Chrismas Kick-Off Week

We got out our Elf on the Shelf earlier this week. We'd been telling Piper that Santa had sent a special elf to our house to watch over her and that he delivered him to the attic. She was anxious for Daddy to go up there and find him. She decided to name him Umbrella and he's been a real treat to have around. She loves to find him each morning and put him somewhere where he can easily fly back to the North Pole at night.

The Christmas decorations have made their way out of the attic, just haven't made their way out of the boxes yet! We're going to get a tree this weekend, so should be a festive one.

Piper also wrote a letter to Santa last night (it's something they do locally, where you fill out a form and your child gets a letter back from Santa before Christmas). Sounds like fun, it's our first year doing it, so we'll see.

I asked her what she wanted and she said, "A pink bike with helmut, barbie doll, and ask Santa to bring Boone a truck. He likes trucks." Then she proceeded to decorate the whole sheet with some of her best artwork and it's all ready to drop off to make it's way to the North Pole.

Piper also had her first viewing of "Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas" and loved it. And I'm happy to report it's every bit as good as I remember it (Ger said the same thing). Although she kept correcting me and telling me they were bears not otters.

And while we were watching that I set up one of Boone's little ride-on cars that turns into a walker, thinking it would be a good way to entice him to continue to practice standing and working towards walking. Well he grabbed the walker like he'd used it a million times before and proceeded to walk across the better part of he basement! Looks like it (hopefully) won't be long now.

Oh, and Boone's love of electrical outlets and small spaces continues. He somehow managed to crawl under a table and unplug the Christmas tree in his classroom the other day at school.

We also found out that both kids will be moving up to the next classroom the end of this month. Boone will soon be sleeping on a nap mat (hard to believe), eating lunch at a table in his own chair, and having gym and playground time each day. Piper is moving up to the 3's and I think it's going to be a great move for her. I think she's really ready and she'll be excited to be reunited with some of her friends that have already moved up.

Tooth-Brushing Princess

Mealtime Entertainment

Boone

All I can continue to say about our little guy, is he is busy, busy, busy.

Just last week, he decided to start pulling up on his own, a new skill which he practices over and over on anything that he sizes up and decides is suitable for the task. Consequently, he also got his first black eye at school, while trying to stand and reach for a toy at the same time. He looks like a real tough guy right now.

The week before last, we also moved him to his "big boy" car seat, which he loves. He was growing very tired of his carrier and was very happy to move to more plush accommodations. And the very best part of the new car seat has definately been the box in which it came. Its been played with more than any other toy in the house for a solid week.

His next two teeth are just about to come through.

And he started to say the word dog.

Like I said, busy.

Outside Time

The weekend before last, we enjoyed a great weekend at home. We spent all of Saturday with new friends and old and had a wonderful time. I, wasn't able to capture any pictures, my camera was still acting up, which I have since learned was "user error", not "acting up". Oh, the trials and tribulations of a novice photogragher.

Just before we left to watch the USC game with friends, one of the pipes at our water pump burst-oh joy. So on Sunday, Daddy was tied up with repairs, so while Boone was napping, Piper came outside with me as I planted a few items in our still bare front flowerbeds. Progress has been quite slow, but we are slowing making some strides. Instead of planting she opted for watering the dirt and having a mudpie party.

Next, she wanted to play hide and seek. Here she goes, while I was assigned the task of counting and trying to find her.

This next picture is of her hiding place. See if you can find her? Hee, hee.

And we rounded out the afternoon with summersaults.

Oh, and apparently we were playing a little too close to where Daddy was working on the plumbing, as all of the sudden Piper started saying, "You have GOT to be kidding me!" I'm just glad that's all she decided to add to her vocabulary from what was coming out of our pump house. Ha! It was kind of like being near the father from 'A Christmas Story' as he tried to repair the furnace. Easy for me to laugh, I wasn't the one "in the trenches", so to speak. But all is fixed now, thanks Ger!

Forward we go!

Guess who figured out how to pedal her tricycle going forward last night? Yep, Pip. She's long since mastered going in reverse, but she master the art of pedaling forward now too. And she was so proud, she kept turning around saying, "You see dis?" Next up, steering.

She is also very focused right now on asking Santa Claus for a bike and helmet for Christmas. And shortly after she mastered her new pedaling skills, she said, "I tell San Clas I can do dis. I need new bike and hat (helmet) for Ristmas, cause dis little bike broke. Boone can have dis bike like I have dis bike when I a tiny baby."

12-Month Pictures

Just picked up Boone's 12-month pictures earlier in the week. I took him the day he went for his 12-month check-up to have his pictures taken, and it was an experience! He's so busy these days, and while getting his picture taken is no exception. He spent most of the time wanting to crawl around the studio and check stuff out. It was really hard to get him to sit still, so we had to resort to raiding the props in the closet and trying most, if not all, of them out. We used the baseball Boone is holding in the first picture to entice him onto the area he needed to be for the pictures. I rolled it over to the spot he needed to be, and then we gave him the baseball bat and glove once he got there to get him to pause just long enough to snap a shot.

