Christmas in (almost) February!

I know that my last post, in January, was about Thanksgiving, so it seems only fitting that this post centers around Christmas, since it's almost February. The time leading up to the holiday, as always, was very, very busy...and combined with the fact that we had a huge family cruise starting immediately afterward, made for a whirlwind. The trip log of the vacation is coming soon, but I did want to keep things a little more up to date until that big sucker is finished. 

Since we were leaving so shortly after the holiday, we did the bigger family celebration on Christmas Eve with the traditional enchiladas, beans, rice, and chocolate fondue. Oh and a few presents. The next morning was magical, seeing E find Santa's cookies gone...not even a crumb left. We were supposed to show restraint in our shopping this year, so I'd hate to see a year where we decided to blow it out of the water. Then we went to Oma and Opa's house for breakfast and more present opening. Some of us had to play with each toy immediately after unwrapping, so it was a day-long affair. But a great one. 

We got back from the cruise the Monday after New Year’s, all in one piece, but with a slight cold for me.  Luckily both kids avoided my cold.  Not as lucky was that Tuesday night when I heard E whining at 2:30am. Thinking he needed help getting to the potty, I went in his room. "I spilled," he said. Confused, I reached into his bed to pick him up and found the he really had spilled...his dinner...all over his sheets. And that was the beginning of a nasty stomach flu. We knew he was starting to feel better when he was telling Oma about a conversation he'd overheard between Lisa and the advice nurse. "The doctor said I should eat toast," he said. "No, not toast. French toast. With berry syrup.”  Poor guy was tired of bland food after a few days of nothing but that.  One morning he said, “I want oatmeal today.  And NOT rice cereal this time.”  Lisa ended up catching my cold, but she welcomed the cold and was thankful it wasn’t the stomach bug.

J managed to avoid all of our germs and continues to grow faster than we can keep track of -- playing peek-a-boo and starting to sign the words for 'cereal' and 'more.' She pulls herself to standing and is moments away from balancing that way all on her own. E is teaching her everything he knows, from the ABCs to blowing a duck whistle. She still gets into everything -- especially with her uncanny ability to identify objects she isn't allowed to have upon entry into a room. And she's decided that a couple / few 20 to 30 minute power naps is really all a growing gal needs. We feel like neglectful and irresponsible parents sometimes with her sleeping so little during the day. The funny part is that it doesn't seem to bother her -- she's got the same temperament, independent of her naps (or lack there of). One of the cutest things from J since Christmas is her love of music, clapping at the right moment when anyone sings, "If you're happy and you know it…"

We can't believe how much E has changed over the past 6 months, talking in full paragraphs, demonstrating a downright spooky memory, and becoming more of a little man everyday. We even converted his crib into a toddler bed and he got to pick out his own bedding set (surprise: he selected Pixar’s CARS). However, he still holds on to a couple of his "baby" things. though. The first that comes to mind are his use of "Bess," anytime you ask him a question he doesn't know the answer to. Another is when he cries and tears start to flow, he whines, "My eyes are running." 

The kids still get along really well. E has definitely taken to his role as older brother and loves to hold her hand in the double stroller as we walk the dogs. He even feeds her her baby cereal sometimes. He asks her, "What are you saying?" when she babbles. Frequently, he explains to us that she needs a pacifier when she's "a little whiny." For her part, J idolizes the ground E walks on (or, now that he is often pretending to be a space shuttle, she idolizes the stratosphere he rockets through). She started making the same "brrrp" noise when she plays with his toy cars and she seems as obsessed with the song "Junkyard Jamboree" as he is. 

With that, I’d better get going...there's still an in depth cruise log to finish, a houseful of laundry, a baby getting into something that she shouldn't be, and a couple of very patient dogs to pet. Stop those eyes running, I'll post again soon.