Home from Christmas for Christmas :)

After a week plus of fun Christmas adventures we arrived back home in time to open our stockings from Santa and a few other gifts family from afar had sent our way.

Santa brought Jaydon bunnies and apples in his stocking again!

Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jo sent our whole family a bunch of fun gifts and Lucy was particularly enamored with her new seahorse.  She loves it and the soft nightlight is great for me for middle of the night diaper changes.

We finally splurged a bit and got our kids a fun big kitchen for Christmas, it is really the first time we have gotten them anything too big as we have so many family who wonderfully spoil them.  Unfortunately, we don't have a ton of room in our house so it will have to wait until we move (probably occurring sometime in the spring of 2013) to a bigger place.

Visit to Minnesota

We had another fabulous trip out to Minnesota to visit with Papa and Granny and Papa's whole family.

It is such a great time to see all the extended family and get some good snow play time in too!

 The baggage claim area of the airport has a kid ride station so Jaydon had some fun hanging out while we got our luggage and helped another family.

 Lucy and Granny after we just arrived looking at the decorations at the airport.

 Mimi and Mark hosted us and Jaydon enjoyed his little nest under the table.

 The kids got spoiled by all their relatives, and they loved it!

 I love that Lucy tries to eat her way into the package.

 Jaydon got an AWESOME rocket ship from Tozzie (Paul's mom)

 And Lucy got these adorable three little pigs hand puppets complete with a little wolf.  She also really likes the aliens from Jaydon's rocket ship.

 Papa and Jaydon and Dad went out to enjoy a bit of snow play!

 Throwing snow up in the air.

 More presents with more family!  Jaydon, Granny, Dominic and Neysa.  Jaydon had such a great time playing with Dominic it was great.

 Lucy having some story time!

 And loving her gingerbread doll from Nonnie and Bob.  So many fun little gifts and so much love!

 Out to enjoy a sledding hill, it was cold so Lucy and Jaydon didn't last all that long but both had fun!

 Papa, Dad and Lucy

 Papa and Jaydon getting ready to head down the hill.

 Daddy and Lucy going down!

 Lucy found the snowman room at Nonnie's, she enjoyed the hallmark singing things!

 Playdate at a great train shop, Choo Choo Bob's!

 Dominic and Jaydon hung out here for almost two hours.

 Lucy napped in the car and then we headed in to see the trains and get a little bit of play time at the train tables (the store had about 7 of them set up in the back for everyone to play with).  It was great!

We truly had another wonderful visit and wish we could stay a little longer and get there more often. 

Lucy is 9 months

It never ceases to amaze me how fast time goes with little ones.  And I guess I have heard that it doesn't slow down once they are no longer so little!  Lucy turned 9 months on the day after Christmas and we spent it busily traveling to Minnesota to visit family!  We are so lucky that both our kids travel pretty well (saying Lucy has been on four different airplane trips in her first year that is a necessity).  I still yearn for a day when I can just read and rest on an airplane but I imagine that time will come far sooner than I would even want.

Lucy weighed in at 20lbs 3 oz (70%) and was 29in (85%) it is really nice to see her growing so well and really thriving.  She still needs to be off diary and soy but we have added back most everything else.  There are definitely some things that still irritate her and while she will still spit up with some things it mostly now manifests in skin irritations around her neck and diaper area but she is a trooper.  I am very thankful to no longer be cleaning spit up all day long from all around our house.

The exciting new development for 9 months is that on December 24th Lucy took her first steps!  Just two little ones and she sticks with her fast crawling but she is getting closer to walking.  She walks around furniture and can pass from one object to another easily and will walk pushing an object around but I am sure we don't have all that much longer before she is really going.

I was curious how she would do with Christmas decorations this year and luckily for us she was great until right after Christmas when she decided to start taking the ornaments off the tree all the time.  I was a little surprised how she dove right in to opening presents and really seemed to enjoy the process of ripping through the paper and finding the treasure.   

