taking a few steps to mommy and daddy.

reading elmo book with mommy.

looooves looking at books

happy in christmas jammies.

dear adam,

you are really growing in your independence lately. it's almost like a switch flipped and you decided one day that YOU are in charge of YOU... and everyone else as well! if you don't want to do something, you're not doing it. at least not without some screaming and letting us know that this was NOT part of your plan. you are definitely helping mommy and daddy to tap into their patience. :) i'd still say you're pretty go-with-the-flow, but i can definitely tell that we're edging in on toddler-hood. you love telling otis NO NO with a shaking finger and also telling him MINE if he is sniffing around a toy you're using. you like to tell us when you're ALL DONE eating and try to lean over right out of your booster seat to get down. it's a good thing you're strapped in and IT is strapped to the chair! you cannot be interrupted from playing for anything silly- like diaper changes or hand-washing, oh no! you're sure to let us know how mad that makes you. you LOVE for us to read you books and will INSIST that we read a book over and over and over and over. while we would love to try some new stories, we're so happy you're into books and that you like reading and listening. you especially love your sesame street books. you test us sometimes by looking at us, first saying UH OH and then dropping your toy or book from the table or car seat while looking us in the eye. or sometimes, if we tell you no no, you will look right at us and do the same exact thing once more, just to see what we'll say. i am so happy to see you growing into being a boy, using your brain and thinking about cause and effect.... even though it's a true test to us sometimes!

this weekend we had thanksgiving with mamama and pop pop and it was delicious- you enjoyed it with us. yesterday we put up a tiny christmas tree- it's only about three feet tall and on top of our corner table! daddy and i thought this would be best so you don't pull a giant tree over on yourself.

you are really into listening to music and playing drums, xylophones, and toys that play music. so i thought it would be a good idea to take you to a music class for babies. but, the class colliding with your budding independence was a little bit of a clash! when the teacher was playing the xylophone and you were supposed to be singing in my lap all you wanted to do was crawl over and bang the xylophone. when i tried to stop you and bring you back to my lap, you screamed, which was so pleasant (not). you absolutely did not want to sit in my lap and when it was time to put instruments away to move on to the next instrument, you were NOT happy. apparently you were not finished with the drum/scarf/maracas/etc! you loved dancing/walking in a circle and interacting with the other children. and, you loved clapping and playing all the instruments. but, i think this class had too much singing and not enough instrument-playing for us! santa will bring you some music instruments and we'll skip music class again until you make some better decisions about following directions. :)

last night we went to see the christmas tree lighting in our town. santa was there but it was SO cold and windy that we decided to sit with him another time!