Merry Christmas!

We were able to celebrate Christmas with most of our family this year. Shannon, Scott, Owen, and Ellie flew in on Christmas Day. I was able to get off work early so we got to spend the afternoon and evening together. Claire was so much fun this year. She didn't waste any time ripping into the presents. We have so many things to be thankful for this year, especially our amazing family. The only thing missing was Brandon, Annie, and baby Harvey. Maybe next year...

They finally made it here!

It was a long wait, but Nanny and Papa have finally made it to visit me. While I was waiting for them to arrive, I spent some time studying my book about Minnesota. I had to do lots of reading but wanted to be sure I was familiar with the things from up north.

It didn't take me very long to warm up to Nanny and Papa (it helped that I knew them pretty well from doing Skype with them lots). Within minutes I was busy building towers with Papa.

Nanny and Papa brought me many toys from Minnesota. Thank you Owen and Ellie for sharing your toys with me! I quickly fell in love with my new "baba" (babies).

I love having a chair that is my size. I have lots of fun bouncing on it to find a comfortable spot and then reading books to Nanny (after I show her exactly where she needs to sit!)

I think my favoite toy that came from Minnesota is my little red wagon. I love to pull it around the house, collecting toys as I go, and have quickly learned that I can ride in it as well (thanks to Daddy!). Now I ask everyone to pull me around the house in my wagon. It works out well for me, not so well for everyone who had to bend over to pull me!

Making Cookies

We made our traditional sugar cookies the other day and made sure to involve Claire as much as possible. She got to pick out the sprinkles she wanted. She chose which cutters we would use. She even got to lick the beaters when we were done. The best part was watching her timidly taste the cookie that she had made. In my slide show, I wanted to include some music from Home Alone since that will be the next item on our list of things to do. Hope you enjoy.

My visit with Santa

At first, I was not into Santa at all. I thought it was horrible that my Mommy made me sit on his lap and I decided to let everyone know just how horrible I thought it was!

After watching a few of the other kids sit by Santa, I finally let my Mommy take me close to him. I made sure Mommy didn't leave me and had to take some time to just check him out.

Finally I agreed to one picture with Santa (as long as Mommy was holding me). Maybe next year I will find Santa more exciting!

Dinner Time

With some changes to my schedule at work, we have been able to have some family time at dinner. I think Claire enjoys eating on the "big" chair rather than the usual high chair. We still haven't gotten her to eat by herself with a spoon but every now and again she will reach for it and then quickly pull back like she was caught doing something wrong. We can tell she wants to feed herself but is still hesitant. Overall, we cannot complain since she still eats whatever we put in front of her. Gotta love the spinach balls and prunes!

Joy to the World

As we get closer to our second Christmas as a family, we wanted to share some of the fun things we have been doing to get ready. Going to the zoo might not seem like your traditional December outing, but it is something that we all enjoy and would like to keep doing. Claire was much more curious this time than she was in trips past. She wanted nothing to do with the stroller since it meant she couldn't walk around on her own. When we made it home we decided to put up lights and decorations. Claire was a big help in moving the string of lights from one side of the living room to the other. She just wanted to make sure all the bulbs were working properly. Two of our other traditions are yet to come; making sugar cookies with frosting and watching Home Alone. We have been having a blast with our baby girl this year and cannot wait to see what 2011 will bring. I'm sure it will contain more temper tantrums and sore gums (or gooooms, depending on where you're from) but it will also be filled with more hide n seeks and more swinging between mom and dad as we walk through the store. I can't wait!

Our day at the zoo

Jeff and I were able to have a day off together finally. Since the weather was beautiful, we decided to take Claire to the zoo. We had a blast. It was so much fun watching Claire. She was very interested in the animals and of course, walking the entire zoo on her own (who needs a stroller when you are 17 months old?)