Christmas Card Out Takes...

If you haven't received a Christmas card from us yet, no it hasn't been lost in the mail... I still haven't mailed them! At this point, I am hoping that the cards make it to your mailbox by New Year's. I really hope to drop them off at the post office this afternoon, but my list of things to do is getting a bit ridiculous at this point. :)

Besides being busy like everyone else, things are going great. Cohen continues to make us laugh countless times each day. He really enjoys the colder weather -- the other day we got him out of the car at Target just as the wind started picking up. It took his breath away at first and then he just got the biggest smile on his face. Now each time the wind blows he starts laughing and kicking his legs with excitement.

If I don't post any more before Christmas, we want to wish you all a Merry Christmas! Our present arrived early this year and we are so thankful to be able to celebrate Christmas with Cohen this year.

Making Gingerbread Houses

How much do I love getting all the nieces and nephews together to make gingerbread houses! Of course every year we joke that the next year we are going to leave the kids with their dads and just make the gingerbread houses by ourselves, but the truth is that I absolutely love the excitement and noise that the kids bring.

We tried to get the kids to sit by the tree for a group shot. Hmmm...getting eight kids to sit, look at the camera, and smile. Add two crazy dogs to the mix and you begin to understand why our pictures turned out the way they did.

Cohen thought the day was fabulous. We had two tables covered with candy and I put him in his highchair. He immediately began signing "more" which means he is ready to eat! I gave him some bites of a gingerbread cookie (which he loved) and he didn't stop signing "more" until I took him out of the highchair. Usually he sees when the food is all gone and signs "all done," but with the amount of candy we had on the tables, he was never going to be "all done."

Today we went to Robby's parent's house to take a picture for their Christmas cards. Robby's mom had the best idea last year -- to take a picture of all the grandkids sitting in Christmas pajamas as Granddad read them a story. She even planned what the cards would say -- "Hope this Christmas season finds you surrounded by love." We were so touched when she decided to wait until this Christmas to make these Christmas cards so that Cohen could be in the picture too.

On The Move...

Cohen is still as busy as ever. He hasn't gotten the nerve to walk on his own much, but he is still taking a few steps at a time with our encouragement. This past weekend we went to visit my sister and her family. Cohen loved playing with his cousin Ethan's truck filled with blocks -- especially when he realized he could walk behind it!

Today I tried to have a little photo shoot with Cohen, but he wasn't very interested. I think I am definitely going to need Robby's help when we take pictures for our Christmas cards!

I am getting so excited about our first Christmas with Cohen! We always get a real tree, so we will be putting the tree up one day this week. Then it will be time to start wrapping Christmas presents... wonder how long those will stay wrapped with little Gorito cruising around. :) On Saturday, our moms, sisters, and all the nieces and nephews will be coming over to make gingerbread houses. It is always so much fun getting everyone together.