A Very, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

       We are now almost three weeks into the new year and as I reflect back on the recent holiday season I can't help but feel so lucky to have such an amazing family and wonderful friends. Our first Christmas with Andrew was by far the best we've ever had.
    Before Christmas, Andrew came down with his first illness, a double ear infection. We knew that with him going to daycare he would catch some sort of bug eventually, so we were at least glad it came before Christmas! His ear infection came on pretty quick, but it was nothing a good dose of Amoxocillan couldn't handle! He was a great patient throughout this and I loved being able to just cuddle with him and comfort him until he was better.
   We started Christmas a little early by celebrating the week before with Todd's family in Pittsburgh. We had such a nice time spending the weekend with everyone up there and Santa was very generous to Andrew. He was the hit of Christmas and everyone was so amazed with how much he's grown and how he personable he has become. He loved all of his new toys and had such a great time. The Saturday night that we were there was great because Todd and I got his parents to babysit and we had a date night. It was so nice to get out and have a night just us.

   For Christmas, my family from Connecticut came down and we had so much fun! We hosted Christmas Eve at our house and went to church after dinner. Andrew was very well behaved throughout the entire service and didn't fuss at all. He especially liked seeing the candles lit towards the end of the service. I was so excited for Christmas morning and to start our new family tradition with Andrew. Even though he had absolutely no idea what was going on, it was still so exciting to celebrate this special time of year with our little boy. We brought Andrew downstairs and helped him open the presents Santa left for him. He got even more new toys and really enjoyed testing them all out. After we finished up at our house, we made our way to my parents for presents and breakfast. Santa was very generous to everyone and it was such a nice morning. Once the wrapping paper was cleaned up and the breakfast plates put away, we went to Great Falls to the Baker's house. We have spent Christmas day there for many, many years and always have such a wonderful time. Everyone had fun playing with Andrew, but I'd say the highlight of the evening was playing some dance game my cousin Derek got for his XBOX Kinect. Everyone was showing off their dance moves and it turned into quite the dance-off between the cousins. We also had the "Yankee Swap" and everyone received some interesting gifts. The gift of the evening by far was "DAS BOOT"!! Das Boot will have to make an appearance for next year's Christmas.
   For New Year's, we went over to Lauren and Jimmie's as usual and this year had a special treat! Leigh, John, and Rowan came up from North Carolina and it was great to ring in the new year with them as well. This new year's was much different from new year's of the past where we are out partying until the wee hours of the morning and curing the hangover the next day. Now that we all have babies it was a much calmer evening, but we really enjoyed ourselves and loved ringing in 2012 with our little ones. Maybe next year we'll get the grandparents to babysit and we'll go out!

Andrew is 6 months old now and is changing everyday. He is so close to crawling now it's scary! He's mastered the army crawl and is working hard to crawl on his hands and knees. He's able to get himself up and rock back and forth, go a few paces forward, but usually falls. I'm sure in no time he will have this down. He can certainly take off and is now trying to get into everything and anything. We're still working on the teeth. He drools like crazy and sticks everything in his mouth, so I know we'll see that first tooth pop through any day now. Andrew has started sitting up now as well. It's so weird to just see him sitting on the floor playing with his toys, he's turning into such a big boy! Andrew loves to play in his exer-saucer and has taken a liking to eating the tv remote. All these crazy toys this child has and he likes the remote the best! I've start him on solid foods and he's really doing well with them. I've been making my own baby food and have found it to be so simple. So far I've made sweet potatoes, squash, and apples. He has responded well to it all, so I look forward to sticking with the homemade food route. At our 6 month appointment, our pediatrician said that Andrew is meeting all of his developmental milestones and he is between the 25th-30th percentiles in the height, weight, and head circumference categories. He continues to speak so much gibberish and Todd and I are waiting for the day when he can say "Ma-Ma" or "Da-Da'. It's so funny to listen to him talk and we love watching his infectious smile and listening to him laugh. He continues to be such a happy baby and everyday we are more and more thankful that we have him in our lives.
   Andrew continues to do well at daycare. He has his off days every once and a while, but overall he really does well. Being a working mom still has its challenges, however being in a routine is helpful. I just wish there were more hours in the day to get things done!
  As we enter 2012 we are excited to see Andrew grow and are amazed daily at the things he learns and is able to do. One of my resolutions is to keep this blog updated! I figure if I can at least update once a month, that will be considered a success! Happy New Year everyone!