First word?

Christian loves to play in drawers. He was rummaging through Grandma's Tupperware drawer. He licks everything then puts it back. FYI we don't rewash so if you're grossed out by Christian spit don't eat leftovers at Grandma's right now.

DJ walks in and says, "Christian, are you playing in the drawer?"

"Yes!"

To make sure we heard him right DJ asks again, "Christian, are you playing in the drawer?"

"Yeayea."

It was probably a coincidence but we both swear he said it clear as a bell. He also waves now, its pretty cute.

What a kid

So I wanted to document Christian's personality. He is very vocal. He does not hide his mood. All day the house is full of happy gabbering, giggling, grunts of frustrations, yells of frustration, and when he's really had enough or got hurt (physically or emotionally) he cries. He is never silent. His favorite person right now is his Dad. He cries when Dad leaves for work at night and when Dad works days, he rushes to the door to meet him. His next favorite people are those working in the kitchen. If you are by the oven or the fridge, he wants to see what your getting, and if you're sharing it with him. Because I'm sitting a lot, he just comes to me for his bottle when he's ready to go to sleep.

He really is a dream. He loves to be the center of attention and he LOVES other kids. During sacrament meeting he makes all the little kids around him giggle. He wants everyone to be his friend. His little cousin Charlie gets a lot of hugs and kisses. Christian can hardly sit still when Charlie is around. He wants to be right by him.

His emotional development has been very noticeable lately. He recognizes when he is being ignored and when another little child doesn't want to play with him. It breaks his heart. He breaks down in tears. He has learned to play some games. His favorites are, "Let's shake our heads together", "I'm going to get you", and just recently he'll try to hide when he gets caught playing with something he's not supposed to.

He's on the verge of walking. He spends all day exploring, mostly through the kitchen drawers. I just hope I can help him keep this personality because he really is a pleasant little person to be around.

Just pictures

Christian and Charlie spent a lot of time together in their high chairs last week.

The three kids staring intently at the camera. Christian and Charlie liked to race for the bottle. Christian, more experienced with bottles, won a lot. We were impressed at how quick Charlie's scoot became by the end of their time together.

My only picture from my high school reunion. I am expecting you guys to share.

As Cherie would say, "I just want to eat those luscious cheeks!"

Crawling along

Did you know that you get callouses on your knees from crawling? My knees are looking pretty rough. Yes I have crutches, but getting up and down the stairs is much easier if you just crawl. Today is hopefully the halfway point of not being able to walk. If my foot is healing as well as I think it is, I will get out of the cast and into a walking boot in 4 weeks. Thank goodness! The surgery brought on the nausea, but I am not nearly as sick as I was last time. I feel very confident that once the first trimester is over I won't have anymore nausea. I'm 11 weeks today so that may be very soon.

For those of you who thought you had the best Mom, I'm sorry to tell you its not true. Mine has blown all away. Most 60 year old women are preparing for retirement, have a lot of independence, are done as caregivers, and are looking forward to trips with their spouse and short visits from children and grandchildren. My mom will never have that. She has a child at home who more often then not acts like a little child, even though she's 34. Now for four weeks she's also been the main caregiver to Christian and my food gopher. Michele and Christian are demanding enough. But to add a pregnant Melissa to the mix and I swear she has spent the last 4 weeks in the kitchen.

She did get a short break this past weekend. My Grandma has been in and out of the hospital in Canada over the past month and my parents decided they needed to go up and help her get settled in a nursing home before the weather made it impossible to travel. So Stacey came over and spent a week taking care of her two kids, Christian, and I. It actually went really well. Christian was so excited to have friends to play with that he ended up being the dream child. He took long naps and slept at least 12 hours at night. I have some very cute pictures of the kids but the camera is not within reach, so I'll post them in a bit. Until then, enjoy.