'Twas the night before...

Frank and I have been sending out homemade holiday postcards for 5 years now. Frank is a graphic designer and we both have a warped sense of humor, so that makes for some pretty unconventional holiday greetings. This year was extra fun with Milo in the mix!

Here is our latest creation: (click to enlarge)

2008

And here is our Christmas postcard collection from years past:

2007
(after returning from Italy and seeing more
naked statues than you can shake a stick at)

2006

2005

2004

I just hope our social worker doesn't decide to revise our home study after seeing these!

Everything is grand on the homefront, and we're ready for the holidays! We have discovered that Milo's favorite toys are cars, trucks, planes, trains, tractors, tools, telephones and ... shoes! (I swear, I still can't keep them in my closet.) We have conveyed this information to Santa Claus, and I have a sneaking suspicion he's going to deliver.

We cannot believe we've been home for 4 months and that Milo will be 28 months old on the 23rd. He is growing quickly (especially his platypus feet) and he has crossed over the threshold from being a big baby to a little boy. It's mind-blowing. He is so much more sure-footed and steady in his stride. He is still happy, healthy and eating and sleeping beautifully. His language development is phenominal. For me it is the most exciting thing to watch. He says hundreds of words and has no fear in sounding out anything we model for him. He even says "elevator" and "Piggly Wiggly." (A southern grocery store. Really. Google it.) He identifies and requests everything he can, all day long and he is so close to putting words together we can smell it. Lately, our first 10 minutes of every morning sound something like this: "Hi! Mommy. Diaper? Snuggle. Eat. Hungry. Bib. Spoon. Yogurt. Banana. Applesauce. Openit. Drink. Yum! All done. TV?" (He actually still doesn't watch much TV by his choice; Few shows hold his attention for long.)

He is still an energetic, giggly barrel of monkeys and usually smiling from ear-to-ear. Our bonding and attachment process continues to be very successful. Fortunately we have never had big issues, but even so, I can see a difference when comparing our first 2 months home to now. I can't even imagine what it will be like in another 4 months or even a year because every day that passes just melts our hearts together even more irrevocably. Sometimes I can physically feel a primal maternal response to him in the core of my body. It's incredible.

He no longer sleeps in a cradle beside our bed, but he's now in his crib in his bedroom full time. (It used to be just for naps.) Even still, one of us always rocks him to sleep at night (and for naps), before placing him in his crib. Sometimes we use our big rocker/recliner and sometimes we just lie with him in our bed. Once in a while he just won't drift off, even after an hour or so, so we put him down awake. He is usually fine with that. It takes some extra effort, but I think this has been one of the most important bonding rituals for us. We also have good snuggle time with him in our bed in the mornings.

Frank and I have had such fun taking him to the fair, the Christmas parades, the firestation, storytime, indoor jump castles, playgrounds and many other outings. We try to have lots of playdates with other kids because I can tell he really misses being around children. He is very sociable and thrives around other people. We are signing up for Kindermusik to help with that as well.

Frank and I are doing pretty well. We are still honing our parenting skills, finding our stride and learning to multi-task and communicate like never before. Mornings are tough on us, as we were never morning people. We have only been out on 1 date night since Milo came home, so that is something we need to prioritize. As much as we love our new life, we sometimes need a breather and a fresh perspective -- especially on the days when Milo decides to be extra willful, impish and whiny! Life is definitely different, we miss seeing our non-parent friends as often, and we are sometimes so tired that our skin hurts. But of course we wouldn't trade Milo for a whole lifetime of sleeping in late.

We are certainly looking forward to a very special holiday with our sweet elf. We wish much peace, warmth and love to everyone during this magical time of year. Take good care of yourselves and of those you love!

And by the way...

You've GOT to see this video!
Milo does this all the time. On purpose.
He keeps his eyes open and never stops grinning.