Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow...

Christmas is an entirely new experience once you become a parent. So far I can't recall a Christmas season I have enjoyed more than this one. Even though I know Steven is too young to understand anything about what Christmas is about, I can definitely say he has had that look of awe every time he saw the lights on the Christmas tree. He loved dancing to Christmas music and playing with the jingle bells and ornaments on the tree.

It was so much fun watching him get excited about each present as he tore into it - even if it was clothes (that won't be as exciting for him next year probably). He wasn't as excited about the wrapping paper as I thought he'd be, but the boxes - now there is a good toy! He received lots of adorable outfits and quite a few fun toys and lots of books.

Nathan and I received a number of wonderful gifts as well. Our favorites have to be the autographed George W. Bush book, Decision Points, Nathan got from his brother, the new camera (hurray!!) we got from my parents and the beautiful earring and necklace set that *Steven* got for me. We were blessed!

This year I decided to get creative and put my new sewing skills to the test! I made a handmade gift for most of Nathan's family members and then some cloth napkins for my mom as well. It was a bit stressful and if I do handmade gifts next year, I think I will start them in July instead of waiting until two weeks before Christmas. In any case, they were loved by all and I got such enjoyment out of picking things that reflected peoples tastes and personalities. I should have taken pictures to post here. Oh well.

Now we are headed into the new year, and I can hardly believe that next month brings Steven's first birthday! How does time go so fast? I can still remember each detail of the day he arrived as if it were only yesterday. He has grown and changed so much from that tiny bundle he was last January. His latest achievements are pulling himself up on furniture and saying a couple of words (or the starts of them) like, Ball, Cha (chancey, my parents' dog) , momma and dada (of course) and really shows a complete understanding of other things we say (like, do you want to read a book - he'll grab a book; or are you all done - he will wave his hands and tear off his bib.) He army crawls like a race horse and seems perfectly content with that as his mode of getting around. Since I can keep up perfectly fine with this I don't mind! He is still quite wary of the stairs, which is fantastic! He has figured out how to open the sliding pantry doors this week and already has the drawers and cabinets figured out. There will be quite a few baby proofing tasks in our schedule for this weekend I imagine.

Steven loves finger foods. Sweet potato fries, toast, cheese, green beans, chicken, grapes (peeled and sliced), cantaloupe, pears...and most recently spaghetti. My latest challenge is trying to give him things he will enjoy eating, and still have it be nutritious and encompass all the food groups (I swear this kid could eat cheese all day). We had some challenges with food for a while as he has a harder time than most adjusting to solids. He is now on a prescription stool softener and will be for the next 3-4 months through the transition to whole milk. It has definitely made our lives much more pleasant and he can eat whatever we want to give him now too, which is a blessing.

Steven still doesn't sleep through the night and we've actually reverted to quite a few wakings again since we were out of town for the holidays. There are going to be some rough nights ahead as we try to get him back to only 1-2 wakings a night. And Nathans session schedule starts on Monday - looks like I'll be fighting this fight mostly solo...

Wow, this post has gotten long - I guess that happens when I take a 3 week hiatus. All in all, we had a fabulous Christmas and are anticipating exciting things for 2011. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by loved ones and that you will be richly blessed in the coming year!

Pictures of our Christmas celebrations and Steven's 11 month photos soon to come!
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