A very merry Christmas Indeed!

Every year, Christmas seems to sneak away just as fast as it arrives. Holiday mayhem comes and goes, and soon after all of the Christmas decorations are put away, the new toys have been given a new "place" in the house, and there are just a few Christmas cookies left on the counter.

Christmas Eve was spent with the Grays, Christmas morning was spent hanging out at home and then Christmas evening we went over to Kristin's house to have one final celebration.

As you can see by the picture, Adam love-love-loved his monster truck. Man, was he excited! Lucky for me, the buttons aren't pushed all of the time; miraculously, he polices himself and and knows not to push the buttons when Miles is sleeping. "Can I push the buttons now, Mommy?" Other popular gifts this year are his radio and kids CDs for his room (I now know the words to "The Grand Ol' Duke Of York," amongst other Kindergarten favorites), the Polar Express book (we saw the movie in Imax 3D earlier this month), and a new race track for Lightening McQueen. He had a great few days, remarking: "this is the Best Christmas Ever!!"

It was Miles' first Christmas, and I am so thankful that he is with us this year! It seems so long ago that I was pregnant and wondering if he was going to be a boy or a girl - how time flies! Everyone commented on what a good-natured baby he is, and they're right. He just goes with the flow no matter what is going on, and to him, the more people the merrier. He loves a crowd - especially when all eyes are on him! What a love-bug he is.

So, another Christmas spent with friends and family. If anything, the joy of the season reminded me that I have so much to be thankful for, particularly a loving family, our health and our many blessings.

God is good!

9 Months Stats...

Miles' 9 month well-baby check up last week went great. He's 30 inches long (95%) and 18lbs (15%). Long and lean! He was all smiles for the doctor, and would you believe he didn't even cry when he got his shot (just one this time!)? I was pleasantly surprised.

His top left tooth is now in, and so i'm certain the other one is not too far behind. Just when I think he's sleeping through the night permanently, he fools me. He slept 3 nights in a row, but then last night I was up with him for an hour - something wasn't just quite right with him, I guess. I finally crawled back in bed at 12:30am.

Regardless, he's my little lovie. He loves scrunching up his nose, thus making a silly face. He thinks he's pretty funny when he does this! He's discovered the exciting world of finger food - Cheerios are a hit! So far, he's not interested in cottage cheese or cheese in general. Can you believe that?

I cannot believe Christmas is next week...Adam is very excited! He saw Santa last Saturday and mustered up the courage to ask him for a "big monster truck." Of course!!!

Praying for a very Merry Christmas...

December already?

I cannot believe we're almost halfway into December. Time is just flying!

Miles will be 9 months old tomorrow. How can this be? He's not crawling yet, but he's getting up on his knees for longer and longer periods. He's making cute sounds such as "ba ba ba ba" and "ya ya ya ya." He just started putting puffs into his mouth this week. And finally, he's also working on getting his top two teeth in, which i'm sure is no fun for him at all! I'm excited to take him to his well-baby visit tomorrow to see just how big he's gotten. :)

Adam is getting excited for Christmas. Ask him what he wants for Christmas, and he replies "a big monster truck!" Now, he's been asking for this monster truck since his birthday. I keep hoping he'll forget about this toy, but alas, he continues to wish for it.

Now, about this truck. Those of you who know me, know that I don't do well with chaos/loud noises/etc. This monster truck is insanely loud, blasting obnoxious phrases and an awful tune. Basically, my worst nightmare.

Jeff and I were out shopping for Christmas presents last week when I spotted the aforementioned toy. I showed it to Jeff who sheepishly pushed one of the buttons (I'm sure he was thinking, "how loud can this thing be?"). We quickly looked to see who else was nearby and no doubt annoyed by the sheer volume of sound erupting from this beast of a toy, and just started laughing. Obnoxious? Yes. Soon to be irritating? Absolutely. Will it put the biggest smile on our kid's face on Christmas morning? You're darned tootin.'

Against our better judgement, we walked out of the store with the Rippin Monster Jams truck in our shopping bag.

I'm sure the novelty of this truck will wear off eventually. Until then, you can bet i'll be dying a bit on the inside every time I hear "Ready to Riiiip?" followed by the obnoxious guitar riff.
But hey. You're only three once.