Baby's First Sensory Overload

This may not be the optimum time to blog, as Mike and I went to Gooski's tonight and I had The Dreaded Third Drink. That being said, I wanted to post a few photos and a bit of info about Baby's First Christmas.

Mike and I drove to Elyria with all our gifts in tow. That means the stuff we got each other as well as the stuff we got my family. Mike tried to pack the car but I had to use my supernatural powers to fit everything into the trunk and front seat. One more item--even a gift card--and we would have needed bungee cords. The trip to Ohio was quick and the boy slept thru most of it, which is good as we went off the board and opened presents that evening instead of waiting for the morning.

My family has always been of the More is More school of Christmas. My husband, as one of 5, grew up with a more reasonable approach to Christmas but he knew darn well that my Mom's warnings that there "would'nt be much this year" was all poppycock. Donovan got a ton of stuff, including a wooden train that spells out his name, new pajamas, a classic Fisher Price telephone, and (from his Mom and Dad) a two octave Schoenhut piano. By far the most popular toy was my Dad's oxygen hose, which ended up being a good bonding experience for him and The Boy. Between that and my Dad's cane, Donny kept himself well amused. The visit was also marked by Donovan's success at standing up. Note the Betty Boop Starlet legs in this photo. Hard to believe Donovan's nickname used to be Mr. Chickenlegs.

After the gift exchange, Mike and I put Donovan upstairs but there was no sleep to be had. We ended up cloistered in my old bedroom with a fussy baby, a hunk of cheese and a bottle of Boones Farm Sangria that my husband picked up when he made an Enfamil run earlier that night (holding up the bottle and the can of Similac he famously asked, "Guess which one cost more?"). It was funny to have a night of misspent youth in the room where I squandered my adolescence by being Too Good. Luckily the boy slept thru that part of the evening so I don't think we corrupted him.

We left Elyria the day after Christmas to have dinner at Mike's folks' house. Donny was, as usual, a perfect guest and he got a few more gifts, including the classic books "Moo! I'm a Cow!, and "Oink! I'm a Pig!" By the time we got home there was, again, no sleep to be had. I found myself getting mad at the poor kid and I had to pass him off to Mike at one point. We finally got him to sleep at about midnight, roughly 3 hours past his normal bedtime. I guess I can't blame him, with the holidays and all, but we were all tired and cranky. The trip home was good but I worry about my family and my Mom somehow had neglected to tell me that the thyroid trouble she's having might actually be thyroid cancer. She's going to have a biopsy next week and I just hope they are quick with the results. We Benfords are champion worriers and, presented with such classic worry fodder, well, the possibilities are limitless. Despite all that, she got alot of grandson time and tried to distract me while we were packing so that we might forget him. I did'nt forget my kid but I did forget my perscriptions: thanks alot, Ma...