In Thanksgiving.....

I have much to be thankful for this year....

• SLEEP



After over 19 months of poor sleep, sometimes sleeping less than 8 hours a night, often awake by 5am and/or awake for 2-3 hours around 1-2am, Ben is sleeping.  It has been over a week since I have gotten up with Ben, although he has been up in the night the last two nights (and has fallen back to sleep without needing me).

• HUSBAND

Last year Dave left the US in early November and missed: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's, Ben's 1st birthday, Easter, our anniversary (dating, marriage, and engagement), Mother's Day, and his birthday.  This year, he is home.  He just realized he has never spent a Christmas with Ben.  I am thankful he is here.

• PROGRESS

Last year Liam didn't know to look at the camera and smile, but this year he does.  Last year Liam only used scripts and delayed echolalia and rarely more than 2 words together.  Today Liam speaks in complete sentences.  Last year Liam didn't know it was the holidays or what Santa was.  This year he can name days of the week and knows the difference between holidays.  With every day that passes, I am increasingly hopeful that Liam will just be quirky and different but will have a totally normal life.

Thankful for "old" friends

Lindsey on the left at 28 weeks pregnant and me in the flowered dress at 32 weeks pregnant:

Jack at 1 month and Liam at 2 months.....and their tired mommies.....

Liam at 10 months and Jack at 9 months at Lindsey's house in England before we left

Liam at 19 months and Jack at 18 months, shortly before Ben arrived, playing with our water table here in Montgomery

Liam and Jack today at 2 years old:

The week leading up to Thanksgiving, I was in a serious funk. Ben wasn't sleeping and it was grey and rainy here in Montgomery. It was going to be the first Thanksgiving since 2001 that I'd spend without Dave, and I was (and still am) missing him so much that I feel empty.

I am thankful for my friend, Lindsey, who invited me to her house in Georgia to spend the holiday with her and her two year old son, Jack. Lindsey and I met shortly before we both got pregnant, and our pregnancies and two sons made us friends. While we were pregnant, Lindsey often stopped by my office to chat and we compared symptoms. Once our boys arrived, our friend, Beth, organized playdates and we drank tea and discussed nursing, sleep deprivation, and baby milestones. When I left England, we kept in touch. As luck would have it, Lindsey moved only 4-5 hours away. She visited shortly before Ben's arrival, and Jack showed Liam how to play with a water table. This visit was a riot, but I'll dedicate a separate post to Liam and Jack's friendship. :-)

Despite the challenges of the last few months, I have much to be thankful for: good friends, beautiful sons, a loving husband, the ability to stay home with my children, a comfortable lifestyle, and good health.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year was our first Thanksgiving in Alabama, and it was a warm, beautiful day. We headed over to the house of one of Dave's co-workers, and celebrated with them and some of the JAG students who weren't able to go home for the holiday. Charlie and Kristen, and their two sons, Alex and Ben, made everyone feel welcome. Liam had alot of fun playing outside and enjoying the fall weather. He wore himself out and by dinnertime was too sleepy too be interested in eating. He swallowed one bite of potatos and gravy, but spit out any turkey and greens bean and refused to open his mouth for stuffing and cranberries. At least, Dave and I enjoyed the meal.