A Beautiful Day for a Stroll

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday and get outdoors after being cooped up all month due to the cold & snow. We went to Norris Dam where there is a nice walking/jogging path that follows the Clinch River.

 A quick pic of Jus & East before we left for our walk.

 Justin wishing he was carrying a fly rod instead of a stroller. We saw many fly fishermen & women on our stroll.

 Easton's view from the stroller.

Momma & Daddy

 A view of the Clinch River in January


We finished the day with a nice dinner at Cheddars with the Sharps. What a fun Saturday!

January- the calm after the storm

In January, I find that many people find themselves in a bit of a sad state after the hustle and bustle of the holidays has passed. It's almost as if you have to regroup after all the shopping and holiday events come to a halt. At the Chester house, we have been able to utilize the month of January to get used to the day-to-day as a three-some as well as spend time with cherished friends and family throughout the month.

 A fun lunch at Calhouns with Alicia to start off the month

 Easton with Aunt LiLi and Pappaw (top) and Mammaw (bottom) at Pappaw's 75th Birthday on Jan 14

A visit from Adalynn one snowy Saturday while the men went to Bass Pro Shops

A quaint lunch with friends from pharmacy school on their way back through Knoxville from a stay in Gatlinberg. 

From left to right: Amy and little Maddie (19 months), Brooke and E (9 weeks), and Kristin with Katie Lynn (9 months)

 Brooke and Julie at Ober Gatlinberg. 

Julie is a dear friend from pharmacy school, and we were so happy to get to spend some time with her family as well as introduce the Dougherty family to little Easton.

 A visit for lunch in house with Ms. Darla

 

Back to Work

Alas, in less than one week I will return to my full time job with Wal-mart as a community retail pharmacist and pharmacy manager. My time at home has been wonderful as it seems we couldn't have planned a better time to have Easton - off through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, as well as both mine and Justin's birthday. I have enjoyed being home and being able to have the time to get to know Easton over the past 3 months. It has also been great for our family as this is Justin's "slow" time with work so the 3 of us have had fun playing together and just being with each other daily. We have had a lot of meals at home through the week as I have had the time to prepare new things for dinner (thanks to Kraftfoods.com) which is one of my favorite things-learning/trying new recipes. As I go back to work next week, Mumsey (my mom) will be taking over the reigns with keeping Easton throughout the day. She is so excited and literally counting down the days until she gets him. I will miss spending each day with Easton but enjoy my job as well as the flexibility that it allows as I will have many days off each week due to working longer hours on the days that I do work. 


The only part that's unsettling about returning to work is that I've heard that when a mother returns to work the days and weeks seem to fly by. Hopefully they won't go too fast.

The Gift of Sleep

This pic was taken a few weeks ago when Easton fell asleep on our down comforter. He was all "snuggly wuggly" (as we say at our house) so how could you blame him.

Yesterday, I had breakfast with a few girlfriends and one of the topics of conversation was How old should a baby be when they sleep through the night (meaning 10-12 hrs)?  Of course, every parent has a different opinion depending on their child, sleeping situation at home, etc. After talking with my girlfriends and hearing their opinions based on what they had been told by their pediatricians, Justin and I decided that last night we would see if Easton could sleep through the night without momma rushing in his room at the first stir of the night (I would usually go in immediately when Easton would wake between 4 and 4:45 AM so as not to allow Easton's voice on the monitor to wake Justin). We had a game plan...the plan was when Easton would start to "talk" I was to stay in bed and not go in until a certain length of time had passed. Well, sure enough at about 5 AM Easton started "talking". I was prepared and ready...to stay put, that is. I turned the monitor down so that it wouldn't wake Justin and just waited...But then I didn't hear anything. I thought, "surely he is still awake. It's only been 3 minutes". Justin turned to me at that time and in a very sleepy voice asked "Did you go in?" I responded "No, but will you go and check on him? I haven't heard anything else besides one little peep." Sure enough Justin went to check and when he returned I anxiously awaited the news. I asked (puzzled, of course), "What is he doing in there?" Justin's calm reply, "sleeping." 

Our little boy slept form his last feeding of the day (11 PM) until 8 AM this morning...a whopping 9 hours. And if you count that his bedtime was 8:30 PM and he didn't really wake during his 11 PM "dreamfeed" then that would mean he slept almost 12 hours. Way to go Easton and mom!

An old addiction-rekindled

Since I've been home (from Nov 3 til now) my days have been busy with feeding, playing, and hanging with Easton as well as cooking, cleaning, laundry, lunches with friends, holidays, time with Justin, exercising, etc. In keeping up with all the demands of home, a husband, and a new baby I've secretly found an escape in the afternoon from about 4PM to 6PM (Easton naps most of this time and cooking dinner comes after) when Beverly Hills 90210 comes on the SOAP network. Yes...BEVERLY HILLS 90210! (the show that was popular in the 90's). You see, I was ADDICTED to this show throughout middle school and into my high school years.  Lo and behold, one afternoon when searching through the channels while feeding Easton I found that this show comes on EVERY DAY. I started slow...only watching a couple shows here and there when ever Easton was eating (what else was I to do for 30 minutes?). Now, Justin would say I'm hooked. Oh well...maybe going back to work will be good for me. It will get me away from Brenda, Brandon, Dillon, Kelly, and the rest of my friends in Beverly Hills. :)

A Visit from Uncle Landon

Justin's brother, Landon, stopped by last night to share dinner, a movie, and some snuggle time with Easton before bedtime. Uncle Landon is a HUGE fan of Easton and has been a big support throughout Easton's life (both during pregnancy and now). Easton is blessed to have so many who love and adore him.

Uncle Landon and Easton

 Momma's typical pose...Kiss, Kiss, & more Kisses

Daddy's Little Spitter

Justin got a new NIKON camera for his birthday that takes pictures as well as video in 1080 HD. These pictures as well as the video were taken this afternoon while Justin was trying out his new camera. The video is hilarious!

Our little spitter!

He's just cute as a button! Or so we think.