Christmas Cousins

Anna under the tree, doing her best to keep two toddlers (Luke and Sophie) from leaving her lap.

Who Wore It Better?

Alex the Monkey:


Lucas Milliken:


Luke has been interested in taking off his shoes, socks, and pants (!) for quite some time, but now he is (sometimes) able to put them back on.

How we're getting around the whole tree/toddler issue...

Luke attacked the tree at the Pittsburgh airport after Thanksgiving, so we knew a full sized tree wouldn't go over too well in the Milliken household. Jamie suggested we skip it altogether, but I like sitting in a darkened room with only tree lights too much. The table tree was a good compromise.



Luke has trouble getting up on our couch without help, so the "tee" actually isn't in too much danger.

P.S. All we want for Christmas is a Flip videocamera!

If you build it, they will sulk...

Luke's more of a Spring/Summer guy, I'm thinking. I took him out this morning, and he just sat there, the whole time. Like he was a little seven month old baby. He maybe brushed the snow on the ground a few times. I tried building him a snow midget to cheer him up, but the only thing that made him feel better was going back inside!

Hi.

Luke's at the super cute stage where he says hi to everyone and everything. Getting him out of his car seat? Hi. Passing by random strangers in a grocery cart? Hi. Picking up a phone sized object and holding it to his head? Hi.



I'm enjoying this language acquisition stage immensely, mostly because it's the precursor to having a Kid Who Says the Darndest Things. And, eventually, one of those funny kids who writes a Children's Letter to God.

Chief Ocean Eyes

We spent eight days in Oil City, PA (our longest visit there yet!) It was great spending all that time with Nanny, Papa and Uncle Aaron!

He celebrated Turkey Day with a neighbor's home day care (where he got his name "Chief Ocean Eyes"):


He horsed around in Nanny's brand new kitchen:


And liked riding on things at the mall:


Speed demon: