Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dec. 29:

Daniel's first Christmas was so special for all of us. Friends and family gathered at our house and Daniel got to see why the glowing tree with shiny things underneath had appeared. A lot of those shiny presents were his - a few cute Christmas outfits, lots of toys (mainly for teething) and several books (including one given earlier called "S.S. Bathtub"). He made a bit of a fuss while we ate Christmas dinner, but there were plenty of other people around to take care of him while Matt and I had a chance to relax. Thank goodness!
We didn't get to meet his cousin Parker as planned, which would have really made this Christmas complete, but that will come soon. I'm really looking forward to the meeting of the babies.
Now that he's four months old and a few weeks, he's become much more interesting. His physical development has continued - he now has the strength to sit himself up, has discovered his feet, and really enjoys bouncing and spinning in his jumparoo. Crawling still evades him, but that will come soon enough because he's showing sign of growing coordination. He's made progress during tummy time sessions, but still gets majorly frustrated. He moves around much more in his crib - I'll be we'll have to lower the mattress soon.
Daniel's occasional smiles and giggles have turned into a regular thing. It's so fun to make him crack up laughing or smile until his dimples show. He's ticklish around his neck and tummy, and loves to be lifted up over our heads. He's also been making "trilling" and "razzing" noises when excited (which is a lot). He's much more interested toys and is figuring out how to turn them on. He likes to look at my computer monitor and unfortunately enjoys watching tv as well. He notices the cat a lot more and I'm sure will want to touch her soon. Strangers or people who come around less often have started to make Daniel anxious. We hope that's just a phase.
We haven't started him on solid food yet, but he's showing all the signs of being ready for it. The first few attempts have resulted in a lot of crying - he's fine with it for a little bit but then realizes he can't suck on the spoon and the cereal feels all weird and he freaks out :-(
We've been so blessed by our little (well, kinda big) wiggly-piggly boy! Daniel's so smart and strong and surely the best boy ever, which I say without any sort of bias. Happy Holidays!