December 23

Much going on in our household.

It looks like we're probably moving. I've been out of work since February and since Will can't go to daycare I can't go back to work right now. We're looking into employment and housing options and will likely be staying with family back in San Diego while we get back on our feet. If we can arrange for those we may be moving quickly, or may have some time, we don't know yet so we're packing everything we don't use often just in case. We should get a better idea how things look when Justin's boss returns after Christmas so we know whether he may be able to transfer. We'll be selling the house if we can, or renting it out. I'm considering this a good thing, I've badly missed having a support system and loving family around to help us. Our family here in town already has a very busy schedule so hasn't been able to make much time for us. Financially this will make much less stress for us too, the sale of our house will pay off all our debts and should hopefully cover our moving costs, so we'll be starting over with a clean slate. It sounds like a much better option than bankruptcy, but it's still hard on the ego. We were doing really well, being upstanding responsible citizens but this year the expenses have really snowballed us. The only reason we've lasted this long is the generous cash gifts we've recieved from family, and we can't expect those to go on forever.

Will is doing very well. He wants to sit up most of the time now, though he isn't able to sit up on his own yet. He's trying, when he's in a reclining position he tightens his belly muscles and tries to sit up. He can lift his head and shoulders but can't quite make it yet. He's gaining better hand control and can usually make them go where he wants. He has discovered his feet. He sits in his Bumbo seat and looks at them with great interest, then when his toes move he gets big WHOA eyes and tries to grab them. He's making more sounds and starting to have little conversations with us, smiling more often and generally being a very agreeable baby. He had a Synagis shot on the 19th and weighed 13 lb 8 oz then, before eating. He's wearing 3-6 or just 6 month size clothes and size 3 diapers.

We got a good amount of snow last night, approx 4-6 inches of good fluffy stuff that packs tight so I shoveled the walkway and threw snowballs for the dog this afternoon. We're looking forward to Christmas, Will has a substantial pile of gifts under the tree and we're very excited to see what people have sent him. My dad brought over my niece's old high chair today and I cleaned that up, maybe later we will try putting Will in it. I packed up all the clothes that are now too small for him and moved larger stuff into his dresser. I realized that most of what we have left is size 6 months, then I have some 18 months stuff and not much in between so hopefully someone decided to send us 9 and 12 months size clothes for Christmas, a few packages look like they could be clothes. We're also looking forward to a visit from my aunt & uncle on New Year's, the first visit by my mother's family.

Back to work! If you don't hear from me before then, everyone stay warm, stay safe and have a wonderful holiday!