Month 10: Baby's First Christmas

Month 10 began with a flurry of fun, crazy events at the church where we work, then a mad dash to the airport so we'd make it to Texas before Christmas Eve. Daniel did remarkably well on the flights, thanks in part to so many friends who gave us priceless pearls of wisdom ("use your arms to make a 'seatbelt' and lock him in on your lap"..."feed him cheerios one by one for 30 minutes"..."save the best toys for the last 20 minutes of the flight"...). After two flights and one three-hour delay, all of us (with our embarrassing amount of luggage) arrived safely in Texas.

This year was special - my whole family gathered in one place to celebrate the holidays - 3 great grandparents, 2 grandparents, 4 parents, 2 infants, 2 aunts and uncles, 1 cousin, and a few dozen cows. Ah, the farm. The neatest part was Daniel getting to meet his cousin Lucas (7 months old) for the first time, and then watching the two of them play together like old buddies. The two babies were entirely doted upon and spoiled for ten solid days, and they brought an amazing lightness and life to the family gathering. There's just something magical about having babies around.

For Daniel, these ten days were jam-packed with new activities, developments and foods! Being able to spend all day every day with him is always incredible for us, as we get a front row seat to his every new move. Here's the short list of what all he learned in this amazing week and a half:

- Crawled SUPER fast, and mastered crawling on hard wood floors without slipping.
- Stood alone extremely easily, sometimes pulling up without the help of an object.
- Played our "1..2...3!" game and will consistently let go on the count of three, standing alone.
- Walked along things - window sills, couches - but always sideways!
- Took his first step by himself!
- Learned to crawl under things, and explore by ducking his head and maneuvering into small spaces.
- Learned a new laugh - like an "ssss" sound, and always very messy.
- Loved to be upside down - began throwing himself backwards to as so be upside down.
- Played "peekaboo!" and would consistently cover his face when we said "where's Daniel?!"
- Enjoyed shredding tissue paper and napkins into a pile of tiny little pieces.
- At the end of the trip, walked alone while pushing something across the floor (usually the high chair).
- CPR! No joke! Fernando would make an "o" with his mouth, and Daniel would put his mouth on top of Fernando's, and just wait there for a few minutes. It was a first step to a kiss, but looked a lot more like someone administering CPR...
- Solidified his first "communicative" word: Num num. He now approaches us and says "num num" when he's hungry, and when we want to give him food, we say "num num" and he repeats it, crawling to the kitchen.
- Maybe the most fun: Learned to crawl over to the piano, pull up, and reach up high to play the keys. If that isn't cute enough, he learned to dance along when he heard the sounds of the keys or someone singing!
- Learned to turn faucets on and off - at my gramma's house, he'd disappear for 20 seconds, and we'd suddenly hear the bath turn on!
- Discovered that his mattress in Texas was a LOT bouncier than his mattress in Arizona. He consequently learned to jump - and jump HIGH.
- Continued responding well to our "Daniel, no..." and even began shaking his head AT the no things: outlets, electronics, etc - before he'd even touched them.
- Began walking on his tip toes to reach higher up things.
- Mastered the art of a straw, making restaurant mealtimes much easier on us!

Like any respectable family Christmas, there was always lots of food - snacks, meals, and a few more snacks. Daniel tried a lot of new foods, and loved them all. His new treats include: Graham crackers, french bread end pieces, turkey, ham, bacon, waffles, english muffins, cream cheese & butter, mashed potatoes, whole baby carrots, beans & rice, boiled cheese. And his favorite: saltines (and oyster crackers). The night he had his first saltine, he grabbed a hold of a plastic pack of 2 saltines, and would not let it go. It stayed in his tight little fist through the entire meal, all the way home, during play time, through bath time, and all the way to the crib (where we finally confiscated the pack of crumbs in exchange for a bottle)!

We took lots of video and photos and enjoyed every minute of our sweet boy's first Christmas. One of the highlights was us taking Daniel out in one of the farm golf carts to explore the pasture. We clung to the golf cart for dear life (to say it was a bumpy ride would be a sore understatement) while Daniel shrieked with joy and put his little hands up. He met his first cow, and crawled around in his first field. I think he may have even sampled his first cow patty. It was truly a trip to remember, full of all the things trips should offer: relaxation, family, rest, laughter, exploration, adventure, and wonderful memories!