The Happiest Place on Earth

In the fall my oldest sister, Amy, proposed an epic McPhie sibling + children trip to Disneyland. They were moving from SoCal to NorCal, and would have their house in Orange County through the end of Janary. Could we all meet and stay at their house to take advantage of free lodging over MLK weekend? Amazingly, each of my siblings, their spouses, and their kids could all make the trip. So we spent 5 glorious days together, including two days spent at Disneyland.

On the plane. I was terrified to take 7 week old Wally, but he was a total champ. 

The pool in my sister's backyard. It was so amazing.

My siblings: Lindsay, me, Amy, Scott, Whitney

The beach! The weather was glorious-- in the 80s and sunny. I could cry just thinking about it.

Some of the cousins before the talent show. Bria sang "Make New Friends," I did the screaming pigeon yoga position, and Sam told a joke. We're a talented crew.

The Disney pictures speak for themselves. It was awesome and everything we hoped it would be.

 Somehow we let our five year old go on Space Mountain. Let's just say there were many tears.

 Bria saved her money to buy a souvenir, and I had to use all my self-control to not say anything about her buying this Minnie Bridal hat.

Can we go back, please?

That Other Kid

Contrary to what my conversations and instagram feed may suggest, we do still have a daughter. Poor Bria has had to take quite the backseat lately (not that that's anywhere near abnormal when you have a new baby around the house). And though I know it's wearing on her to not have as much attention from Mom and Dad, the ways she shows it are rather subtle to the untrained eye. She did just start to realize that babies aren't very much fun, and she is sad he isn't old enough to be her playmate yet. But she is her brother's biggest fan and still loves to hold him and take care of him. Wally is such a lucky boy to have her as his big sister.

Setting off to explore...

Playing in the snow. Wanted to really take advantage since it only snowed once last year. Little did we know of the polar vortex headed our way, dun dun dunnnnn!

Always ready to catch the binky and stick it back in.

 Sam went to help build gingerbread houses with her class before Winter Break.

I braved exiting the house and took Wally to Bria's Winter Sing-Along at school.

Just catching up on the paper.

Selling Girl Scout Cookies! (Incidentally, if you want to order some, we're happy to ship them to you)

Wally snuggles. 

Her selfies kill me.

Practicing jumping jacks.

Creature Report

Here is just a tiny sampling of pictures we've taken over the last two months-- the first one below is when sweet little Wally was only five days old, and the last picture is just two weeks ago. Amazing how much he has changed in just 9 short weeks of life!
Wally did, in fact, spend the entire first month of his life crying. And when were about ready to rip the last of our hairs out we discovered that the poor little boy was basically starving the entire first month of his life. Once he started getting enough food, that sweet little boy stopped crying so much (now it's just a normal amount), started sleeping more, and we all started to see a glimmer of sanity return to our lives.
I just can't help but stare at his face. I know he will grow up and I'll no longer see this tiny face all the time, and it kills me. So I like to stare at him. He smiles like it's his job, especially for Bria. Already that girl has a special bond with her brother. She loves to chant at him and he'll respond with sweet little coos.
I'm shocked at how much easier this whole baby thing is the second time around. I was rather concerned that since it had been five and a half years, I would have no idea what I was doing. That's not to say I really do know what I'm doing, but at least I'm not so stressed about it. I have living proof that I can take care of a baby, so that helps give me a little perspective.
He is such a champ, and we love him to pieces. 

Welcoming Wally

I've been meaning to write a longer version of Wally's birth story (a shareable version-- I wrote all the details within the first couple days), but for the sake of the blog, here are the basics:
Sam and I went out for one last date to see Ender's Game, and my water broke in the middle of the movie (at about 12:30pm). I was in early labor for almost ten hours, so we didn't go to the hospital until 1am. I labored there with the help of Sam, the shower, the tub, an epic playlist of '90s hits, my doula, and vitamin water before giving birth to our ginormous baby boy at 7:34 am, thirteen days after my due date.
After Bria's traumatic delivery, I took my preparation for this birth very seriously. I worked so hard to achieve spontaneous labor and an unmedicated birth, so I think it comes as no surprise that when Wally was finally born, all I could do was cry "I did it!"
It was the most amazing and powerful thing I have ever done. So, you know. I am Woman. Hear me roar and all that.

Christmas report

Our entire holiday season was very mellow this year, including Christmas. On Christmas Eve we went out for a nice dinner just the four of us (Wally slept through the whole thing!). Then home for a quick round of singing Christmas songs in new Christmas jammies. 

Christmas morning Bria had to wait and wait while I fed Wally before we could venture out to see what Santa brought. She was overjoyed to see he brought her Star Wars Legos-- just what she wanted! That Santa sure aims to please. Sam and Bria set up a Lego station in the kitchen and work on it bit by bit every day.

We spent the afternoon with Marc and Jenn's family. It was a perfect day making us feel so lucky for all the love and joy in our lives. 

Merry Mangum Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We wish you all peace and joy in the coming year.

Sibling Love

So far Bria's favorite thing about having a baby brother is "helping him." She adores little Wally so much, and sometimes cries when she has to go to bed because it means she can't be with him anymore. Seriously, this girl is the best.