With Daddy...

I love this picture - my boys cuddling. M loves his Daddy so much! (And, this may have been the first time that M chose Daddy over Mama. A milestone of sorts...)

Snow!

On the morning of the snowstorm, we bundled M up in a couple of blankets and took him in a spin in his new wagon. He loved it...once he figured out what in the heck was going on with the wet cold stuff falling from the sky.

The view from our front steps a few hours later.

M was a very, very lucky boy this Christmas - one of his favorite presents is his tricycle.


He immediately spotted it on Christmas morning (and the fact that we put a new stuffed doggie in the basket turned it into the ultimate magnet for our son.)


He's still a bit little to touch the pedals, but it has a handle at the back so we can push him around and he LOVES it! Plus, it's the same brand Elmo rides when he's in the park with his daddy! (I've had this song stuck in my head for a week!)



We had an iconic parent experience one evening the weekend before Christmas when we assembled all his presents.



It was a "how many grownups with graduate degrees does it take to figure out instructions," type of evening.

I've never had that much fun being that frustrated!

The boy and his blankie...

Rolling around on the floor with his blankie and a box - a happy little guy!


Toesies!

Second Haircut

Today M and his Mama went to a child-friendly salon at one of our local malls for his second haircut. His first haircut was in early November, but I only took video and I've been too lazy to edit (sorry Mom!) Last time I asked the stylist to leave his curls, so it grew back pretty quickly, hence the second haircut in less than a month...

It was starting to get pretty fluffy by Thanksgiving. (A very tired little M - sitting on his keyboard - after a morning of playing with Uncle M.)

He was such a sweet, mellow little guy and didn't make a bit of fuss. Perhaps because he got to sit in the chair shaped like a tractor (which also happens to be his latest word!) and watch Thomas.

He wasn't much of a fan of the clippers...



After the haircut, we played on one of those coin operated kiddy rides.

He loved it before I turned it on, but I think the motion freaked him out a bit. Now I know I can save $.50 and still have a happy kiddo!

His haircut really makes him look like a little boy. It's a little disconcerting. He was very ready for a nap when we got home, and he slept so long I had to wake him up. He was such a grumpapotamous (and wearing grumpypants) when he woke up. All he wanted to do was cuddle up and rock with me. It was so cozy - a nice reminder that he's still very much my baby.

Another milestone passed. It's a little strange, but also wonderful, to think that soon I will have lost track of the number of haircuts. So many firsts (and seconds...) It's so much fun watching this little boy grow up!

Holiday Traditions: Winter Books

One of the family traditions I'd like to create is reading special winter/holiday books during December. Merritt has started picking up a book, walking over to the closest parent, and tugging on our leg until we sit down and read to him. He won't sit through a whole book, and often wants to look a the pages in his own order - two pages forward then one back, etc. - and sometimes he'll "read" to us in his sweet little jabber. I love it! I like the idea of special books for the seasons.

So far we have:
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren

Ok, only 22 more to go! (Not that I want to get them all this year...perhaps one or two a year) I've been finding inspiration on various mama blogs but have no idea what would be good this year.

M and Daddy reading.

What happened to November?

No, seriously...where'd it go? Our month got off to a rocky start with ear infections for both M and his daddy, but ended with a wonderful Thanksgiving with family. Throughout, I took about 10 photos and not one was good!

M playing with Uncle Morgan. (The shirt is from Provincetown and says "PEE town")

I've been thinking about what holiday traditions I want to start with my little family. Last year was J and my first Christmas together (for the prior 10 years (!) we gone to our separate families) but with a four-month-old we didn't have much time/sanity to think of traditions. Some of the ideas I like:

• Advent calendar - I like the experience/activity ideas that Uncommon Grace has listed
• Read a Christmas book every day of December - I've started our collection with The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren
• New ornament for each child - I like the thought of giving M a box of his ornaments when he has his own home.
• New jammies for Christmas Eve - I love new jammies... I'm thinking of these for M
• Hot chocolate and cookies on Christmas Eve
• Cinnamon rolls for breakfast - perhaps this recipe
• A long family walk after Christmas lunch then a cozy afternoon of Christmas movies

But back to the "where did the time go," question - when did this little lump:

grow up to be such a big boy:

An old vid of M enjoying his dinner, he's such a ham sometimes: