The Grubers: The Blur of November

The two weeks following Colson’s birth, I was flooded with love and kindness. While Jason was away at work, not a single day went by that I did not have someone come to help me. My mom came day-after-day to give me a hand and to let me rest. Nancy came a couple of days before heading to Colorado to be with Amy when her baby was born. She was so nice and helpful, even cleaning my bathrooms! My Aunt Erin came several times to help and to keep us company. It was so great! Then on top of that, I was visited by friends who brought meals, gifts, and words of encouragement. I was so appreciative of everyone who came to help! I definitely felt overwhelmed and in-over-my-head trying to recover, care for a newborn, and take care of a toddler. I was happy, but my mind was a blur as my tired mind and sore body was coping with the stress. I don’t know how I would have gotten anything done without the help of so many friends and family.

Desi and Will

Amy

The talented Amy was nice enough to come over and take newborn and family pictures of us. Charlie was especially wiggly and difficult! The easy photo days are gone! But Amy was still able to capture some awesome shots! I will post Colson's pictures with his monthly update, but here are our family pictures:

Amy, you nailed it yet again!!! Thank you!

After two weeks of constant help, it was time to put myself to the test. My first day alone with the boys. I was nervous, but it went just fine. We survived! After that first day under my belt, I gained more and more confidence that I could do it. We just kept it real simple, staying inside from the cold. It took weeks before I gained the courage to venture out with the boys on my own.

On November 15th, Charlie and I got to go out together. We went to a birthday party for his friend from Pleasant Grove. Kenzlie was turning three. I believe that was my first outing since Colson was born. It felt really good to get out and to breath in the fresh air.

Before we knew it, it was Thanksgiving weekend! Family events with a newborn always make me nervous. The stress of a newborn alone is enough to make me nervous, but then add the potential illnesses of the winter months to the mix and it makes you wonder if you should just skip the whole thing. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration, because that was never really an option for me. Of course we were going to be with the family for Thanksgiving! Every time we attend a family event, however, I am always surprised how well the babies do in big family gatherings. They love the action and the noise. They always seem to do better in those settings. It also helps when you have lots of hands who want to hold the baby.

We headed to Draper Wednesday night for the annual Pie Night. It was delicious! We definitely filled ourselves, as we always do. On Thursday, we headed to my Grandma and Grandpa Arbon’s for Thanksgiving dinner and games. On Friday, my dad took us to see the new Hunger Games movie, The Mockingjay Part I. My mom was super nice and stayed home with Charlie and Colson so I could go. We had a second Thanksgiving meal that evening made by mom. Needless to say, we ate really well that weekend. On Saturday, my mom took the boys and then took the girls shopping to get some ideas for Christmas. Another fun Thanksgiving holiday!

Pie Night

Thanksgiving Day:

Our second Thanksgiving meal:

Our 3rd Thanksgiving meal (leftovers):

Colson finally makes a photo appearance over the Thanksgiving holiday

Speaking of the talented Amy, she came over for a quick photo shoot of my family for my parent's Christmas card:

Finally, a smile from Charlie! He was such a pill!

I love this because it shows my parents trying to get Charlie to smile, but he isn't having it

Our precious little family

And last but not least, an update on our November project - Jason actually finished the cabinets under the TV the morning I went into labor! It was such lucky timing...if they hadn't been done that morning, who knows how much longer it would have been before we got around to tackling it.