The Banks Family: Santa is almost here...

Claudia is so excited about Santa this year. She likes to act out her visit with him -- he says "ho, ho, ho, what do you want for Christmas?" and she says "I want a little baby book." She actually sat on his lap this year without crying. Although we had to go to Toys R Us so she could show me what a little baby book was! It's these miniature board books with themes like Sesame Street or Winnie the Pooh. She also picked out a stocking for herself, with the big man himself (Santa!) on it. It's fun that Claudia is aware this year of what is going on, so we've had fun trimming the tree, buying and wrapping gifts, seeing lights on houses, and singing Christmas songs. She loved my work's holiday party, especially dancing and getting spun around in circles. She loves all parties and we got to go to a birthday party last weekend as well because Isaac and Lily turned 2 and they had it at the Seattle Children's Museum. It's fun to observe Claudia around other kids her age because she is so much like Glen and I as kids -- shy and never more than an arm's length away from her parents. But then she will whisper in my ear, "more" and never want to leave.

Claudia's new things are learning left from right and learning the difference between a boy and a girl. We're making progress. She has also learned A, B, and O for her letters and she likes to "paint" them in the bathtub with soap paints. We're still heavily invested in the binkie and our attempts to eliminate it were met with huge protests. But Claudia got to visit the big kid preschool at daycare this week (age 3+) and they don't allow binkies and Claudia was OK with it. So we know she can do it. Right now seems like a bad time since she is already having problems with naps and bedtime at home, so once that gets better, then we will try and find a time for the binkies to disappear. They don't really bother me, but I'm worried about her overbite.

Glen & I have both joined gyms near our works. We love team sports, but it's just too hard to work that into our schedule these days, so even though the gym can be quite boring, we have been forcing ourselves to go. Now that we're on a roll, we both feel healthier, so we need to make sure we keep making it a priority. Our friends Katherine & Dale had baby Matthew on Dec. 20th. He is very cute and snuggly and his birth (a few days early) was the best Christmas gift his parents could ever hope for.