Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Happy holidays to all!  We will be spending our time off with family in Texas, so I probably won't be updating the blog until the new year.  Until then, here are a few snippits of us getting into the Christmas spirit over the last month, starting with a lovely frosty/icy covering on all of our plants.

Sibling snowman sweaters

The Festival of Trees

And the first sledding of the season.  Too bad this picture is so blurry!

Owen was super-excited to go, and this was really Hadley's first venture out walking in the snow.  It took her about 3 seconds before she slipped on the ice on our driveway.

She enjoyed brushing off all of the fluffy powder from surfaces, including my snow boots while we were walking.  She was smitten.  At least until she fell down and then tried to wipe her face with her snowy mitten.  

Owen's an old pro at this now.  I even got them to go down together several times.  They both loved it!  (See two heads in the third picture?)

While I was helping Owen with his jacket, we heard an "uh-oh!" from behind.  I turned around to find this poor girl had fallen and she couldn't get up!  But, she was pretty happy down there at least.  :)

And she inspired Owen to create some snow angels.  Another task that he has mastered before age 4.  :)  I think he made about 5 of these in our yard that day.

Owen is 4!

Whew!  The morning started off rough, but an afternoon nap seemed to right the ship just in time for his birthday party.  His favorite TV show is Dinosaur Train, so we went with a dinosaur theme for the party.  There is a lot of stuff out there for dino-lovers, so it was kinda fun to put together.

They hunted for dinosaurs with their names on them (with dinosaur hats and stickered bags in tow),

Pinned the horn on the triceratops,

Dug for dinosaur eggs (inside!),

Smashed a T-Rex pinata,

And ate some dino-themed cuisine (not all pictured).  Now it's time to hibernate!

17 months for Miss H

Just wanted to share some of the things that Hadley is doing at this age now.  She doesn't talk often, but I think she's saying and understanding a lot more than Owen was at this age.  Here's a few off the top of my head...

• "mama", "dada", "uh-oh" - been saying these since at least 11 months
• "raar" - lions and tigers
• "mmm" - cow
• "bah" - book and/or ball
• "den-tull" - gentle, especially regarding cats
• "didduh" - kitty, sounds a lot like gentle - she may be confused since they are usually said together :)
• "ah duh" - all done
• "hi" - hi and bye with an awkward wrist wave
• "hoo hoo" - train
• signing pretty well for "more" and does an arcing hand (like a plane in the air) when she hears a plane outside
• can follow commands like "put that back", "close it", "get the book", etc.
• smiles, shrieks, and runs to the bathroom when we ask if she's ready for a bath
• can build small block towers of 2 or 3 blocks

She will climb into her own free-standing high chair when she's hungry.  And though provided with a spoon and guidance, she still prefers to eat with her hands, even for her cereal and yogurt.

She is currently going through the spastic hand phase, in which her arms flail dangerously when she is excited or angry.  Sometimes the hand contains a book or toy and the recipient can be heard exclaiming, "Hadley, no hitting!"  (Mostly Owen.)

When I was folding laundry the other day, she had actually found two matching pairs of socks and set them aside for me!  This was a surprise because usually she's just pulling everything out of the basket, which I have to ignore so I don't go crazy.  She is kind of obsessed with socks though.

She loves to play Hide And Seek with Owen or peekaboo with anyone.  I prompt her with an exaggerated "Where's Owen?" with my hands out in a questioning pose.  Now she uses that all the time when looking for things.  "Where's Daddy?" (She hid him!)

"Oh, there he is!" Poke, poke.  (She also loves to poke any exposed skin, say between shirt and pants, and giggle.)

She and Owen will go downstairs by themselves and play together.  Sometimes this even goes past 10 minutes without any crying!

And here's a video of them dancing to the Rockettes from the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Note that Owen is really into fake falls these days and asks about a fruit-looper?  Not sure what that was about...