Kate spent December pulling herself up and walking around furniture any chance she got. We celebrated her 1st birthday with a Ladybug Picnic Party- she LOVED the cake. She loved opening presents for both her birthday and Christmas. While she is still a happy baby, always smiling at herself in the carseat mirror, she has definitely become more independent- feeding herself, tossing her cup off the highchair, "yelling" when she wants more- screaming when you are not cutting her banana fast enough (we're still working on more, please in sign language!) We are still hoping this strong will is a phase caused by teething and getting over a cough, otherwise we are in BIG trouble!
While most of the season was filled with merriment, we did have some "naughty" behaviors, but the phrase "Santa is watching" didn't have the immediate effect I was hoping for. St. Nick even had to let Ryan know he wasn't making good choices with a simple letter and notebook in his stocking. We are working on taking care of our books and staying in bed. Maybe the Elf of the Shelf will have an impact next year!
As we counted down the days until Christmas on our advent tree, we celebrated the season with fun family activities and sharing how we showed someone we cared that day. Ryan especially loved shopping for other children and delivering toys to the Ronalad McDonald House "for all the good girls and boys." As we were leaving, Ryan looked around the parking lot and asked "Where's Ronald McDonald's car?" To which I replied "Honey, Ronald McDonald doesn't live here. He shares his house with kids who are sick and their families."
We ended the holidays with both Joe and I off from work, home with the kids for a week! We had a great time visiting, shopping, going to Discovery World, playing Wii and snuggling. We may have enjoyed ourselves a little too much- when I said "Okay it's time for dinner." Ryan replied, "Yay, where are we going?"
I look back at 2011 and see Kate grow from a 3 week old baby to an amazing, almost walking, 1 year old and Ryan grow from a 2 year old in diapers to a 3 year old who says "When I grow up and I'm 5, I'm going to Disney World!" As the wheels of time keep spinning (too quickly, I have begun to realize), I resolve to hold dear all the memories, cherish each singular day and always dream big for the future!
