This boy LOVES his daddy

I know I have already posted this picture...but it really captures the way Van looks at his daddy every single morning. It melts my heart to see how excited he is to see Evans.  (And makes me wish he looked at his mommy that way!!) But I think it is cute how much he recognizes his daddy's voice. He looks at him so adoringly it is almost as if he is saying "I want to be just like you!" Maybe I am editorializing a bit but its hard not to. :) 

As far as other Van milestones...he is lifting his head up about 50-75% and maintaining better neck control in his bumbo seat and when he is held.  He loves getting his diaper changed (?) and smiles on the changing table (even if he's hungry).  He eats about 6-8 oz. per feeding and is sleeping 8-9 hour periods at a time.  I am still trying to figure out his daily schedule because it changes daily!

Sophie has had a little difficulty adjusting to Van's long sleep periods.  Every time we leave his nursery door slightly cracked...she takes the opportunity to sneak off and go check on him, which usually results in waking him up.  In retrospect...its sort of cute! When she checks on him she deposits her strange little doggy toys around his nursery. When I go feed him I always laugh to see her toys scattered around Van's room.

Today we are attempting to go meet Evans for lunch at North Hills. Wish me luck--it will be our first extended family outing!! (Yes its almost been 3 months... But its harder than it sounds!)

All bundled up with nowhere to go!!

Van finally fits into his fancy strolling attire so we couldn't wait to bundle him up. Unfortunately we only made it 5 minutes down the block before heading back. It was WAY too cold for us, so we could only imagine how freezing little man was.  (Even though he looks mighty cute and snuggly!!)

We had a pretty awesome New Year's Eve with the little man. Luckily he slept the entire evening and our wonderful parents came to babysit while we went out to hear one of our favorite bands downtown with some friends. We rang in the New Year @ home:

Van's godparents got to meet him for the first time!:

I am trying to be sure Van gets plenty of exposure to sunlight because I can easily hibernate in our house all day which is sort of dark in the winter time. But why is it so cold??

Snuggly feet!

Van's Christmas Booty...

He racked up! So much fun to see all the fun toys we'll be spending lots of time with I am sure...  I am also excited about getting to use my grandmother's toy trunk that my dad refinished for me a couple of Christmas's ago...

It says "Jean" on the top which is my middle name I let go of when we got married. You probably know that I only let go of this name because I plan on passing it down to a little one at some point. 

We had lots of delicious food of Christmas and some time with Van's cousin, Oliver:

Its hard to believe there is only two years between them and thats how much Van will grow over the next two years!

Van also got some good time in with Grandma's...

And I finally finished his stocking on Christmas Eve

to hang on his very special "Van" stocking hanger...from his Godmother, Sarah!

We think he hit another growth spurt yesterday... Unbelievable!! Lots of eating and sleeping going on in this house. But lovely Lackey G-parents are relieving me this afternoon to run some errands for our NYE festivities.

the best 2 christmas presents ever

SLEEP

AND SMILES!

Last night, somehow...little man slept EIGHT HOURS!! We put him down at 8:30 and he slept until 4:30. I have no idea what is "normal" for his age, but we are so grateful Van is able to drink enough milk to keep him full for so long!!

Maybe I was smiling so much when I got him out of the crib, he returned a smile back to me! It was certainly the most precious christmas present a new parent could ask for. He started smiling on Christmas day!! So special.

Hair like Phil Collins

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE SNAGS!!

Van's Auntie Snags said that Van's hair was growing like Phil Collins.

So I documented its quirky growth:

October '09

November '09

December '09

Its funny how he looks more bald the older he gets. I think babies lose the hair they are born with though--so that explains it. You can definitely tell how much Van has grown from these!! I love those chubby cheeks.

Now for a hoot at cousin Fray's hair... (couldn't resist Snags)

Van's first snow!

Turned out to be a bust. But it was pretty while it lasted!

Here's what Van was doing:

Unfortunately Evans had a repeat potty incident...

Van just couldn't seem to get himself under control. Van & I thought it was funny but Evans found it a little too early to laugh.

Aren't they cute? And starting to look more and more alike. Look at those chins and noses! I love these guys.

Silent Night...

Van is doing really well sleeping at night.  We still get up to feed him twice after he "goes to bed" but those feedings are very quiet and peaceful and after a few burps, he goes right back to sleep.  During the early weeks at home when he was crying, I'd feel the instinct that I needed to comfort him by singing-- but was at a loss of what to sing.  My friend Sarah burned a cd full of lullaby music and included some Christmas carols.  I realized those would be perfect to sing because a) I knew all the words and b) it kept me from making up lame, off-key gibberish.  Van's favorite seems to be Silent Night. It always gets his attention.

Sweet boy!

Because of this, I know I will be bawling at the Christmas Eve service when we sing "Silent Night" with the candles lit. That already  made me teary-eye'd before I had this beautiful little sweet heart to think about!