Exciting conclusion to advent calendar

 

(Number 25 was the star on the top of the tree!)

Emerson in his Christmas finery

Christmas with Gma and Gpa

We had a fun Christmas celebration with Gma and Gpa in Oak Park, complete with a Christmas saxophone medley from Gerald. Thanks to Gma and Gpa for an extensive and thoughtful collection of gifts for all of us.

Our flight to Chicago

Emerson got a special visit to the cockpit as we boarded the plane yesterday. "Go ahead," the pilots said. "Touch whatever you want." Emerson was thrilled and took them up on their offer.

Early Christmas

We are heading to Chicago tomorrow, so we opened up our Florida Christmas presents today as an early Christmas celebration. The boys opened gifts from their cousins Lauren and Ashley, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Matt and Great Aunt Barbara. The boys also got two gifts from Santa: a wagon and a gross (144) of ping pong balls. What more could two little boys want? Here's us celebrating Christmas today, including a few Christmas portraits Eric took of the boys.*

*Note: Why do we look like we are freezing? Because it was cold (55 degrees) here today and because we just had some interior painting done we needed to have all the windows open. Brrrr!

Emerson makes Christmas cookies

Ethan is one year old

We had a surprise birthday party for Ethan on Friday. The surprise was not intended for him (though it is possible he was surprised that it was his birthday) but rather it was on the guests: we hosted a happy hour for neighborhood friends and didn't tell them it was a birthday because we didn't want people to bring gifts (or expect birthday decorations, themed food, party favors, cartoon character napkins, etc). We did have a cake which Ethan appreciated more for its texture than its taste, from what we could see.

 

My favorite moment of the party was when we sang Happy Birthday to him: he suddenly understood that we were singing to him and he got this huge smile on his face.

Let me tell you a little bit about Ethan at age one. He is very engaging and playful, fiercely independent, cuddly and sweet, fast on his feet and into everything.

He loves to do that funny baby dance where they bounce up and down and wave their arms around, especially to the song played by the Nemo riding toy car.

He can play the kazoo. (Seriously.)

He will play roll and throw the ball back and forth with you but if you are not fast enough in sending it back his way he will just come over and take it back from you.

Ethan uses certain sounds with intention - na na means he wants food, ma ma usually means he wants me to pick him up and hold him. He also laughs a lot, just on his own. He will be playing quietly by himself or just walking around the house and I will hear him chuckling to himself, though it is kind of a Beavis laugh: huh huh, huh huh. He also laughs when we read books together - especially Blue Hat Green Hat. That silly chicken just slays him.

Ethan is a climber: turn you back on him for a moment and I guarantee you he will be several feet off the ground on something when you look back. Luckily, he is quite strong and suprisingly coordinated for being so young. (He is also surprisingly resilient, brushing off tumbles and bumps easily as he is quickly on to the next thing.)

Ethan also loves dogs and when he sees one he shrieks with delight and beelines right for it. Our neighborhood dogs are not always as enthusiastic about seeing him but he doesn't seem to take it personally.

Ethan is an absolute joy and we are so happy to have him in our family.