Merry Christmas!

Well, the holiday season is in full swing and here at the Borders house we've been really getting into the spirit. The boys and I decorated boxes and then baked cookies to give to our neighbors and family.  We made gingerbread houses. We bought a Countdown to Christmas Tree, which is magnetic and each day you put a new ornament on until you get to the top and put the star on the tree on Christmas. The boys really love that. And of course we decorated our tree. Here's what Sam said after every time he put up an ornament:



It was pretty awesome. And we've continued the tradition of taking a series of horrible photos in front of the tree, though Heath and I bowed out of the actual picture this year:

There were more. That's the great thing about digital cameras, now we can take TONS of horrible photos, instead of just one. Literally this is the best one we got, where they were both non-blurry and at least sort of looking toward the camera:

I'm almost done with my shopping and wrapping. Just a couple more things to pick up. Some years I feel like the stress and craziness of December distracts me from enjoying it, but this year I've been able to slow down and appreciate everything.

He'll find his own way

Sam is officially crawling! He started right around the same age Ben started, 9.5 months. However, he doesn't crawl the traditional way. He tucks his right leg up under himself and holds his left leg out stiff, like he has a peg leg. Then he kind of half crawls, half drags himself along. He manages to get where he's going, but it looks strange. Sometimes, seemingly by accident, he does a few strides on hands and knees the normal way, but then he'll realize it and stick his leg out again.

What's crazy to think about is that it was only two months between when Ben started to crawl and when he started to walk. So by November we might have another walker. Sam seems so small, it's bizarre that he might be walking soon.

Here's Sam's funky crawl. As a bonus in this video you get to see Sam engage in his new favorite activity: pulling up the vent covers.

How does a baby react when presented with his own image?

Sam Laughing

Ben and Avery dancing

This video is a few months old, but I just cleaned a ton of videos off my phone, including this one. It's too cute not to share:

All those hours of Dinosaur Train are paying off

It seems like Ben learns at least one new word a day. His vocabulary is growing exponentially. Friday's new word?

Brachiosaurus.

No joke.

I'm so proud!

Animal Noises

This video features a very truncated version of the dinosaur noise. Imagine it longer, louder and more high pitched.

Ben eats a lemon

A place filler

I will do a write-up of Ben's birthday party soon, but in the meantime here's the video of him eating his cake:



Here's the link, if that video goes too slowly: Let Ben eat cake!

Giggling Ben

Remember a few weeks ago when we took Ben to the playground? Here's the video I shot of Ben giggling. If you have a heart condition you may want to take precautions because this is quite possibly the cutest thing EVER.