The Christmas Letter I Didn't Send

As usual, I sent the obligatory Christmas letter to family and friends this year with our Christmas card. It's always upbeat and paints a happy picture of our little family. While everything in it was indeed true, it of course just highlights the positive aspects of our life right now. So, in an effort to showcase what life is really like with two boys (under 4) and a dog, I present you the Christmas letter that I didn't send out this year. Thanks to Anna at My Life and Kids and an episode of Up All Night for inspiring me to write this one, too! :)

Dear Family and Friends,

Another year had gone by and like they say, the years are short, but the days are long. So long. We finally found a house (because we're really, really picky) after being cramped into an apartment for six long months. We quickly learned that two small boys and a dog require more space than a 3 bedroom apartment can offer. Apparently, we love moving during the best weather times of the year (during ice storms in Kentucky, when we hit record lows in Georgia, etc). This time we chose the dead heat of July. That was fun. If we wouldn't have had movers, I probably would have given up and we'd still be in the apartment. We are enjoying living in the (new to us) house, but have learned there are downfalls to buying a house that you didn't build yourself (like we did with our first two). Someday, I'm hoping that we'll finish all of the renovations that we want to make to this one. I guess it's easier to make a list of them rather than to actually start them. In nearly six months time, we have managed to swap out most of the brass door handles for oil-rubbed bronze ones, and install under cabinet lighting in the kitchen. We've hung some pictures on the walls (mostly using nails that were already there) too, but that's about as far as we have come. Perhaps the New Year will bring us renewed energy to tackle more of that list? I'll keep telling myself that.

We were able to move in to the new house in time for little Noah's first birthday party! He's 17 months old now. I seriously don't know where the time has gone. I know that's very cliché, but I guess that's what happens once you have more than one child. Are we crazy for wanting to add another to this brood?? Noah has really started to develop his own little personality now. It's possible that he may have quite the stubborn streak. No idea where he would get that one from! ;) He seems to throw more tantrums than Ethan ever did, but we're hoping by ignoring them that he'll stop doing it. FYI, so far, it doesn't appear to be working. Noah is also not the traveler that Ethan was/is. He truly hates being strapped into that car seat for more than 30 minutes. He's not afraid to let you know it either. It makes our trips to Ohio truly delightful, though we continue to make them regularly. I think we went 9 times this year. That has to be a record for us! We also threw in a trip to Florida, too. That was a much easier drive when we lived just 4 hours away in Georgia. Noah is very independent, as well. While Ethan was happy to let us spoon feed him until well past 2 years, Noah won't let you come anywhere near him with a utensil. He insists upon feeding himself, no matter how messy the meal. It's so much fun to clean up after tomato soup dinners! Though he has proven to be more difficult than his big brother (who wouldn't love nightly feedings every 2 to 3 hours with Noah until he was 8+ months old?), I am very thankful that he is sleeping through the night. With all that said, he truly is a pretty awesome little guy. He has the sweetest demeanor (when he isn't throwing those tantrums), and we've declared him to be the best hugger ever. He was a quick mover like his big brother, crawling at 5 months, cruising at 7, then walking at 10 months. These boys like to keep their Mommy on her toes! Things haven't progressed in the speech department very quickly though until recently. He's saying "mama," "dada," "nana" (that's for banana, sorry Grandmas), "Grandpa," "cheese" (said while grinning from ear to ear with a cheesy grin, of course) and is getting fairly decent at some other words now. He signs for "more," "cup," and "all done." Yes, food is very important to this little guy! We're hoping he'll start saying more soon (Mommy is actually undecided since the big one never stops talking now that he started!), which we think will be soon based on how much he is babbling now. The boy loves to dance (Gangham style, anyone?), read books (it's super cute when he lays on his belly in his room to listen), and cuddle. He finally enjoys playing with his big brother (when they aren't fighting over toys, that is), and that makes us happy.

Speaking of the big brother...he is almost four now! He has grown up so much. He can be a super awesome helper around the house, when he isn't running around naked in it, squealing, "Naked boy!" Awesome. He continues to love playing with his cars, and we're working on the whole sharing with his little brother thing. That's not going well either. He started preschool in August, going two days a week. Mommy loves a little silence around the house those days, and Ethan loves playing with his new friends. Win-win! We're a little worried that he already has 2-3 girlfriends on most days. It's going to be a long 15 years with that one! He started speech therapy in March to work on saying more words, and to get better with his pronunciation. He has been doing really well with this, but as stated earlier, it's hard to get him to stop talking now. Whose idea was it to speed him along? While we're proud that we were able to potty-train him quickly, we're not so proud of his obsession with his wee-wee. Please tell me this goes away eventually? Ethan is super intelligent, sometimes too smart, we think. He doesn't hesitate to remind us most days that, "Mommy, I'm just three," or "Daddy, I'm just one boy," and "That's ok, Mommy. Some people don't know things." He's quite the funny little man!

Daisy continues to enjoy her princess status of the house. Do all dogs enjoy 1/2 of a king-sized bed to themselves every night? If it's possible, she may be getting even lazier in her old age. Moving from dog pillow to couch to bed all day is hard work I guess? She's been getting more stubborn about eating, too. Unfortunately, this then results in either, a) Josh force-feeding her, or b) her vomiting about once every 1-2 weeks. That's fun. Fortunately for her, she's still the most obedient of our children, so we'll keep her around for awhile.

Josh is enjoying his new job at Eastman. At first, he had to get used to the slower pace of the research environment, but now he thinks it would be hard to go back to the crazy hours he used to work. Kristy agrees. Josh would probably love to pursue some actual hobbies now that he has more free time. For now, he'll have to settle for playing his X-box at the house while the boys nap, since Kristy likes to flee the house for some "me time" whenever she gets the chance!

Kristy continues to stay at home with the boys. She dreams of someday doing a little more than wiping butts and noses all day, but will have to settle for that for now. She continues to enjoy cooking and trying new recipes (at least when the boys eat them anyway), and blogging here about various things. She is thankful she has been able to make a few friends here and enjoys getting to spend time with them.

As I mentioned earlier, we enjoyed a trip to Florida this year. Once we got there, that is. The boys really did love the beach and the pool. While Kristy still dreams of tropical, kid-free vacations now, we did have an enjoyable time. We're excited to go back next year!

Love,

The Seeley Family
josh, kristy, ethan, noah and daisy

Looking all sweet and innocent here, of course. ;)

And there you have it. I hope your Christmas was great!!