christmas time!!!
another month come and gone, and with it the holiday season has passed us by in a rush! noah's first christmas seemed to come and go all too quickly, but we did get to enjoy some time off work and spend the holiday with family. christmas eve also marked noah's 10th month in this world, and looking back it's hard to believe that it's been that long ago that he made his debut in our family. he has grown so much since then, of course, but i still look at him and see a sweet little boy who does things in very much his own way.
before christmas, we celebrated the november birthdays -- a 4 of them -- with the traditional dinner and several desserts at my parents house. a few weeks later, noah spent the holiday enjoying extra time with both myself and his daddy, since we somehow (?!) managed to have several days off together during the week of christmas. we spent christmas eve with my parents and christmas day in waco with the extended family. noah did fabulously both days, despite being away from things familiar and staying up (too) late on christmas eve, you can see more in the christmas post.
happy, happy boy!
in developmental news, noah spent the majority of the month attempting to remove *all* the bows from his christmas presents under the tree, and enjoying seeing the christmas tree lights twinkling at him throughout the day. we did not attempt to take him to see santa (partly because this was never a tradition in our family and partly because matt and i hate fighting crowds), but we did enjoy other christmas activities including baking cookies, watching christmas movies (hello, grinch, garfield, and charlie brown!), and decorating the tree. noah even helped me wrap a few gifts, which was an interesting experience for all -- including some gift recipients! noah continues to chatter on throughout the day, entice us to "get him" during playtime and snuggle before nap time. his favorite songs of late are 5 pumpkin pies, the ABC's, 5 little monkeys (swingin' from a tree), and thanks to his father, the 12 days of christmas. other favorite things include cell phones and remote controls, eating blueberries and standing in his highchair. that last one won him the honor of being buckled in with the 5-point harness system in the highchair to prevent tumbles. he still isn't a fan of getting strapped in, but he no longer attempts to crawl out of his dinner seat and once the straps are on, he doesn't seem to notice them at all. he also looks like a little astronaut, which is darn near hilarious to us as parents. oh, the little things :)
i'm a little surprised we don't have a walker on our hands yet, with as anxious as he seems to move around on his own, but i know that when he's ready there will be no turning back. and, according to every parent i've ever known, i should be in no rush to have him walking. but, like every new mom, i want to see him reach and succeed at this developmental milestone...the struggles of knowing too much with no personal experience! despite his unsteadiness in the walking department, noah has begun to tentatively wave to us and occasionally he will clap if he gets excited, too. he doesn't always associate these actions with the correct times, and it's hit-or-miss as to whether he will do them on request, but we're still making strides in non-verbal communication. i forgot to mention it in the last post, but noah has also gotten pretty good at shaking his head "no" when he doesn't want something. hopefully the signs we have been teaching him will start to sink in, too and our big boy will finally be able to ask for "more" blueberries, "please" :)
a family pic
other exciting news this month? noah got to stay home with grandma sharon while matt and i went out to celebrate our 4th anniversary. we both worked on the actual day, so we celebrated on a sunday instead and enjoyed a leisurely dinner out followed by drinks at a bar. it might not sound that interesting, but it was a nice change of pace and we enjoyed spending the time together as "grown ups." :)
as this year rapidly draws to a close, i find myself looking forward to milestones, struggles and triumphs next year and (or including?) planning a first birthday party, as well as bringing in the new year with my two favorite guys.
we hope you enjoyed a fabulous holiday season, see you in the new year!
even more pics are included below:
