Merry Christmas

Mom's stuff is WAY more fun than Baby's stuff. This lint roller was quite the entertainment one evening. It was funny to watch him get his hands stuck to the sticky paper and then try to lint roll Soph...she wasn't amused. : )

Henry reading his FAVORITE Christmas book. He loves the end where Santa says "ho ho ho." He will read this book over and over again, talking to each of the characters.

Look Ma, I can climb up anything. The kitchen stools are one of my favorite.

Henry thinks he is just oh so amusing. He cracks me up! He played with the gladware container pictured for more than 30 minutes straight.

Uh oh! How did that happen!?! Henry had great fun "helping" mom wrap Christmas presents. He climbed up on the wrapping paper box until he reached the box of bows. He shook and shook the box of bows until all the bows fell out and then stared at all the bows on the floor with a confused look. Funny little dude.

Henry is super MOBILE and interactive now. It is so much fun to play with him. Henry climbs to standing with ease now and has starting crusing around furniture. He "talks" all the time, telling all kinds of stories. He recently also found his volume button. He often yells to his toys and books...or simply the cabinet doors. His favorite pastime remains banging objects together. The more noise they make, the better. Henry has begun to feed himself. He often makes a big mess, but surprisingly, much of his food actually makes it to his mouth...eventually. Tonight he even fed himself orange segments and chicken bits. Until today he had only really mastered eating Cheerios and other similar dry foods. Drinking still remains a challenge, but he is getting better and better each day. He actually did pretty well when I tried giving him a few sips out of my water glass. Perhaps it is time to invest in some normal plastic cups.

Christmas is just a few days away. I think we are ready for the most part, I just have a few more gifts to wrap and I need to do some grocery shopping. We are super excited to watch Henry open his Christmas presents. He loves the sound of ripping paper. I think he will be more interested in the wrapping paper and cardboard boxes than the actual toys and books, at least initially. I am also looking forward to watching Henry interact with his cousins on Christmas Eve. Ryan's mom decorates the house to the nines, making it one of the most festive places to celebrated during the season. Ryan's dad has a tradition of getting a HUGE tree, which is always decorated with tons of lights and fun ornaments that they have collected over the years. Best of all, the whole family gets together and brings their favorite snacks. Food and family...can't get much better than that!

I have been blessed with much good fortune this year, including good health, a loving husband, gainful employment, and supportive family and friends. Most of all, I have been blessed with a beautiful, happy, health little boy that I get to call my son. Doesn't get much better than that.

Merry Christmas to all those I love...you know who you are!