Christmas

Willow has always been good about waiting for Chris or myself to get her from bed in the morning when we hear her talking/singing. She couldn't quite contain her excitement this morning though, and I woke up to the sound of her going downstairs on her own at 6:15am. Willow had a great time opening her own gifts as well as helping her little brother, who wasn't quite into it this year. Willow was happy to be his assistant though - she's even played with his toys nearly as much as her own!

Owen could squish food out of this net all day!! We figure to him it's a "banana-flavored paci."

Unfortunately we didn't get what we asked for for Owen - his two front teeth!

Willow is enjoying her "upgraded" trampoline from her previous 3' version. 

Owen enjoys it, too!

Merry Christmas!!

A few from Christmas Eve...

The story of my life attempting to get a good pic of both kiddos (and hence my giving up on having a photo Christmas card this year...sigh...):

I can hear his squeal in this picture:

Inflatable Palace

We always have a great time at Inflatable Palace! It's fun to think about how Willow has practically grown up going there and how much Owen is able to play more there now. 

Inflatable Palace wears EVERYone out!

Santa

Last year Willow was pretty sure she wanted absolutely nothing to do with Santa...until the day before Christmas that is. This year we didn't talk about Santa much until we got a picture text of her friend Cadence sitting and smiling in Santa's lap. Willow said she was going to sit in Santa's lap this year, so we gave it a go. We've learned from the last 2 years that it doesn't help us when she stands in line and sees the other kids before her cry, so this year I kept her out in the lobby and Chris called when it was our turn. We also had her write a letter to Santa so she would have something to hand him, hopefully increasing our chances of her sticking around. The plan worked! She wasn't completely sure about him but didn't cry or run away =)  Owen wasn't so sure about him when he was set down either, but once we started clapping and cheering his sad face went away a bit (turning into more of a "stunned" look). You might remember Willow's stunned look from her first visit to Santa. She was referred to as a "he" multiple times. This time she was called "Billow." Ugh...

 Willow's note to Santa saying that she wants candy:

On the back side saying that Owen wants blocks:

Apparently their printer was out of pink, because her dress was not at all purple...

Christmas performance

Willow has come a long way since the Thanksgiving performance at her preschool where she stood with her finger in her mouth the whole time =) She did a great job during their singing of holiday songs at school earlier this week.

Willow helped her friend Johanna feel comfortable on stage:

Here are some links to a couple of the songs they sang:

http://youtu.be/zuIJQNtbfgQ

http://youtu.be/ZtViAKrgWNU (really feeling comfortable on stage now!!)

Christmas Festivities

Time for Christmas cookies!

Willow (and Owen) helped make a paper chain for the Christmas tree:

Owen: 8 months

The biggest milestone for Owen this month has been crawling! He's gradually picking up the pace and has recently began leaving the room he's set down in (eek!). He still loves to walk holding onto your fingers - I think ultimately he'll be happiest when he's able to walk and keep up with his big sis. As a result of his increased strength, he's now able to pull himself up to standing (getting back down gradually hasn't been acquired yet). This new skill is also hindering his napping! Owen has become a bit more independent in his playing and will be content for a while sitting and playing with toys on his own. He's also sitting on his own in the bathtub - he LOVES splashing in the water! Unfortunately Owen has spent most of the last month sick. He was on the nebulizer for 3 out of the 4 weeks, was on antibiotics at two different times, and a steroid.  Ugh! He loves to eat and is able to manipulate Cheerios in his mouth easily now as well as get them in his mouth accurately. He's growing like a weed!

I have less and less time to get the picture I want before this happens: