52 : 42

Wow what a week. This one included Ewan's first trip to Southern California to visit his Grammie McD and other family, and his first Christmas. He was amazing on the trip, and when people ask me if he has stranger anxiety I can definitively say no as he was faced with 50 relatives at an annual Christmas party and not a tear was shed --- and this group is not a quiet group, they are loud and loving and were the perfect introduction for Ewan to his family down South.

The merriment of Christmas has never felt so real or magical. I will discuss the holidays more in a Christmas specific post, so for this 42nd entry in Project 52 I would just like to reflect on the beauty of my boy. While exchanging emails with a friend over the weekend I said something that I had not yet verbalized even to myself. I was explaining that I never knew I was supposed to be a mother until I met Ewan. Some roles (daughter, sister, student, employee, wife) I have struggled with in various ways, but motherhood has been a natural fit, not to say I am always amazing at it, but I have never doubted it. 2012 was amazing for us and I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us, come week 43 we will be in the new year!

52 : 41

I was pregnant with Ewan for 41 weeks, and today he has been with us for 41 weeks. Here is what I got all those weeks ago, and here is what I have today!

At his 9 month well baby Ewan weighed 24.5 lbs (92%) and measured 30.5 in (96%). He is meeting and exceeding his developmental milestones and is forecasted to be walking well before his first birthday. Cruising is at the top of his list, but he still loves to crawl a lot and FAST! This week he screwed the lid back on an Evian bottle, met a stair at Grammie McD's (didn't slow him at all), and continued his constant banter.

Our pediatrician said Ewan is exhibiting some cognitive skills that aren't expected until he is 1, such as following our glances to see what we are looking at and responding when we point by looking himself. Ewan is extremely curious and is enjoying a few days in Southern California by taking in all the new stuff and visiting the Santa Barbara Zoo and LACMA.

52 : 40

This last weekend Ewan turned 9 months, how has 9 months passed already?!

It has been a very busy month for our boy: he went on an international vacation, started pulling up and cruising and standing for quick moments, he stayed with his trusty babysitter Auntie M twice, he got his first Christmas tree, he continued to explore foods (like tofu), he now has opinions about things like the remote being taken away, he is really starting to love his friends at school, and he of course continues to grow. We refer to him as our beefcake, and he is also referred to as a sturdy boy at school and as a linebacker by Auntie M. He still doesn't seem to have much anxiety at all, but for the first time cried at a stranger. He loves early morning cuddles, bath time, all electronics, and his mobility.

I am not the first to say this, but I wish I could bottle this time up --- all the giggles and grins and kisses and love just own us. My boys and their manly shenanigans are very entertaining and the sounds of their chatter and laughter are the only soundtrack I need.

EP's official 9 month photo - taken December 12th, 2012

52 : 39

Today Ewan and I get to celebrate our favorite person. While Ewan is 39 weeks old, K is 1,774 weeks old. This year he is feeling old because he works a lot, has a wife, has a baby, has a mortgage, has two dogs --- but we equate that to a lot of hard work and love, not a lot of years. Our goal today is to let K relax with an easy dinner out and some video game therapy, then tomorrow a date with the wifey and on Sunday a family beer-xcursion. We try to celebrate each other everyday, but birthdays give us the perfect excuse to love on each other even more.

52 : 38

Christmas preparations are in full swing! The boys found the perfect tree and chopped it down. Ewan and I watched Home Alone for the first of hundreds of times, we really were enjoying ourselves. Ewan hung his first ornament, a special 1st Christmas ornament from his Grammie McD.

We also hung all the decorations outside, which included Kevin talking to us from the roof and Ewan laughing hysterically from his carrier on my hip!

Some of our indoor decorations did not make the cut because of the crawling/cruising baby of the house, but we are more merry than ever before and can't wait to create these memories and traditions with our son.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and this year it was all the sweeter because it was EP's first and it was our 4th wedding anniversary. We wanted a quaint celebration at home and we had just that. The day started with a pancake breakfast to celebrate our anniversary, then the Macy's Parade, and lots of cooking.

Kevin's Mom (Grammie McD) flew up from Camarillo and my Dad (Grampy) drove up from San Juan Bautista. We ate, we drank, we chatted, we rested, we read, we played, and we were thankful. The pictures can say the rest!

The appetizers

Ewan opening his first wrapped present from Grammie

3 Generations of Welton + 2 Dogs

Our table

Our reading material

Dessert

TURKEY!

Centerpieces

K's Bird

Nap Time

52 : 37

9 years ago I met a guy, 8 years ago I kissed him, and 4 years ago today I married him. This year he gave me the best gift ever, so grateful this Thanksgiving!

This week's picture is that guy and that gift watching the ducks in a pond on Granville Island in Vancouver.

52 : 36

It has been a week of firsts! Ewan's first flight, passport stamp, and boat ride --- all part of his first real vacation to Victoria and Vancouver. More to come on the trip when we are back, but in honor of project 52 a quick snapshot of our week, the 3 of us enjoying coffee and donuts at an awesome coffee shop in Vancouver, 1 of many coffee stops. Thus far the week has been amazing, no work or Facebook or email or phone calls (just this quick post from the Royal British Columbia Museum). Just our family of 3 on an adventure --- oh yeah us and the 3 new teeth Ewan sprouted - 1 for Monday, 1 for Tuesday, and 1 for Wednesday, but through it all he has been an amazing explorer.

