Holidays

Here are some holiday photos for your enjoyment.

We had a very busy Christmas day. First thing in the morning, we had Dean's parents, grandmother, and siblings over for our gift exchange. It was faster than was ideal, but we got through everything with plenty of time.

Dean's Uncle Don and Aunt Mary arrived in Denver Christmas morning, and they came to our place straight from the airport. Dean's Uncle Rohn came over too. Shortly after their arrival, my parents, grandmother, and Aunt Barbara arrived too, and we finished getting the food ready.

Then came dinner, by which time Robin was exhausted, ate a little, started making a fuss, and took his nap. He was the primary reason we wanted to host--so we could have him on his home turf. While he slept we finished eating, cleaned up, had some dessert, and enjoyed each others' company.

Shortly after Robin woke up, Don and Mary needed to leave to visit some other family, and the rest of Dean's family left after a bit.

Then we exchanged gifts with my family and had some more food.

After my family left, we did presents one more time--the stuff to each other, and the things that came in the mail.

It was a big day, and Robin got overwhelmed at times, but he definately enjoyed himself, and he's enjoying playing with all his new toys.

My Uncle John flew out the day after Christmas, so we spent several of the next days visiting with all of my extended family.

Robin is going through a difficult period right now--for all of us. I don't quite know what's up, but it's probably a combination of teething, frustration at lack of communication skills, the desire to do things himself and in his own way, learning that there are limits, other growing pains, and probably other elements to which I am totally clueless. We both often end up in tears, and I'm learning quite a bit about patience and perseverence. We're hoping that Banshee Baby will soon recede, but until he does, we're getting by.

Robin seems to be in no hurry to talk. He stopped saying night-night right around when he started walking, and hasn't replaced it with any new words. Currently he's just doing Mama and Dada, and still babbling a lot.

He has become quite a master at walking. Shortly before Christmas he mastered getting to his feet without aid, and he no longer needs to have his arms up to balance. He's quite fast now, too.

His appetite these days is gargantuan. I'm amazed such a little person can eat so much and not be getting pudgy--but he's not. If this is a precursor to how much he'll eat when he's a teenager, we'll be having to take out a second mortgage in about 12 years. Mealtimes are getting interesting. He's showing preferences for some foods over other, where he used to pretty much eat anything I put in front of him. I've learned (after a few screamfests) to keep his main dish out of sight until he's finished his fruits and/or veggies (which he still eats, but he's getting selective.) He's also preferring to feed himself more and more, so most of his foods are now put into his plastic bowls and suctioned to the tray. This is nice because it allows me more freedom to eat my own food, but it doesn't work with soups, oatmeal, yogurt, or anything else that must be eaten with a spoon if we want more of it to go in him than on him. We're frequently having to tell him not to drop food on the floor, too. His chewing capacity is still limited with only 7 teeth, so he still can't have tough foods, many raw veggies, etc.

Robin's comprehension is growing quite a bit. The other day, he came into the kitchen and had only one sock on. I asked him where his sock was, and he left the room. I followed (and kept asking "where's your sock?",) and he led me to his room, where he opened his hamper and sure enough, his other sock was inside. The he pulled it out and held it out to me. So he knew that socks go in the hamper, he understood what I asked him, and he remembered where he'd put it!

He's also starting to understand the toilet. I'll set him on it whenever I catch him in time, and lately if I ask him if he's going, he'll walk to the bathroom and reach for the door handle. Granted, we're usually too late, but I'm very glad he's made the association to begin with. We're on our way!

We went to Zoo Lights the day before it closed. Robin did really well, and seemed to enjoy all the lit-up animals.

That's most of our news. We're just waiting for the neighborhood to thaw. I need the sidewalks clear so I can take him for walks in his new wagon from Grandma Sue and Poppa, and I need the park to thaw so I can let him run around and climb and play.

Have a great 2010 everybody