I love the close-up of him, really shows off his pearly whites. He's got 4 teeth so far and is currently working on 2 more.

And the last picture is an attempt to get a shot of him standing. Normally at home, he will spend some lengthy time standing at the couch or something of similar height. But while trying to get his pictures taken, he decided he didn't need to hold on to anything. He was like a little weeble-wobble. Finally, the woman taking his pictures got out the cake with the 1 on it and that was enough to entice him. He ended up pulling the 1 off the top of the cake, and in the process lost his balance, so you can see my hand in the background, as it looked like he was going to go head first into that pillar. Luckily he didn't, he just looked long enough at the camera for a quick shot, afterwhich he promtly sat down and crawled out of the studio. And that was a wrap, folks!

Another Columbia and a Baptism

This past weekend, we loaded up and headed to another Columbia...Columbia, NC and Aunt Heather and Uncle Davis's house for Jackson's baptism. Jackson looked absolutely adorable in white and was quite the shining star for mass! We were honored to be there for the occasion and even more honored to be Jackson's godparents.

Halloween Fun

After Boone's birthday party, and a round of afternoon naps, we all loaded up and headed to downtown Camden for their 1st Annual Halloween party. They blocked off the streets and had trick-or-treating at the various stores, along with other activities. It was a bit confusing and crowded, but the kids really seemed to enjoy being outside and showing off their costumes.

Glad the Pauls got to join us this year too. After the festival was over, back at our house, we did a round of grandparent trick-or-treating, and the kids loved getting more candy. We never did manage to get a group shot, so here's a random assortment of costume-clad kids!

How to party like a 1 year old

Guess who turned one on Oct 31 this year? Yes, Boone crossed this monumental milestone with a bang. He was a little tentative at first, but then he dove in head first and absolutely loved his first cake. Piper was there to lend a hand and we also had a rare, but great, family shot from the day (thanks Aunt Ria for all the pics). All in all a great weekend, spent with family and enjoying our little one year old.

12-Month Appointment

Boone had his 12-month appointment yesterday and it just doesn't seem possible that he's a year old already. He had a great time at the appointment, he found a stack of magazines and belly-laughed as he threw each one and it landed on the floor.

Here's his stats, he's holding steady on his percentiles:

Height: 29 1/4in (40th percentile)
Weight: 19lbs 6.5oz (10th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18 1/2cm (70th percentile)

He also thoroughly enjoyed his 1st birthday party, especially the cake, he dove in head first! My camera is on the fritz right now so I don't have photos to share (boo!). But I will post some once I get them from others who were there.

Nana

Boone is in love with bananas. I mean he LOVES them. Last Friday, I was cutting up his dinner and putting it on his little tray and when I got the banana out and starting cutting it up, he looked at it and at me and said, "Nana". I thought it was a coincidence, but he has now started requesting "nanas" at mealtime if he can't see us getting one out. And when you get it out and he can see you bringing it to him, he gets soooo excited.

Two little monkeys...

A little prelude to Halloween for this year. Piper got to pick out the costumes, and she wanted to be a "big monkey" and wanted Boone to be a "little monkey". So here they are...two little monkeys!

Boone's favorite food right now is bananas. And how fitting for a little monkey.

Can't wait to trick-or-treat with our two little monkeys this year. Piper has been practicing her "trick or treat" and "thank you" and she's more than ready to test out her new skills. She got a bit of a preview at school yesterday at their party and she scored a bag full of treats. I think she's hooked.

Making the best of a rainy Saturday

Running as fast as you can...pushing a ride-on toy...and you run head-first right into a big set of bleachers

We got that dreaded call yesterday afternoon from Piper's school to tell us that she got hurt while playing in the gym. Fortunately for us it started off with, "She's just fine, but...". And boy am I glad I had some advanced notice before getting to school, cause it was a doozy. The director kept saying on the phone, "It's a REALLY big fat lip". And fortunately she didn't do any major damage requiring stiches or any damage to her teeth, gums, or anything else inside her mouth, just her poor, large, swollen lip. We got a bag of frozen peas out when we got home last night to ice it and she had a special helping of chocolate pudding. She seemed to think this made it feel better!

Projects

We've started another round of projects, trying to get a few more things checked off the ole "to do" list. First on the list was finally getting all the trim, baseboards, doors, etc painted. So far the upstairs is all done and I can't believe what a difference it's made. Still have the downstairs to do, but should be underway in the next few weeks. Here's a before and after shot.

We've also been doing a little work outside. We just planted some blueberry bushes out near our shed (still need to get a picture of them). We loaded them up in the tractor and Piper "drove" them over to where they were going to be planted. We've just got two pecan trees to plant, so will hopefully get those in the ground this weekend.

Boone primarily spectated from the wagon during the planting and sissy was there to keep him entertained!