hectic holidays.

the holidays were crazy to say the least. lots of work, driving, family, & friends. i worked way more than usual because james had the whole month off so he could be home with stetson. and december is the busiest month of the year at the salon. so james was mr. mom for the month of december and i missed being with my boys and being at home. hence the lack of blogging.

stetson started officially walking the week after thanksgiving (right at 18 months---i think he must've known his doctor appt was coming up & i was getting nervous!) his 18 month check-up went well...i think he's figured out the nurse is the one who gives the shots because he was still scared of her but not the doctor this time. dr. dorsey was happy with his progress (walking!) and said everything looks great. his weight percentile was between the 10th & 25th so i was glad to see it go up a little. he weighs 23 lbs 1 oz. he is still talking alot (mainly babbling) but his words have slowed down a little bit since he started walking. he is eating with a fork and spoon sometimes (the sight of this made me want to cry as i realized he is officially a toddler and not a baby). it's still a novelty to us to see him walking around. and it has brought on a whole new intolerance to the stroller. he wants to walk everywhere now in public but doesn't want you to hold his hand or guide him. he screams in protest. so i have resorted to the occasional m&m while he's in the stroller to keep him happy while he's in there. christmas shopping with him was all but fun and relaxing. he was acting so crazy the day we went to the mall to take a photo with santa that we decided to skip it. maybe next year.

aside from his momentary acts of independence, he is still so good and sweet most of the time. still a daddy's boy all the way. still LOVES music and dances to every kind of sound. he has started singing, too, and it will break your heart. it's so precious. he's starting to be able to identify more body parts, soft & hard textures, and will act like he's fixing his hair. we've been working on asking for help instead of getting frustrated when he can't get something to work like he wants it to...so we now hear "beebee" (please) ALL the time. but i'd rather hear that than screaming.

so the holidays were good...but every year i wish i could slow everything down enough to really enjoy it all. i so wanted a day at home in my pj's to bake christmas cookies and feel festive. but there's always next year i guess. and next christmas stetson will probably be able to help me make cookies so that will be more fun anyway.