Long Overdue

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post, so much has happened recently! B.J. went to NY to go deer hunting with his Dad and brother-in-law (no luck for B.J. this year, weather wasn't very good but our brother-in-law Mike did get a very nice 8 point) and to spend some quality time with his family since we won't be able to make the trip there again this winter dure to RSV. So while B.J. was gone my parents came and helped me with the babies - thank you so much mom and dad! I was even able to get most of my Christmas shopping done while they were here!

It seemed that while B.J. was gone that trio did a lot of developing. Last Sunday Johnathan learned to climb up our stairs and is now cruising! The only bad thing is that the next day he decided he could also climb up onto the hearth to play - we quickly made this a no-no. And since then Johnathan has learned to pull himself up on the outside of the pack-n-play, feet off the ground doing chin-ups! The boy is very strong!!

I keep letting Mady try to climb the stairs too but she's not so sure yet. This past Friday night Mady decided to start side-stepping so she's now cruising along the furniture too and she's now reaching to clear off the end tables too. It is getting quite crazy around here but we love every minute of it!

This past week Annabel has been doing some amazing things with her left hand, using it more for support and to play by doing such things as banging the drumsticks together (she's not picking things up yet with her left but when we place something in her hand she holds on to it and is starting to use it more - she's definitely more aware of it!). She's also been feeling her left hand a lot, including the individual fingers. She is now using her right hand quite a bit to eat finger foods which is so great to see! She has also been doing well on the treadmill, stepping really well with her right and getting her left into position better, definitely getting more used to it. Probably the biggest improvement we've seen lately is how well she has been focusing on us and on what she's playing with, between her new glasses that fit really well and her being up more in her special chair, she has been doing awesome!

Last Wednesday was my b-day and on Tuesday my cousin Renee spoiled me by taking me to dinner, coffee, and to get pedicures. It was so great to have such a relaxing night out! Renee is also Johnathan's Godmother and although we've always been close as cousins, we've gotten even closer over the last year with her coming over a lot to see Johnathan. I value our frienship a lot, as family but also as true friends. I think I had one of the best b-days I've had in years. My friend Sharon took me out to lunch, I received many nice cards and well-wishes, and even a few unexpected gifts. The best gift was celebrating with my three precious children and my awesome husband. B.J. came home yet on Wednesday to celebrate my b-day and his mom made my favorite chocolate cake - thanks mom!

This picture is from when B.J. came home from work last Thursday, all three wanted his attention so bad. It was too cute! All three of them have really gotten in to books lately and being read to. More often than not, if one is being read to, if Johnathan or Mady isn't they'll come over and want up to join in.

This past Saturday we went and had our Christmas pictures taken. I was very happy as usual and will post yet this week. Here are a few more pictures from the week. The first is of Mady playing on the chair that our neighbors gave us, all three love it. In fact, a couple of fights have already broke out over it! : ) The second is of Johnathan in his new headband to keep his hearing aids in but it's a little big so we need to come up with a way to tighten it. The third picture is for our family in NY, can we say Buckethead #2?????