Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Christmas with the Yates :)

We flew into North Carolina this year to spend Christmas with Phillips Mom, Pal Pal , and the rest. The original plan was to go up to his Pal Pals house in VA, but the day before we were supposed to arrive a huge snowstorm hit. They live on top of a mountain, so of course they were snowed in, we were snowed out, and they had no power or electricity. Plan B went into action, and we stayed with Rita, where she had gotten a second round of baby necessities (the first round were at PalPal's) so that we could settle in with Cayleigh as nicely as possible. Pal Pal and Dorothy were able to drive down for an afternoon on Christmas Day, and we were so thrilled to get the chance to see them again! Cayleigh ate it all up, and the two had a very hard time saying good-bye to each other:) We missed the other aunts, uncles, and cousins, but we did get to spend time with Rita's sister, Aunt Jen, and her husband and two sons (Kevin and Kenny). Stephanie and Mikayla (Phillips sister and her daughter) also stayed with Rita, and I got the chance to introduce baskin robbins mint-chip icecream to Mikayla and now have her hooked :). Mikayla and Cayleigh LOVE each other, and it was so sweet to see the two cousins together! We had SUCH a nice time, and can't wait to see everyone again!
The last night before leaving the next morning.
The two most beautiful girls in the world :)


Mikayla opening up her presents!

The real picture :)

We're a very serious family, especially on Christmas, as you can see....

Phillip with PalPal and Dorothy :) See a resemblence?

Sorry Stephanie, I HAD to do it! It's just too flippin funny! Center stage is my sister-in-law revolting against all the pictures! :)


The Yates and Spolorich family (some of them) L to R: Phillip, Rita, Mikayla, Dorothy, PalPal, Uncle George, Aunt Jen, Stephanie



Having a blast with her men!


Cayleigh with her great PalPal and Nana!

She loves her PalPal!


Playing by the presents and tree with Nana!


Checking out the scenery with Pal Pal and Nana Dorothy


I see food Pal Pal, let me at it!!!

My gorgeous niece Mikayla on Christmas Eve....think she's excited for presents? :)


Cayleigh with her Aunt Snuffy (Stephanie)


I got my shoe Mommy!!!

Cayleigh with Aunt Jen....always a busy body trying to make a break for it!


Cayleigh with Cousin Kevin (Aunt Jen's son, Phillips Cousin)



Ewwwww, cooties!!!


Cayleigh just loves earrings....and necklaces, and buttons, and bracelets, and hair....


Mommy and Me on Christmas Eve :)


Cayleigh getting kisses from Cousin Mikayla


Two cousins playin' together! Awwwww :)


We, um...we try not to strain ourselves in the morning....


BBQ chips for breakfast, who knew?



Phillip with his Momma


Daddy hasn't had his coffee yet!



Mmmm, Octopus!



























2 comments:

Snuffy Smith said...

Thanks! Nah, that was really funny. That is the true me coming out. I had a blast and was glad that you guys were able to make despite the weather. I have started looking for plane tickets and have now finally got my new work schedule so I can plan a little more. Miss you guys and hope to see you soon!! Love Ya!!!

Kathryn said...

I'm Mary Anne, one of Courtney's friends. My baby girl is currently 9 months old (and the love of my life!). We used cloth diapers (bum genious 3.0 one size) for 3 months, and then switched to disposable. The problem? The whole reason we tried then in the first place...sensitive skin. With cloth diapers you CANNOT use baby powder OR diaper rash cream unless you buy disposable paper liners (that are usually pretty scratchy). Even though we bought really nice diapers for her with moisture wicking cloth, the moisture still sticks to their skin more than disposable diapers.This led to ALOT of rashing for Cayleighs sensitive skin, so we were always having to do a week of disposables with diaper rash cream before we could switch back to cloth. Another thing to think about is poo. Breastfed babies poop just about everytime they pee. Newborns need their diaper changed about every 2 hours, if not more b/c of all the mustardy poo. This poop needs to be scraped or sprayed off into the toilet before put into dry storage for washing. Needless to say, it can be real stinky mess at the house, let alone when it's been sitting in a plastic baggie for a couple hours before you can get home to scrape it off!
If you do go cloth, spend the money to get the different sizes. The one size king we got were too big around the legs and always caused leaking with each pee (imagine 8 outfits in a day for your newborn plus the diapers) The velcro tends to wither after about 6 months, so get ones with snaps. They'll last you through all the kids you have. Fuzzi buns have been my mommy friends favorites who do the cloth. Oh, and to avoid having to buy super special detergent for your diapers (most detergents cause build up in the fabric with leads to leaking) make your own with borax and baking soda. Don't forget to always do a hot water rinse with bleach after you wash the diapers. E.Coli can survive the wash cycle and become imbedded in your and your little loves clothing if you don't.
On the plus, you can get cloth diapers for cheap. They have tons of coupons out there, and babies r us does reward points for diapers. From a mommy that had done both, there's my LONG input!


haha thank you SO much for your advice on the diaper issue!! I am still deciding what to do. Thanks so much though, I will keep in mind what you said. I will probably end up doing both.