Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Merry Christmas! (Our Virtual Newsletter)

Merry Christmas!
Welcome to the second annual installment of the Christmas Newsletter. I really did search for actual paper to send in the mail with the Christmas Card but after visiting 6 stores and finding NOTHING I just decided to include a link to our blog! I may actually even update if people visited! :D
Anyway, we've had a wonderful year. Our family gained a new perfect little member in Maxwell Owen! He was born in March and has turned our world upside down in the most wonderful ways. He wasn't named til he rang in his very first 24 hours! We couldn't agree and though we thought we had settled on a name last Christmas we changed it last minute. To us, he's Max, unless he's being a stinker, though that's not too terribly often. He is truly one of the happiest babies I've ever seen! Whereas his sister would study the camera and immediately stop smiling when I turned it on, Max prepares for his photo op all the time! If the camera is out he'll smile and strike a pose! This is good for Mommy since I started a photography class this summer. I've learned a lot about my camera that I never would have figured out on my own and I can't wait to take what I've learned and apply it as I continue in my snap happy ways!
Max just turned 9 months old and I am amazed at how quickly the time has passed! Everyday he gets closer and closer to crawling. He's been a late bloomer but he just takes his time and doesn't want to be pressured into doing anything! He's quite smart though-he knows that if he whines long enough his big sister will get tired of listening to it and will go and get him whatever toy he wants. Why crawl when you can use your cries to get your way?
One thing he does do well is EAT! This boy loves his food! We had to-and still do-fight Hannah for every single bite of food whereas Max is an equal opportunity eater. If it's on his plate, it then goes in his mouth. Heck, if it's on the floor, it then goes in his mouth. He can consume 1/2 a can of peas in one sitting and still finish off a peach or pear. We figured we'd go in for his 9 month well-child check-up and they'd tell us he jumped from the 25%ile for weight to the 90%ile! Well, he dropped for the 25%ile to the 5%ile! He's such a little peanut! Perhaps one day Paul and I will get our chunky baby but that's yet to happen! The only rolls I see are the ones I feed Max!
We're still wondering where he gets his looks from. We've heard a few times that he looks like "both of us", a handful of times that he looks like "Hannah", but more often than not he looks like "well, neither of you!" He's got light brownish blond hair and big, bright, beautiful BLUE eyes! Coming for a dark haired, brown eyed family of 3, he's our little oddball but I just adore that about him!
Hannah is growing and amazing us more and more everyday. This girl is SMART and I'm not just saying that as her mommy...at least I don't think so! ;) She talks non-stop now and truly amazes us daily with the kind of things that she comes up with. Just yesterday she came up to me and alerted me that "people don't live in trees mommy! Red-eyed tree frogs do though!" Ok...where do you even get that from? I don't even think I know what a red-eyed tree frog looks like! *blush* If you asked her today what she'd like to be when she grows up, I'm almost 100% certain it would be an architect. She has abandoned her dolls and tea parties (well almost), for blocks, blocks, and well, more blocks! She could build all day long. Anything from rocket ships to princess castles, houses to ramps, if it can be built she will find a way to do so! She has the patience and steady hands that I would not expect from a 2 1/2 year old. She knows her ABC's and can (kinda) count to 20--though she gets stuck on 17 a lot! She loves to read Brown Bear, Brown Bear to her brother though her favorite thing to do with books does not involve reading them. She LOVES to make "train tunnels." She turns her books over and makes train tunnels through her bedroom and all the way down the hallway. If she sees a big, thick book, her first thought is not to read it, it's how great a tunnel it'll make!
She's become a huge fan of Mickey Mouse this year, though as expected after I rushed out and bought her every Clubhouse toy imaginable for Christmas she decides that she is starting to like Princesses more than anything. Though in true Hannah fashion she loves all gifts! I know that any Mickey Mouse gift I could give her will end with her opening it, getting a big smile on her face and saying "cool!" She's still as active as ever. If I could bottle her energy.... She loves to dance, spin, jump, and run. I get tired watching her!
Hannah loves her brother. She has adjusted extremely well and much better than I could have ever hoped for. She's made up this whole new "voice" when she talks to her baby brother. An almost 3 year old-not too far from a baby herself-has developed her own little "baby talk!" Poor Max isn't even going to know his real name for the longest time! He's Maxagoogle, Maxie Waxie, Maxwellington, and Boy according to Hannah.
And Max couldn't be more smitten with her. His face lights up when he sees her and I'm sure his second word (dada was his first) will be NANA instead of MaMa!
Paul's still working hard at Michelin. It's been a tough year but hopefully this one coming up is much better! I have gotten my certificate for Medical Transcription but haven't been able to find a job despite countless applications. Though, it has been a good thing since the kids definitely keep me on my toes!
With their birthday's coming up in a couple months: Hannah first wanted a Mickey Clubhouse birthday but now she's switching to wanting Disney Princesses. 3 year olds can be so indecisive! Max will ring in his first birthday with a pirate theme--check here for pictures!
We just cannot wait to see what every day brings! The kids learn and grow and change right before our eyes, it's so amazing!

I'll try to keep up with the updates moreso now, make sure to comment too so I know you're reading--that might entice me to update more often! :D

1 comment:

Lindsay Ennis said...

What a cute Christmas Newsletter...ps...I'm reading! :)