ended the year with a 5 month old gorgeous boy who keeps me on my toes every day.
I haven't blogged in a few months (oops!) and lots has happened. We went to Florida for 3 weeks in November and celebrated Thanksgiving with the American family. They all loved Nate and spoiled him; it was sad to leave at the end of the trip. Nate did amazingly well on the flight and liked his sky cot. I am still breastfeeding and this really made the flight fairly simple. I can't imagine having to do a 9 hour flight with bottles and formula.
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| On the flight |
We then celebrated Christmas with the British family back here in the UK and it was such a lovely day. Nathan enjoyed watching everyone open presents and he was all smiles as we crinkled the wrapping paper in front of him. He even chewed and swallowed his first solid food, a boiled carrot, on Christmas day!
Nathan is growing up and developing so quickly. It's amazing to see how much he changes each week. He is currently sitting up on his own for a few minutes at a time before toppling over sideways or backwards. He giggles a lot now - mostly when we blow raspberries on his tummy or when we do silly dance moves in front of him. But he laughs at random things too; he let out a huge chuckle when Bailey was scratching his ears a couple days ago - he is so easily pleased.
We plan on starting him on a proper weaning plan onto solid foods in a couple weeks, but in the meantime have been letting him lick on pieces of food, like the carrot on Christmas day. This morning I let him lick on a piece of banana and the face he made was one of shock and horror followed by a smile and finally a large shriek of laughter. I think he will enjoy his food once we get started. And perhaps being on solid food will help him sleep better, but I'm not counting on it. Last night he was up every 2 hours. The night before he slept 6 hours in a row. There is no consistency in his sleeping which in some ways makes it harder because I am always on edge, never sure when he will wake.
This evening I hope he lets hubby and I enjoy a glass of bubbly and some cheesy New Year's Eve TV before waking up.
Happy New Years everyone and here's to a fun toddler-packed 2013!
