What a Turkey of a Day!

I'm just gonna go ahead and put this out there - we have the WORST luck with holidays.  There I said it.  It's true.  In fact, it's hard for me to even put much stock in whether or not we will even get to show up at our family get-togethers.  I have even stopped buying the standard "holiday" attire for my kids.  Why, you ask?  Because it seems inevitable that everyone in our family will be absolutely hunky dory right up until the night before/day of the big holiday, and then BAM! someone gets sick and we end up staying home. 

In the five holiday seasons since we have become parents, we have missed THREE major holidays due to illness.  Will's first Christmas - stomach bug for me on Christmas morning.  Brooks' first Christmas - strep for both boys on Christmas Eve and for me on Christmas day.  Tessa's first Thanksgiving - pink eye for Brooks and the nastiest sinus crud we've dealt with in a loooonnnnngggg time for the entire Rutledge clan.  Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that these are all things that we will deal with and then get over but it really stinks to be at home while everyone else in the world is out enjoying their holiday and posting the cutest pictures in the world on Facebook.  Oh welllllll - enough pouting from me...

We have been super consumed lately with trying to get everyone well.  The night before Thanksgiving, as I rushed to leave work on time and get home to take the kiddos to see Santa and his live reindeer, my mother-in-law calls at 5:15 to inform me that she's "pretty sure" Brooks has pink eye.  So instead of going to see Santa, Brooks and I had a date at the local "Little Clinic" as it was the only place open so late the day before a major holiday.  It wasn't too hard to diagnose though - his eyes were pretty nasty. 

 

And because the little fella was contagious for at least the next 24 hours, we got to spend Thanksgiving at home as a family of 5.  I had not bought the groceries to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal, so we had biscuits, eggs and bacon for breakfast and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.  Both mine and Brandon's family did bring us leftovers though.  We were very happy to see those aluminum-covered plates :)

We tried to make the best of it anyway and attempted to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.  The boys were sooooo bored and were not at all interested.  After lunch, we dragged the Christmas tree down from the attic and began fluffing out the tree. 

Regardless of pink eye, we have so much to be thankful for this year.  We have a wonderfully sweet little addition to our family.  Miss Tessa has made our family complete in so many ways.  She is absolutely the calm amongst the storm in our house and just what we (especially I) needed.  The boys are happy (except when expected to share toys) and growing.  My husband is healthy and cancer-free.  We have a sweet little home that we love, cars that are paid for and dependable, a pantry full of food (even if I'm not the world's best cook), clothes that are clean, and lots of things that I know are luxuries and not necessities.  I absolutely love our life, our home, our little family.  I am crazy in love with my husband, who has been my sweetheart for more than 11 years and I find more and more endearing every day.  He is a great father, and an even better husband to me.  What more could a girl want??  Thankful - that's me :)

Tessa @ 3 Months

Tessa's 3 month mile marker was a couple of weeks ago (late post!).  We celebrated by staying at home and enjoying our weekend together as a family.  We actually only left the house once all weekend!  So nice!

I'm not sure how much our sweet pea weighs this month, as she hasn't been to the pediatrician since her 2 month appointment, but she has grown quite a bit! She is wearing size 3 month or 3-6 depending on the brand.  She really needs size 6 month for length, but those only work if they're one piece outfits.  Size 6 month pants are too big around her waist.  She still wears size 1 diapers.

There weren't a ton of new achievements this month, but there were a few nonetheless:

• She found her voice and likes to give us a big shout every now and again to keep up with her wild brothers.
• I've noticed her examining her hands a few times lately and she does really well at reaching/pulling/grasping her toys.
• She sat in her bumbo for the first time and did pretty well.  After about 7-10 minutes, she seemed to become tired and slumped over, so I took her out.

She has a steady bedtime routine - bath, lotion, jammies, bottle (5 ounces), bed.  After she finishes her bedtime bottle, I swaddle her up, turn on the noise machine, and lay her down in her crib wide awake.  She goes to sleep on her own without a peep.  She sometimes wakes up around 5AM for her paci, but mostly sleeps until 6 or 6:30.  When she starts stirring, we go in and give her the paci and she drifts back to sleep until we wake her up around 6:45-7 to go to grandma's.  So far, we've been really blessed with 3 great sleeping babies, with the exception of Will who suffered from first child (hold me hold me) syndrome for a few nerve-wrecking months.

She wore her first pair of jeans!

She also celebrated her first Halloween this month, but didn't wear a costume.  My sister-in-law made her an orange tutu and I paired it with a halloween-themed shirt (bought the night before Halloween) and called it a day.

Her hair is finally long (and thick) enough to clip :)  And her big brothers insist that she wears a bow every day!

I leave you with one my favorite photos from our recent Christmas card shoot.  The sweetness in this picture makes my cheeks hurt. 

The boys are wearing their first neckties from Petite Peanut.  I have been dying to order one of her ties and I am soooo happy with them.  Tessa is wearing Mustard Pie Fall 2012.