Josiah was into trying new things this morning. He finally figured out how to drink his bottle by himself...
He has also developed quite an interest in shoes lately. Yesterday I caught him trying to put on Daddy's shoes. Today he decided to take a stab at a pair of Priya's princess shoes.
Tonight was awesome! We had the pleasure of spending the evening with the Brown family - Uncle Rich and Aunt Kathy, Joni, Rob, Ethan, Justus, Zach, Esther, Juli, Noah, Tate, Carter, Jeff, Kara, Caleb, Samaria, Joey and Krista. My cousin Candace, my parents and Ashish's parents were there to join in the fun as well. It was so much fun catching up with my cousins, their spouses and watching all of our kids playing together.
Mom made her special peanut butter popcorn (it brought back so many childhood memories) and it was a big hit!
Merry Christmas 2011! It's been an fun, family-fiilled Christmas this year! We began our celebrations by attending the Christmas Eve-Eve service with my parents and Ashish's parents on December 23 (unfortunately the photo with Ashish's parents didn't turn out).
After church we went to see Christmas lights (sorry, no pics of this adventure). Our first stop was probably the best light display in Redding. It was set to music and was fantastic again this year. As we drove by Priya asked me the cutest question... "Mommy, is this heaven?" She was obviously quite impressed.
On December 24 we celebrated Christmas "Indian style" with Ashish's side of the family. He cooked a fantastic chicken biriyani meal for us.
And we shared our gifts with each other that night. Both kids were thrilled. It is such a different experience enjoying Christmas when you have kids. Seeing it through their eyes - and seeing Priya understand more deeply the true meaning of Christmas - was an absolutely priceless experience.
On Christmas morning we ventured over to my parents' home for gifts and brunch in the morning. Jon, Jenetta, Ohana and Lynn Ann drove up last night so we were blessed to be able to spend this special time with them.
Josiah was thrilled with his gift from Grammy and Papa Penner!
And Priya of course got in on the fun as well. Oh how I love watching the two of them play together and to see their growing friendship.
Ohana got a special personalized book that Grandpa read to her...
And Lynn got a special personalized book too that Grammy read.
Josiah got a special personalized book too! Thanks Uncle Jon and Aunt Jenetta!
All the gift giving and unwrapping had Priya tuckered out so she made a bed for herself on the kitchen floor (she was actually not feeling very well today and was pretty quiet and reserved).
Grandpa enjoyed playing with one of Priya's gifts - Lace and Trace Cards.
Lynn Ann made some fantastic tea for me.
Jon was quite sick but was a trooper and did his best to be with the family as much as he was physically able.
We visited the home of Ashish's parents and Ami and Phil in the afternoon (didn't have my camera) and then came back to my parents' home again for dinner. The Christians and McCutcheons joined us and we all had a great time together.
The next two videos are for Oma and the Manitoba family. Grandpa is quite thrilled to have the next generation of halvah lovers in the family. The kids went NUTS when he pulled the box out after dinner!
A kiss from Josiah... I was also trying to get him say his newest cute saying - apple juice. Unfortunately I haven't captured it yet but it's pure adorableness! He is trying so hard to communicate with us right now - and gets so frustrated when he can't get it out or we don't understand him.
Ohana and Lynn Ann got dolls for Christmas and named them both Ella (Emily and Joel, aren't you proud?). After hearing the name many times Josiah finally said "Ella" quite perfectly today. Sadly I didn't capture it on video. But he's still cute so here's one last video...
It's a miracle!! Josiah is nearly 13 months and today marked the first time that I've been able to sit through an entire church service since he was born!!! Seriously! It has been a huge battle leaving him in the nursery each week. He screams bloody murder every.single.time and I am always eventually called out of the service. The longest he's made it has been about 25 minutes (10 of which was screaming) so today was a very big deal! And the shocker is that he didn't even cry - at all! I kept waiting and expecting someone to walk around the corner to tap me on the shoulder or to see his # pop up on the overhead screen. I felt like Pavlov's dog - waiting for a bell to ring. I have been so conditioned to this routine. But it never happened! And before I knew it the service was over! And the message was just what I needed to hear too so thank you God for allowing me to hear it in its entirety!
Ok, so obviously sitting through a church service doesn't make me a Christian but it sure felt good to be there and it ministered to my spirit in a way that I totally needed! This was definitely a milestone that I was ready for!
One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is childrens' performances. They are always so sweet and quite entertaining. So the idea of having my own child finally participate in this special tradition was absolutely thrilling to me. Priya has been practicing for months with her preschool class to share pieces of the Christmas story and to sing Christmas carols at the school's annual Christmas Pageant. She's been eager for an outlet for all that she has been learning so she's been serenading shoppers in stores and passersby on walks with her lines and songs for weeks. Tonight was finally the night when we were able to proudly watch and cheer her on as she took the stage with her friends and classmates to share with us the true reason for the season.
Ashish's parents, Ami, Phil, Ashish, Josiah and I waited eagerly for the program to begin. (On a side note...here's a feeble attempt at capturing Josiah's handsome new look. It's so cute how he poses for photos now too - he squints his eyes and grins away. Ahhh he melts my heart.)
**Disclaimer: I know that there are a lot of videos here. I certainly don't expect readers to watch all of them. But I had to preserve the memory of this momentous occasion.
Her halo didn't last very long...
Silent Night
The angel Gabriel appears to Mary (at about 30 seconds in are some of the lines that Priya has been quoting to anyone who would listen over the past few weeks)
Mary and Joseph (or "Jofus" as Priya calls him) were so tired... (she's been quoting this part a ton too)
Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
There was a reception that followed the pageant. Priya had a blast playing with some of her buddies and I had to try to capture the cuteness.
Josiah got his first haircut today! It took over a year for me to get up the nerve to do it and at least 2 inches came off. He absolutely hated the experience and screamed through much of it. But it all turned out just fine in the end and he emerged a handsome little man with short hair and no more curls. I am sad to see them go but I did save some of them for his baby book. Now I just need to get some good pictures to show the final product. It was a last minute decision to finally take the plunge so I didn't have my camera with me and the pics I tried to take with my phone didn't turn out.
On November 16, Josiah turned 1 year old. Where in the world is the time going? It never ceases to amaze me how quickly our kids are changing and growing right before our eyes.
We celebrated Josiah's birthday on Saturday (Nov 19) with a Sesame Beginnings bash. Josiah is a big fan of the Sesame Street babies so the theme was a no-brainer. I had so much fun with all of the decorations and bringing everything together. Jenetta pointed me to a etsy.com where I was able to get the invitation and other decorations designed for a great price. Then I just got to work printing, cutting, glueing and stapling and before I knew it, everything came together.
We had little gift bags for the kids who attended and some special Sesame Beginnings books in gift bags for the babies that joined us as well. I loved the gift bag tags!
All of the water bottles said "Happy Birthday Josiah" with pictures of the Sesame Street babies.
The Elmo Walker Balloon was a big hit! I was worried that Josiah might be scared of it, but he absolutely loved it!
One of our friends, Erin Pillsbury, made Josiah a Sesame Street shirt with the #1 on it. I need to get a better picture of it. But it was the perfect finishing touch. Thank you Erin!!
Watching a child experience cake for the first time is usually quite fun. Josiah's initial reaction, however, wasn't quite was we were expecting...
But once he got over his hands being so dirty and actually tasted the cake, he was all smiles once again. :)
