2012 Review - December - Part 1

December was a busy month for us (like it is for everyone) that had some definitely highs and lows.  We had a really special first Christmas with the boys, but also dealt with a lot of sickness.  Both boys came down with colds in the middle of the month, and fortunately Andrew seemed to recover after a week or so.  John ended up with a double ear infection, so instead of dreaming of sugar plums, we spent most of Christmas Eve trying to calm a screaming baby.  For several days, bedtime became a battle, and once the boys fell asleep you were afraid to cough or blow your nose and risk waking them because you never knew how long it would take to get them back to sleep.  Ryan spent 48 hours in bed with the flu, but fortunately the boys & I dodged that bullet (thanks, flu shot!).  It is now January 12th, and John is still on his second round of antibiotics and finally started acting normal a few days ago.  Thankfully this second round is not nearly as rough on his stomach.  Praise God for modern medicine!  Below are some pictures from December leading up to Christmas.  I'll add a separate post with all our Christmas pictures

As far as the boys' development, they are doing great. Some highlights...
- Andrew has 5 teeth, two on bottom and three on top.  John has two bottom teeth and was caught singing "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" (which look ready to break through any day now.)

- Andrew has not been weighed since his 9 month check-up, but has to be around 24-25 lbs. John was weighed on 12/26 and came in at 22 lbs 3 oz.  I'm dreading the day they no longer fit in their infant car seats which go up to 30 pounds. Both boys seem to be slimming down a bit as they grow taller and become more active.

- Andrew finally started crawling in early December and has gone from 0-to-60 in no time!  He never army crawled or wiggled, he just went from completely still to speeding around the house.  John is still the more active of the two, and likes to climb stairs and walk while pushing boxes around the floor.  Neither one can walk on their own yet, but we're not in any hurry for that!  It sure is cute to walk into their room in the morning to see two little boys jumping in their beds.

- They continue to explore the wide world of food and eat everything we give them.  Now that they have more teeth and are chewing better, they've become big fans of chicken nuggets and cheerios.

And now for some pictures...

Pre-sickness smiles

Good morning, Andrew!

The first weekend in December, Santa arrives by firetruck in downtown Sycamore.  All the kids then parade him down the street to the courthouse lawn for the tree lighting.  Grandma & Grandpa Harris joined us in the festivities and a good time was had by all!  We didn't actually wait in line to see Santa because it was too cold and we were all ready for dinner!

Warming up with Grandma & Grandpa in the Midwest History Museum

Instead, the boys visited Santa at the Sycamore golf course a few days later.  We actually met a family there who has twin girls the same age as John & Andrew.  They live in the neighborhood right next to ours, so hopefully we can get together with them for some playdates.

Andrew: "I'm gonna drop this candy cane, I don't want it."
John: "No, wait!!!  I'll take it!"

We got to spend some time with Ryan's aunts, uncles, and cousins at a housewarming party in mid-December.  The boys were troupers even though their colds were just starting to kick in.

Andrew was tired

 

One of Andrew's new hobbies is "organizing" laundry, bibs, or whatever pile is nearby.  Here he's emptying the basket of bibs.  Thanks, buddy.

John likes climbing the stairs!

 And both boys enjoy "helping" me in the kitchen.

These last few pictures of John were taken 12/21.  While still cute, you can tell his right ear is bothering him.

And that leads us up to Christmas.  More pictures to follow.
To be continued...