She loves to eat and it is great that she has really reached a good self feeding age (though it is still quite messy) and she can eat most everything we do at this point.  She is getting her three regular meals a day with some snacking and opposite of her big brother she prefers to eat over nursing so while I know I will nurse her until she is a year I don't know how long she will want to continue with it.  She is quite verbal but not forming too many words at this point, she has started signing.  She loves to sign all done at the dinner table and she has also signed more but she prefers to sign all done and wave at you hoping it means it is then bath time (one of her favorite times of the day).  She also claps her hands and enjoys getting a reaction from those around her when she claps or waves.

She is very physical and active and really loves to play with her big brother.  One of their favorite games is for Jaydon to pull a blanket and she will chase after it and sometimes ride on it for awhile, then he will cover her at times and she squeals with delight.  She loves her story books and 'helping' Jaydon with his train tracks.  She has a tiny bit of hair but nothing that is noticeable to someone not really paying attention.  She has recently discovered the kitchen cupboard that stores all the kid dishes which offers endless entertainment but she also has found the circular cupboard a few feet away and while she is thoroughly enjoying getting into  it, we aren't quite as excited about her dumping the food stuff all over the house. 

Christmas Day

We made it down to CJ and Jimmie's again this year and Grandpa and Nana made it up from CA.  It was great to get to spend time with our family in a intimate low key gathering.  Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa, Nana and Grandpa, Great Aunt Karen and Great Uncle Doug, Auntie Jenny and Uncle L and the four of us.  We enjoyed good food, good company and the kids had a fabulous time being spoiled!

Hanging out, Lucy is chasing Troy around the room while Jaydon watches!

Jenny and L showing their wedding photo album to CJ and Jimmie and then looking through CJ and Jimmies wedding album.

Lucy was having a great time riding her horsey :)

Lucy loved the big pile of presents!  She crawled all over them, played with the wrapping and bows and eventually tore into them.

Nana Diane helping Jaydon get on his new Christmas gloves!

Auntie Jenny and Uncle L

And the very exciting news that Nana Diane received in a present from Auntie Kelsey and family in AZ - Baby Maxon number 2 is on the way and due to arrive in July!!  Congrats Maxons, we can't wait to meet our new niece or nephew.

Christmas morning at the Citros

We were lucky to be able to swing by to visit our friends on our way to Christmas Day with more family.  Sophie and Xander had an amazing Christmas morning with so many fun things to open and do and thus Jaydon and Lucy had a great time playing with their new toys!

The giant swimming pool ball pit!

 

Lucy opening her keys from Xander

Sophie helping Jaydon open his Thomas bath toy - a hit with both kids!

Jeremy playing with Sophie and Jaydon in the ball pit - you could hear the giggling and squealing from the other room.

Christmas Eve

We enjoyed another Christmas Eve at my mom's house.  Almost the whole Stange side made it and Santa also put in a quick appearance.  

Cousin Sam and Gram (who really embraced the Christmas spirit this year)

Grandma and Gram

Some fun Wii time before the early dinner.

Cousin Joe and Jaydon were trying to drive a cart through the mines and jump over broken tracks, it was pretty funny to watch.

Ham buffet style, it was great!!

Dad helping Jaydon get his ham ready.

The 'kids' table, funny how we used to want to graduate and move up to the adult table and then we soon realized that it was really better at the kids table anyway.

The 'adult' table!  Though Lucy and Jaydon were there until they can fend for themselves at meals.

Santa came!  He made the trek with his reindeer helper from across the street.  He sang a couple songs handed out a couple presents and made kept a longstanding Stange family tradition happening.

Santa gave Lucy her first doll.

Jaydon and Ed opening their gifts from Santa.

Jaydon again asked for bunny crackers and dried apples, it was awesome and easy!  Santa came through again.

Giving some celery for the reindeer and a Christmas goody to Santa.

Jeremy got a "rock, paper, scissors, lizard, spock" shirt. It was great!

Lucy loved opening gifts and feeling/eating them all.

More opening

Uncle Bill excited about his new hat!

Playing with the kids through the long opening process.

This video is Jaydon calling for Santa, pretty cute, he wanted to go find him and he had gotten outside before an adult was even with him (though we were close behind).

I think this is a long, poorly shot video of seeing Santa.  I was trying to film and herd kids and do a couple other things at once. 

Again we had a fabulous holiday and it was great to spend time with everyone.  We missed you Britta but are glad we got to skype!