Monday, December 8, 2008

I Think We're In Trouble...

This is what she was doing when I left her room:

This is what she was doing when I came back a minute later:

And this is the look I got when she saw me peeking in her doorway:


Yes. She is pretty much completely mobile now. Her crawling is improving daily and she now prefers to crawl rather than roll. Her favorite spot to crawl: the Christmas tree, of course. The second you put her down, she inches her way to see how many shiny ornaments she can pull and how many presents she can unwrap. Suddenly, keeping my eye on HD has become a full-time job (hence the lack of blog posts lately). It is quite amazing to watch her development explode on a daily basis. Every day brings new discovery and successes for our sweet baby girl. Another skill she has developed is the ability to pick up the snack puffs (the kind that dissolve almost instantly) and feed herself. Of course, only about 4 out of 10 reach her mouth, but she is so proud when she does manage to eat one; and this gives us a few minutes of peace while we shovel food quickly down our throats. You see, our girl has decided that it is absolutely unacceptable for someone else to eat in her presence unless she, too, is being fed. It has been two months now (wow...two months already), but Stu and I are finally able to eat a meal together again. It's the little things that make me happy! It will be nice when HD has some teeth (none in sight at this point) and can eat a variety of finger foods. She's also started to interact with her big brothers, making Chipmunk and Monkey very happy. She loves sitting on the floor in the middle of their madness. They play peek-a-book with her and she laughs hysterically. They tickle her feet and she laughs hysterically. They make goofy faces and she laughs hysterically. Are you seeing a pattern here? Yes, she is definitely enjoying the entertainment my two silly boys provide. I, too, am enjoying it as it allows me to get a few things accomplished around the house. My family seems to be falling into a nice comfortable place. I am sure as soon as I say this, it will all fall apart tomorrow. But I'll take it while I can. Soon enough the boys will be out of school for Christmas break (for 3 weeks I think) and my schedule will go to hell in a handbasket.
Other than that, not much new to report. We are gearing up for Christmas. We enjoyed our town's annual Christmas parade last week, made ornaments at the library, and did the obligatory visit with Santa this weekend. We tried to do it several weeks ago while we were at the mall but the boys refused to talk with Santa that day. They knew they had been naughty that day and they were scared to death of what Santa would say:) This time, Chipmunk went right up to him and had a nice chat. Monkey, on the other hand, would absolutely not get anywhere near him. He stood behind me the entire time and only came out at the very end after Chipmunk said Santa wouldn't know what to bring him. So my dear Chipmunk took his brother by the hand and walked up there with him so he wouldn't be scared. Such rare moments of sweetness take my breath away and help me carry on during the daily struggles between the two.
It is definitely going to be a Merry Christmas for our family.

9 comments:

Rachel said...

She is just amazing. I absolutely can't wait to meet her (Um, Derby anyone?) and the rest of your fam!

Jackie said...

Oh, your little HD is a hot shot :) I know what you mean about having to watch every moment and every move.

Jackie

Jeanne said...

Go Hot Dog, go! Your family sounds like so much fun!

Anonymous said...

I can't stand the cuteness! I am counting down the days until I finally get the meet the precious HD. She is growing so much with every post you make!! See you soon.
Love,
Cory

Maria said...

I LOVE the updates and photos. She is SO adorable and I love how similar her stories sound to Ellie's. Isn't the laughter such a beautiful sound?? Love the new bloggy look too!!

Becky said...

What a beauty! Merry Christmas!

Margaret and Tom said...

So cute Allison! I think she is definitely ahead of Milana on her mobility :) but that is ok, Milana is making progress every day so I am not worried...She is just adorable as can be so glad your family is doing well...and having meals together again :)

Carey and Norman said...

I enjoyed the update. I cannot believe how quickly HD is growing and learning new tricks. I'm so glad the boys are entertaining her and enjoying her company. You forget how much more you must watch a little one. I take for granted that ours are so self sufficient (even when they don't seem to be). Enjoy the holidays!

Deb said...

Oh my goodness. She's adorable. How sweet the boys with santa. Great memory.

Isabel is all over the place too. It's so hard. I wish we had an older kiddo at home to distract her like your boys. She loves patti-cake.

She's mastered the puffs and is quiet proud of herself. It's so fun to see what your HD is doing compared to my Isabel. They are so close in age and are doing so many of the same things.