guy lombardo and his royal canadians

"088888876 ,mmmm"
z's first blog post. That's my boy.

We're dancing to guy lombardo and his royal canadians' version of auld lang syne...we have all the holiday tunes cranking. I can not wait for Christmas this year!! Z is making it so much fun. He is in awe of the neighbors' lights (we walk down the street most nights oohing and aahing), the presents under the tree, the ornaments, the fact there's a tree in the house. Every night he walks to the tree and asks "on, please." When the lights come on he says, "blue." I've been collecting snowflake and snowperson ornaments for the last couple of years (many thanks to Grams for adding many fun pieces to the collection!). This year our tree is blue lights and white ornaments - snowflakes and snowfolk. We didn't put up too many ornaments, I didn't know how much attention the tree would get from the wee one, but I'm happy to report that he's very respectful and it's not been an issue.

I haven't been this excited about the holidays since I was a kid....

I did most of my Christmas shopping downtown - spent some good time at Pike's Place Market - such good holiday energy!!

We're staying here for the holiday. LMcG will arrive Sunday from Portland. It will be mellow and wonderful. We're planning a hike in the snow, a trip to the aquarium, a Sonics game, and a day of snowboarding.

yay!

A very merry holiday to all of you! Super Solstice! Krazy Kwanzaa! Happy Hanukkah! Cheery Christmas!

Much love. Many hugs. Tons of smooches.

christmas presence

21 - 29 December.
2 grandmas, 1 grandpa, 1 great-grandma, 1 uncle, 2 great aunts, 1 great uncle, 6 cousins, 6 second-cousins.
Many, many presents.

Z loved the experience. The flights there and back, all the attention, the relentless dismantling of granny's magazines, chasing the cats, dinners with new foods and faces.

He came home with several new toys and lots of new tricks. He purses his lips in an "o" and giggles as he says, "ooooooh." He wags his tongue up and down "lbblbllb llbllb lllblllla." He claps, especially when he hears the first few notes of, "if you're happy and you're know it..." Using his walker, he chases us around the house. I've stopped counting how many steps he can take on his own - today he walked across the living room and through the kitchen before sitting down to take a rest. One of his bottom middle teeth finally broke through the gums - that makes 3 teeth. He eats raw, baby carrots and loves green beans and beef. He's learned to stack blocks and can place plastic rings on their holder. He dances when he hears music and throws balls over the gate at the top of the stairs and watches them bounce. He points to things he wants - like the corner of the kitchen for a banana (where we keep them). He sometimes uses a spoon to put food into his mouth, but mostly he uses it as a drumstick and the highchair tray as a drum. He can push his new truck around on the floor like it's driving somewhere.

Photos and video on the way...