Well I've been hanging around this world for ELEVEN MONTHS now and here's what I think about things so far...
I started this month off by meeting the man with the big white beard...Santa. Mom, Dad, Nana, Poppy, Tati and Uncle Chris all took me to Macy's in New York City to meet Santa Claus. To be honest, he was SCARY! I loved seeing all the twinkling Christmas decorations in the Christmas village while we waited to meet Santa, but as soon as we walked in I FREAKED out! I calmed down once Mom and Dad sat with me as long as I wasn't right next to HIM! The rest of the day we spent wandering around NYC seeing the holiday decorations. It was a fun way to kick off this the Christmas season. Mom and I took a train home to Boston that night. It was my first real train ride outside of the T or subway.
In other BIG news...I took my first steps this month! I side stepped to start off and it brought Mom to tears. I guess she doesn't like her little boy growing up so quickly. Who can blame her really. Then throughout the month I began taking more steps usually a couple at a time. I still prefer to crawl because I get places quicker, but when Mom and Dad are sitting across from each other we play this fun game where they stand me up and the other person holds out their arms, so I can walk to back and forth to them. It's a really fun game and I feel safe giving this walking thing a try since I know they're right there to catch me. I think the most steps I've taken at once has been between four and five while we were playing this game of theirs. I have yet to venture out on my own though. I'm sure I'll get around to it any day now.
I have developed quite the appetite this month. I'm really enjoying solid food now. I'm still eating baby food now and then depending on what there is for me to eat and I love my oatmeal for breakfast, but I'm also loving chicken, cheese, bread and a variety of veggies and fruits. When I was in Virginia for Christmas, I ate all sorts of good stuff from pasta and meatballs, to cheese, scrambled eggs and pancakes and much much more. I'm a growing boy and I love food!
Related to food, I still love Cheerios and lately I've been trying to get everyone else hooked on my favorite snack. How, you ask? Well, by sharing of course. I love to share my Cheerios. I eat one and then I like to give you one to eat too. Sometimes I even like to share the one I've just tasted...gotta make sure it's good before letting you try it. Right?!
My first Christmas was magical. I attended my first Christmas party and slipped a gingerbread cookie past Daddy. It was YUMMY and I think the red icing traces that gave me away were a nice touch.
Mom and Dad kept a gate around our Christmas tree because it had lots of fragile ornaments, but I did enjoy starring at the twinkling light and trying to reach for ornaments. Then right before we left for Christmas in Virginia, we celebrated our own little Christmas at home and the gate got packed, so I had a whole hour of fun looking at our tree and all the ornaments close up. My favorite ornament to play with was the jack in the box because mom would spin the crank and a gingerbread man would pop out. Then I would try to push him back into the box. We played this game for a long time. Life with the tree only got better once we got to Virginia because my grandparents would actually let me touch the ornaments and play with them. My Grandma put all the ornaments at the bottom of the tree that I could play with and she made sure there weren't any hooks, so I went to town pulling them off. Playing with them and then trying to put them back on the tree.
I love watching Christmas movies like Rudolph, especially if it has songs. There's even a Veggie Tales Christmas movie that explains where Santa came from. Did you know he was actually St. Nicolas and he would give gifts out as a way of showing thanks for God giving us his Son, Jesus. Mom spent a lot of time this month reflecting one what Christmas traditions she wishes to start with me to keep Christmas focused on Christ, the real reason for the season. I was a little small this year though, so it gave her some time to figure out what we'll have fun with next year...like the elf on the shelf that encourages random acts of kindness and baking a birthday cake for Jesus. One tradition we did start this year was she did a Christmas craft with my little piggies...she painted my foot green and stamped it on paper to make little mistletoe cards to give to the family. My mistletoes were a big hit and fun surprise for everybody.
I must have been a very good boy because Santa and my family gave me lots of amazing toys from my very own back ho and huggable Elmo to my own sled that Poppy refinished for me and grocery cart complete with all sorts of play food some of which I haven't even tried in real life yet! Like tell me, what is this thing you call a donut? It looks pretty tasty! Mom took all sorts of pictures and she'll post them all later, so you can see how special my first Christmas really was. I got to spend lots of time with my amazing grandparents, aunts, uncles and extended family!
I'm also a stinker when it comes to sleep. Last month I showed Mom I could sleep through the night, which I know excited her, but I like to keep her on her toes with that too. I sometimes decide to sleep right through and other times I like to get up one or two times. There really is no rhyme or reason to it. Friends keep reminding her I won't go to college still waking up...haha...I'm sure they'll be right.
I'm doing better when it comes to the car these days. Mom and Dad have some good tricks that help too...like Mom downloaded Elmo's song and the whole Sesame Street CD. They also put a couple Baby Miracle videos about Jonah, Noah and creation on their iPads, so I can watch those in the car when I'm not sleepy. I love the music and seeing the animals moving around. It really helped keep me entertained especially on our 12 hour road trip back to Boston after Christmas!
It's crazy to think I'm going to be a year old next month! Wow how this year is flying. I have grown and learned so much already and there's only more fun to come!
Of course this has been another month of firsts...
Steps.
Christmas.
Long road trip.
Steps.
Christmas.
Long road trip.
Overall, in my ELEVENTH MONTH I've enjoyed the business of being FESTIVE.
