First, the Legs...

Michael is trying his hardest to learn how to roll over. He's got the leg strength down pat. As you can see in this picture, when we put him on his tummy, he desperately tries to fling his legs up and over. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite have the upper-body strength and coordination to complete his mission. We're sure that'll come soon enough. We're in no rush, however. We remember with Katie how nice it was to have a completely stationary baby.

In other Michael/Katie news, the two siblings are becoming quite the best buddies. Nothing can light up a smile on Michael's face like looking at his big sister. Today Traci had a bunch of cleaning to do, so she set Michael and Katie up with a blanket and toys in the living room. Katie did a bang-up job keeping Michael happy. When Traci looked in from the kitchen, she saw and heard Katie singing her ABCs to a rapt little baby. He was just staring at her in awe. We hope she doesn't start charging by the hour! (And, perhaps we should tape these moments now to replay for them when they "despise" each other as teenagers...)

Thank You, Santa!

Yes, we obviously understand the true meaning of Christmas...we have reminded Katie again and again that December 25th is Baby Jesus' birthday. But, a great part of Christmas for new parents is watching the pure joy in your children's eyes when they get that one special gift that they had been coveting. We think we captured a little of that joy with this video....

A Very Disney Christmas!

"I've never seen so much pink in my life." These were Mike's exact words as we dug ourselves out of the happy chaos of our Christmas weekend in Brockway. Why would he mutter such a sentiment? If you had seen Katie's holiday present stash, you would understand. We think that she single-handedly raised the Disney stock price at least $20/share with all of her princess dolls, clothing, shoes, sleeping bags, figurines, etc., etc. Even the gift wrapping from her Grammy was adorned with the likenesses of Cinderella, Snow White, and Belle. Keeping with the pink theme, Katie of course had to wear a "pretty, pretty" pink and black dress to Christmas Eve mass. Oh, and don't feel too sorry for poor, neglected Michael - he certainly wasn't left out of the gift-receiving end. He got lots of great clothes, baby toys, and equipment. We have an EXTREMELY generous family!

Speaking of which, we have to send a special thank-you to Uncle Greg and Aunt Tabby, who graciously hosted everybody for Christmas dinner. They opened up their extremely beautiful and clean home to four CRAZY nieces and nephews....who may just have convinced them that their childless lifestyle is best. Anyway, thanks guys - everything was GREAT!

Please take a look at our Christmas photo album to the right to check out some of Katie's and Michael's new loot. Traci will be spending the next several months finding space for all of it!

Mouthing Off at Three Months

Wow, how time is flying by! Our little baby is three-months-old today. The major theme in Michael's life right now is MOUTH, MOUTH, MOUTH. First, the gentle giant is still feeding quite regularly...too regularly for his parents' taste. He has unfortunately regressed back to a point where he's feeding every three hours or so in the evenings. Either we need to get him out of our room ASAP or this is just how a big baby eats. We don't know which. (We weighed him on our scale today...about 15.5 pounds!)

Second, he's finally to the point where he is able to hold things and bring them straight to his mouth (today's picture is a perfect example). No matter what he brings to his mouth (toy, your finger, whatever), he gnaws and sucks on it like there is no tomorrow. We don't yet suspect any kind of teething activity since Katie didn't get her first teeth until she was nearly a year-old. We do, however, suspect that this habit of his will brings lots of nasty germs his way...

Finally, when his mouth is not filled by food or toys, the boy certainly knows how to use it to TALK! Yes, he cries just like all babies cry, but he has expanded his little Ewokian vocabulary to include many different tones and intonations. He doesn't need to cry to let you know he's unhappy...he'll just start conjuring up some of his crazy mumbo-jumbo in shrill tones. He's also big on the "razzing," where you spit and make noises at the same time. It's a thrill for Katie to have her own bubble machine in the house.

Anyway, who ever said that a house filled with cute kids was going to be a quiet house. We'll sleep again in another 20 years....

Blizzard 2009

More pictures from the frozen tundra of...Virginia?

Katie's first snowball (love the shadow)...

Not sure if Katie ate more snow or Christmas cookies this weekend.

 

Since Michael wasn't quite ready to brave the elements, we brought some winterland fun to him...

Cookie Monster

Mike and Katie got to the fun part of their Christmas cookie baking process: the decorating! Katie was completely intrigued with the decorative sprinkles until Daddy brought out the homemade frostings. Good lord, we don't know how many liquid ounces Katie ingested, but she actually requested to be taken away from the table because her tummy hurt! Fortunately, daddy and daughter got lots of cookies decorated in the most beautiful of ways, from the traditional to the Jackson Pollock-esque. However, after watching the aftermath of Katie's sugar-high for the rest of the day, we are going to think long and hard before engaging her in baking again!

Oh, and for a Blizzard Update, we ended up with about 16-17 inches of snow, some of which had surprisingly melted by the middle of today. Mike (our hero) spent 2 hours shoveling out our car and those of our neighbors this afternoon. The best news of all: He gets a snow-day from work tomorrow! YIPPEE!!

Snow-pocalypse

The great "Holiday Blizzard of 2009" (as they are calling it on the news) has begun! At last check (around 4PM), we had received 14 inches of snow, with plenty more on the way. We'll probably get a couple of feet before this puppy ends. So what did we do while snowed in for the day? Traci did TONS of laundry, Mike baked massive amounts of Christmas cookies, Katie played a bit outside, and Michael slept and cooed a lot. Both parents also had to take their turns with the shovel outside. (What a fruitless effort!) We're actually looking forward to another cozy snowed-in day tomorrow. As long as we have electricity, food, and each other, we're just fine!



Here's a shot of Katie, all dressed up in her snow gear. She usually wanted to come outside whenever one of us was shoveling. She only would last 10 minutes or so before complaining of the cold. It always took longer for her to get prepared to come outside than to actually play outside.