The Malone Family: Our First Christmas! (10 months)

NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Harper and Owen have been busy little babies. They're now crawling like crazy, standing, walking with assistance (sort of), saying a few words (momma, dadda, bubba, and a few undetectable sounds), feeding themselves, and they've learned how to shake their heads "No" - and they actually know what it means. At first they just did it because it was funny. But now, when they don't like something or they're done eating, they will tell you.

And the latest development - climbing the stairs!

Now that the kids are very mobile, we've made a huge play area in the living room where we keep them corralled most of the time with their toys. But of course we let them explore the house sometimes. Harper is very speedy! As soon as she's 'free' - she is off! She is a little explorer - but once she finds something "new" she becomes obsessed with it. Right now - it's the stairs! It may not be wise, but we've let them explore the stairs. Harper, who is our little daredevil, did not even hesitate when she found the stairs for the first time. Up she went - all the way to the top - in no time at all! And if she had her way she'd probably dive right down them also. Owen, who is a little more cautious, watched his sister a few times before he attempted the feat. But soon enough, he was right behind her. This can entertain them (and us) for a long time - and it wears them out too:)

Owen is my little "hoarder". He wants as many toys in his hands as possible. Whenever he crawls, he usually has a toy of some sort in each hand. He is also a bit of a bully. Whatever Harper has - Owen wants! He'll do whatever it takes (push her, trick her, or just take it right out of her hands) to get what she has. Even if he has his own sippee cup or pacifier - he wants hers also. And Harper is so sweet, she just lets him take it and finds something else. The sequence of pictures below show Harper minding her own business with her book, Owen stealing it, showing off, and making it his own...

The kids are interacting more all of the time! Owen - who we call "bulldozer" - thinks Harper is his little wrestling buddy. He lowers his head like a bull, crawls toward her, plows her down and starts whacking her on the chest like he's pinned her - and they're both laughing the entire time! Harper has definitely become one tough little cookie.

Our first Christmas with babies was more fun than I'd imagined! Although they had no clue what was going on, they enjoyed it almost as much as we did:) We decided this was the year to NOT travel over Christmas. We had my family come over Christmas Eve, and Christmas day we headed to Kyle's parent's house - next door. The kids got to enjoy their first Christmas Eve church service, and they actually did REALLY good! They 'sang' along and danced with the music and Owen sat on daddy's shoulders using his head as a drum. They were definitely entertained (and we only had to leave the auditorium once!)
I was able to take nearly 3 weeks off over the holidays so I got to spend a lot of time with the kids, get LOTS of shopping done, decorate the house (other than the outside lights of course) and cook. It was wonderful! The kids 'opened' their first gift - which was bigger than them - a few days early. This was because it was actually a bit of a gift for mommy and daddy. Haha! We'd been wanting a play mat for the kids - so this is what THEY got. Owen was perfectly happy with the shiny bows (he HAD to have one in each hand as he crawled around) and Harper had so much fun playing peek-a-boo with the wrapping paper. Christmas day was very non-traditional this year. We began the tradition of "Christmas Around the World" at Kyle's parents' house. This year it was Italy - so we had lasagna and all the fixings - yummy! Then the kids got to play with their cousins all afternoon. It was a fun and relaxed day.