52 : 35

Today Ewan is 35 weeks old, which is also his 8 month birthday! I am calling it his Golden Baby Birthday, but Kevin seems skeptical... he is turning 8 months on the 8th, of course we need to celebrate that!

I sound like a broken record, but Ewan gets more fun every single day. In the last week he has started scooting around on his butt, crawling even more quickly, and turning on a dime when something new interests him. His pulling up is increasing at a scary fast rate, and the coffee table is currently his everest. He is more and more verbal all of the time and his latest addiction is grunting, you ask him a question he grunts, you tickle him he grunts, you grunt at him and he laughs hysterically. I need to be sure to get a video of all this grunting. This boy of ours is such a love bug and I often wish I could pause time, but I am sure next week will be even better!

EP's official 8 month photo - taken November 8th, 2012

34 weeks 1 day (inside/out)

At this point in my pregnancy we had an unexpected ultrasound to measure McNugget because he was seeming a little big. The ultrasound showed he was a bit big, but nothing of too much concern --- we were all surprised when Ewan emerged 22 inches and 9 pounds 13 ounces. I still can't decide if he resembles that 3D ultrasound or not. Beefcake is measuring 22+ pounds and 29+ inches today!

52 : 34

This last weekend the score was - Flu 3 McDonald Family 0! Ewan brought us home a treat from school and while he was only minimally effected (flu shot maybe?) K and I crashed and burned. I was done in about 20 hours but the war waged on in poor K for a couple days.

While having the flu is never fun it was a lot easier when we were just a couple, adding Ewan in to the mix we couldn't just feel sorry for ourselves because he had to be fed and played with. Luckily we have an amazing son who is awesome at independent play and he seemed to forgive our less enthusiastic play. We used the excersaucer more than usual to contain the beefcake, but he did start pulling up on furniture Sunday, you know just to keep us on our toes.

Halloween Festivities

We are not Halloween people, but having a kid in the house now we know we have to celebrate for him. Our goal is to allow him to enjoy the holiday without creating a teenager that trick-or-treats in a hoodie and calls it a costume. There were multiple occasions in October for celebrating all things pumpkin.

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin & Art Festival - A day of wandering crafts booths, drinking beer, visiting my favorite yarn store, and people watching.

The Pumpkin Patch in Napa - This is sure to be an annual trip. We enjoyed lunch at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville, a trip to Provenance winery, and then the pumpkin patch.

Imagination Day Parade - Ewan's school coordinates a parade on Halloween. Each classroom has a theme and the polliwogs (less than 1 year) were a rockband, with all the babies dressing as rockstars. For the occasion I made Ewan a studded collar out of puff paint and felt, and a designer ripped up muscle tee, green on top and black below. He made his guitar in class, he really rocked that axe.

Trick or Treating - For Ewan's inaugural trick-or-treating expedition we dressed him as a robot, like his favorite toys Roger, Roy, and Robbie. We visited the house across the street and Ewan got his first treat for dazzling our neighbor with his smiles, a tootsie roll pop!

And we finished off the celebration with story time...

52 : 33

This week we have been preparing for and celebrating Halloween, but that fun will come in a future post. Teeth are still coming and sleep is a little less abundant, but Ewan is playing as hard as ever and is further perfecting his crawling, which has been his favorite pastime since he started 2.5 weeks ago.

This last week Ewan decided he wanted to crawl outside where his puppies play, we watched with curiosity to see how far he would go. The answer was the threshold of the rear french doors, then he saw the kitchen and that became his target, but last night he hit that threshold, saw Coco and there was no stopping him!

Project People - Ewan's Room

It is a bit lame that I am just getting around to posting this look at Ewan's room. His room was slow going at first with Kevin finishing his CPA and the chaos of work, but Kevin made it his mission to finish the room before he went back to work from paternity leave, 2 weeks after Ewan was born, so literally this post is 30+ weeks late.

When we first found out that we were having a baby I knew I wanted a room with white board and batten, chocolate brown walls, a colored ceiling, and a gallery feel. Once we found out Ewan was a boy in October of 2011 we quickly found his bedroom set at Pottery Barn Kids and the color scheme came together --- navy blue, light blue, and green. The bedding was paired with train sheets that we did not love so we got 2 sets of the old truck twin sheets and worked with iviebaby to turn one set in to a fitted crib sheet and 2 changing table covers and the linens were done! We then got cans of the perfect paint and went to town. The frames were unfinished and we painted them all, the gallery look was our goal since it is easy to change out the contents of the frames as Ewan grows. The mobile was designed by me with a cookie cutter, cut by my dad, and painted and hung by Kevin. 

I wanted the room to be simple, comfortable, and full of love --- the pictures can probably tell the rest!

Like every project it can take some time to get going...

First piece of furniture - The book cart

Picking the right ceiling color

Finishing the floor 

In the middle - a work in progress

Drilling the board and batten tops

And then it was done and we loved it... 

The entrance with a mama made sign 

The mirror above the changing table has been a big hit

The book cart is already nearing capacity

The rocker recliner was a must

People question the twin,  its the best spot for family story time

The chair, Dermot, and this pillow host monthly photo shoots

The mobile - a family creation

His name on the wall was a must along with our first family photo

A pretty complete look at Ewan's space

We really love Ewan's room and think that it will grow nicely with him. He has slept in his crib since he was 8 weeks old and the crib mattress has dropped to its lowest setting since, and we look forward to the day that our litte boy is cuddled in to his pillows on his big boy bed with his Patrick dog.