Holiday aftermath

Dave is off work (this past week and next week) so we are spending lots of time together as a family. It is nice to have him here to help out with the girls as Junior continues to grow, which makes it a bit more difficult to do bathtime and carry the girls up and down the stairs. 5 months down, 4 to go. :)

Christmas has come and gone, just like it seems to do each and every year. Perry and Ella were not as into it as we had hoped. They seemed very interested in everything at the first 2 gatherings we went to earlier in the month, but then quickly grew tired of it. I guess it became old news to them or it was too much in too short a time period. A bit overwhelming at this age I would think. Our house shows signs of being truly blessed by our family and friends though. We had more Christmas cards than ever and the girls' new toys are strewn about the playroom as I type this.

Perry and Ella are both getting very close to taking their first steps on their own. A couple staggering steps from Daddy to Mommy and vice versa were made last night. We had thought they would be walking by Christmas, but maybe now it will be closer to their 14 month birthday? Perry spends more and more time standing without holding onto anything and Ella has mastered cruising.

Perry has a new tooth...her top right one. It looks like the top left may be close behind. We don't think Ella has gotten any new teeth lately. She doesn't make much of a fuss about it and it's very hard to get a look in her mouth. With 6 teeth, she can really bite down hard so neither Dave nor I are too eager to stick our fingers in there to check it out. Perry on the other hand, DOES make a fuss about it. She becomes very cranky and has occasional night wakings. Unfortunately, she still has 17 teeth to go so we're in for a long teething period with her.

A new tooth has brought new eating habits for Perry. She is eating table foods like a pro now. She occasionally copies her sister by sticking her finger in her mouth, but for the most part, she is a very good eater. Ella is hit or miss. She sticks her fingers in her mouth constantly...not sure if it's a sign that she is done, doesn't like whatever is in there, wants to play with it, or is just an Ella thing. We're also not sure if she's chewing very well...I think she gets so excited about eating that she just swallows most things. Most popular foods at our house are raviolis, spaghetti O's, mac and cheese, cheese pierogies, still some stage 2 and 3 baby foods, cheese, mandarin oranges, peaches, bananas, and celery sticks (for Ella).

Da-da, Ma-ma, and Ba-ba definitely have meaning to them now. Not many other recognizable words besides Uh-oh though. It seems as though P&E have their own language with each other so I'm sure more words will evolve soon. They are definitely understanding a lot of new things at a fast rate these days. Both girls have mastered peek-a-boo, giving fives, clapping their hands, dancing, and are getting better at waving bye bye. Perry is our little mocking bird. She used to copy coughs, sneezes, and even Grandpa John blowing his nose. Now she covers her mouth to "cough" just like Mommy does.

Well, this has to be the end as I hear Perry waking up on the other side of the wall. Hope everyone had a good holiday and we'll see you in the new year!