Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! Ours was good but we just relaxed and enjoyed a little family time at home. Here are some pictures from our Christmas and a couple things we've done since. He got lots of books and puzzles, a train table/set, an easel and some art supplies, a tag jr book reader, a talking chuck truck, maracas, a fridge phonics set, a busy ball popper, a mr. potato head, a leapfrog scout, a tractor, a little people airport and a few other toys and things like crayons. He has lots of fun things to do for a long time to come! So far his favorite is the busy ball popper, he's been pressing the button to make it go for days now, and the darn thing is loud! Ben has been threatening to tear out the speaker, lol. He's seems to be ready for a new favorite so hopefully that happens soon. He was excited about Christmas and all the presents but got a little overwhelmed. But he's had a lot of fun playing with all his new things. I put a few away for a rainy day.

In other new things, Liam seems to learn a new word almost every day, he can now say shoes, keys, eye, please, ball, car, and a few others. He will laugh when you laugh and will do things he thinks are funny to see if you'll laugh. He likes to try and help, he will try and sweep, wipe his own face, blow his own nose and wipe down the table in front of him. He hasn't caught on to putting toys away yet, unfortunately, in fact he will take them back out as you put them away and thinks its hilarious. He's a climbing daredevil and still loves outside as long as there isn't a couple feet of snow on the ground. He learned how to open the door to go outside and got us a little scare so now we have to keep the door deadbolted. He's getting a lot better at drinking out of a cup, most of it actually winds up in his mouth, lol. Basically he wants to do whatever you're doing and eat whatever you're eating, unless its vegetables. He's also going through a weird phase where he either thinks he's a puppy or thinks its funny to pretend, every time you give him food he dumps it out and eats with his face instead of his hands. I'm hoping this phase is over soon, it's messy! He still loves lights and electronics. He can do things on the computer or my phone that I can't figure out. He also thinks its really funny to turn the tv on and off or to change the channels. He loves the doggies and will give them hugs, whether they like it or not. :o) It will be exciting to see what other new things he learns in this coming year.

Here's our Christmas tree, notice the lack of ornaments on the bottom, but also the huge stack of presents, mostly for the little monkey
A little breakfastDada and Liam being silly
Opening stockingsOpening presentsPlaying with bows and wrapping paper, always the best part :o)
And playing with his new toys!He didn't quite understand what the trains were for (besides smashing) but it was fun to climb on
Yummy Christmas dinnerA Christmas storyAll in all, if these smiles and silly faces are any indication, I think he had a pretty good Christmas, don't you?Awww, my sweet boy wore himself out and is ready for bedA little more Christmas fun, we went to the Herr's potato chip factory for a tour
And to check out the cool Christmas light display
With some of our new friends, Danielle, Wesley and Ian
Liam doing a little "cooking" in the kitchen