Rounding out 2012

Wow!  I started this original post when there was just 9 days left until Christmas Eve...and now we're into the New Year!  It is crazy how fast 2012 flew by!  We weren't even close to ready for the holidays when I first started the post but we did get everything done in the end that we hoped to...or I've forgotten what it was I wanted to do if we didn't.  ;)

The kid's cousins on Clayton's side and their family have recently moved closer to us and we have had the opportunity for some really lovely visits together.  Lorelei is delighted to have her cousins come visit her and to share/show them her stuff.  (She doesn't often get to have friends over to play so she crams in all the playing she can with her cousins while they're here.)  I think Ethan enjoys their visits as well. 

This winter we did do something we haven't done before, and Ethan got to join us...

We went to the local Santa Claus parade!  We bundled up the kids, grabbed coffee & hot chocolate and headed out.  I think overall it was a pretty good outing...but it was bitter cold!

Ethan, Kalianna, Auntie Pengo, Mariella, Clayton & Lorelei watching the parade.

All bundled up, Ethan tolerated most of it, but by the end he was really cold and it took a bit for his hands to warm up again.  Thankfully his Aunt is better prepared and let us borrow some leg warmers to keep Ethan's footwear on.  Mental note: Next time bundle up better and remember mitts and hats for everyone.

Ethan's incision site has healed well and looks great!  He now has matching incisions (which was planned, I asked the surgeon ;)).  The only other medical thing for Ethan last month was his MRI...and we'll know more about the results later this month.

This year we decorated earlier than we have in the past couple years and Lorelei took the lead role on decorating the tree.  She did a great job and only needed a bit of coaching to make sure decorations were all over the tree and not clumped together.

Ethan watched from his play spot on the floor, even reaching out for decorations as they were being put up and from the tree at later times.

 

Ethan lost another tooth (or two?) mid-December, it has been a while since he lost a tooth but I was quite thankful that it wasn't one of his adult teeth.  We were lucky enough to capture it to be sent for analysis.  I do not anticipate it being different than all the other ones we've sent.

 

 

The rest of the month we pretty much got ready for the holidays and everyone but Ethan worked at recovering from a cold.  Ethan spent some time chill-ax-ing and watching TV in an easy chair.  (His right eye is patched to make him work his left eye and retain vision in that eye.)

 

Recently we'd picked up a larger bed that Lorelei has been using, and for the first time in about a year or so we put Ethan in with her for a little visit.  She loves it when he comes to her bed and this was no exception. 

 

 

Ethan did a great job opening presents this year.  We got through all of them in one day and he unwrapped (or at least partially unwrapped) all of them.  He ended up with a lot of fun toys.  The following picture is him opening up a really neat musical toy that I'm sure he'll love once he fully explores it.

 

 

One gift for Ethan was a big disappointment.   We'd picked up an expensive, geared to children, stylus for use with the iPad but it did not light up the choices/information so is useless for him. In an interesting turn of events I found a stylus for $2 that works perfectly for him. It is a bit slimmer in build but he was using it and choosing it for hand-over-hand connect the dots numbers.  :)

 

Kalianna, Mariella and their parents came for another visit over the holidays and the kids had a great time playing together.  We took them out one day to an indoor play space.

  

 

Auntie Pengo & daddy also got in on the action.

 

 

Then we took them sliding to wear out any energy that might be left...but I think the parents were more tired than the kids in the end.

 

 

While on the hill, Lorelei and daddy even got some airtime.

 

 

It was a great outing although quite chilly for the photographer - nothing a round of hot chocolates didn't fix.  Lorelei was quite thrilled to have so much company over the holidays!