Over the River and through the Woods...

Just after Christmas, we headed up to Black Mountain for about a week. Most of Mike's family hadn't met our little star yet, so this was a big trip for Ollie.

...And a big trip for us; we forgot how much STUFF you have to take with you when you travel with a newborn. Whew! Of course, you pack all these baby accessories (pack-n-play, bouncy seat, baby sling) and the kid gets held by people the whole time!! As it should be, as it should be!!










Great memories are made around this table!


















We all decided to do an impromptu family portrait on Nanny and Papa's front steps. Cousin Page is holding Ollie and everyone is present except for Uncle Gilbert. Jessica's new baby, Jayden (about 2 months older than Ollie) is front and center. He is so adorable!














Here's Mike (dad) with Ollie and Rocky (grand-dad) with baby Jayden. What manly men we have in this family!


















Aunt Rita was a snoozing Roo.


















Nanny rocks Ollie by the Christmas tree. Not sure if I've mentioned yet that Ollie (Oliver) is named after Delores's mother, whose name was Ollie Belle Melton. We chose his middle name, William, in honor of my paternal grandfather, Rev. John William Garvy, Sr.


















Uncle Tom has a way with babies! He has the magic touch; I've seen it first hand.



















Cousin Page with Roo.


















Aunt Kim and Ollie by the Christmas tree.


















Uncle Chris holds Ollie.













Mike's Uncle Junior and Aunt Frances just ooh'ed and aah'ed over our little man!


















Aunt Lisa cuddled and rocked Ollie and told me about how she used to rock her "little girl," Kylee (now in high school) for hours on end.

Christmas Morning; Our Own Little Grinch

We opened stockings, ate a yummy breakfast casserole that I made the night before (while Mike spent four hours putting together Merrit's Play-Mobil castle), opened our presents, and drank waaay too much coffee (well, just Mike and I...no coffee for kiddos!).
















Best of all, we stayed in our PJs 'til noon!













Santa's little helpers.
















The castle that Mike put together last night. Very cool!














Thanks, Dad, for the Leap Pad game.


















Ollie and his dad, the Flake. (Mike has worn this T-shirt on Christmas morning for the past few years.)

Our Own Little Grinch
Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not. The Grinch hated Christmas - the whole Christmas season. Oh, please don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. Or maybe his head wasn't screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small.













I must stop this whole thing! Why, for fifty-three years I've put up with it now. I must stop Christmas from coming... but how?













One thing I can't stand is the noise, noise, noise, noise!













He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!


















And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day.

Christmas Eve Dinner

It's Christmas Eve, and it's just the four of us. It's a quiet and peaceful night. We are blessed beyond measure. We are especially thankful to have our sweet Oliver William with us!













The menu: Sliced ham, parslied sweet potatoes, applesauce, green salad, yeast rolls, and basil butter.










We set up the camera with the timer to take a family picture. Our "Happy Birthday, Jesus" cake is in the foreground, decorated with the plastic nativity characters that I had as a kid.


















Merrit eating a piece of cake.


















Roo is in his usual spot. :-)


















Merrit made our centerpiece.


















Merrit put out cookies & milk for Santa and carrot sticks for the reindeer.


















"...The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..."

Gramma B and Cap'n John Come to Town

My mom and John just came to spend two days with us. It was such a special treat to see them both. Mom cooked a delicious meal for us and we all opened presents together this morning. They headed back to New Bern today, December 23rd.











My mom showed up with a "party in a bag." A holiday table runner and matching placemats, a centerpiece, candles, festive paper plates and napkins (I say "No Dishes" is a great Christmas present!), and all the food for an awesome meal, complete with pies for dessert!


















While we opened presents, Gramma B got Roo to giggle for her.














This kid is a real snuggler. He loves it! (And I think Gramma B does, too!)












Merrit hands out presents in his Santa hat and red sweater.

Growing Bigger Every Day

Another visit to the pediatrician's office...and Ollie is up to 11 pounds, 3 ounces.

Ollie is still uncomfortable a lot of the time. He's gassy and bloated, he spits up, and seems like he's in pain sometimes.

On the reflux front, the Zantac doesn't seem to be helping, so we're going to try Prevacid to see if that helps with the reflux. We should see an improvement in about three or four days if it helps.

I also have a homeopathic remedy for colic that we'll be starting to give Ollie. It's a homeopathic preparation of chamomile, fennel, caraway, peppermint, ginger, lemon balm, and other substances known for soothing intestinal upset.

I am also going on a dairy-free diet for the next 3 weeks. Some breastfed babies have a sensitivity to cows milk proteins (which is different than being lactose intolerant) and I may be able to relieve Ollie's symptoms by eliminating the obvious sources of dairy (milk, cream, yogurt, butter, cheese, sour cream, ice cream, cottage cheese, etc.). If necessary, I can go to the next level and eliminate all foods that have dairy in them, which is little trickier and requires careful reading of food labels.

In the end, I guess we won't really know what "worked" -- the prescription, the homeopathic remedy, the dietary changes...just so long as he's more comfortable...

The fact that he's thriving as well as he is in spite of possible reflux and intestinal issues is awesome. He's a healthy little guy...we just need to keep troubleshooting the cause of his discomfort. 'Cause if baby ain't happy, ain't nobody happy...and if baby ain't sleepin', ain't nobody sleepin'!

Big Brother, Little Brother

Merrit and Ollie share a moment of brotherly love.

Roo's First Christmas Tree

Tonight we decorated Roo's first Christmas tree. He slept through most of it in his little bouncy seat. Merry Christmas, sweet little fella!













Daddy put the lights on while Merrit watched (and stayed out of the way).


















Once the lights were on, Mike kicked back and watched Merrit and I decorate the tree. (Well, Merrit and I decorated it as high as we could reach...Mike had to decorate the top of the tree!)













I love decorating the tree every year. Every ornament tells a story.














Mike traveled to San Fransisco one year and brought me back this trolley car (which had five chocolate bars in it).


















This is an ornament from the year we bought the house on Kintyre.
















Every year, I buy a keepsake ornament for Mike and Merrit. This year, I bought Ollie's first one. It reads, "Isn't it delightful," said Pooh, "to be so brand new."
















This is an ornament I bought for Merrit the year we went to the zoo and watched the polar bears with Aunt Rita.













Our sick sense of humor: The China doll and the Grinch always "promenade" together on our tree. In front of that, an ornament from me to Mike that I gave him the year Jenga got so sick that we almost lost her. It reads, "Kitty's List: 4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves, and a $1400 Surgery."













Back in 1996, I made two catnip-filled ornaments for Skippy and Jenga. Twelve years later, they are RIPE. The cats go NUTS every year when we bring them out of the box. Merrit's cracking up at Jenga's goofy behavior!

A Merrit'ism

"Mom, sometimes when Ollie hiccups, yucky stuff comes out."

First Family Outing: The Bowling Alley

What were we thinking? Taking a sleeping baby to a bowling alley? I've never really thought about how NOISY it is at a bowling alley!! Well, he slept right through it. Amazing!!














Dad laces up his size 13's...













Setting up the scoreboard together.













Priceless picture!












They put the gutter rails up for Merrit.


















"Alright!"