This is more for my own good than anyone else. I wanted to jot down some of the cute, fun and new things the kiddies are doing before I forget them! (This blog serves sort of as a baby book, journal, family record simultaneously for me. I do have baby books for the kids...just haven't happened upon them since moving...)

Ronan will be one in a couple of weeks and has been walking (exclusively) for almost 2 weeks now. He is such a good little "toddler"! For so long I thought he was capable of walking, but he just wouldn't! I think he was waiting until he could do it without crashing all the time. He is our more cautious child, afterall. One day (I believe it was Dec. 1) he just started walking everywhere and stopped crawling. Just like that. Previous to that time he would take a few steps here and there and then just sit down and speed-crawl. (Boy, that kid can crawl FAST!) He loves to put his hand or anything else up to his ear and say "halla!" with a big grin on his face (mimicking talking on the phone). He is working on his 6th tooth for sure right now, maybe more? He loves eating -- and I am talking about eating real food, not liquid food. He'll eat anything I give to him (oh, happy day!) and usually he'll eat a lot of it. I think most meals he eats more than Ellie. He loves feeding himself and just today he was feeding me with a spoon! One day we decided to ask him where his eyes, nose, mouth, ears and chin were, and quite to my surprise he pointed to them as we asked! He's figured out how to open cupboards and drawers (yay...) and how to take the outlet covers off! Little mischief maker!!

Ellie, my sweet, sweet little girl. She is such a good girl and almost always remembers her manners. She loves to make people feel good, especially her little brother. She is usually so good to include him, let him play with her. She is quite a problem solver too. When Ronan wants something she is playing with (and she's not quite ready to give it up to him) she'll often find something comparable for him. She is very intuitive and such a special person. For some reason as soon as the weather turned cold she decided she wanted to live in her bathing suit(s), and that she does! She likes to take one of my blue laundry baskets and she puts as many (small) toys in it that she can fit and that is her swimming pool. She and Ronan both are constantly trying to climb EVERYTHING! Can't wait until this spring when we can take them climbing... Her most recent self-assigned task is learning the days of the week. She knows that Saturday and Sunday come after Friday and that means Daddy doesn't have to go to work. Just like always Ellie loves to read, color, sing, dance, pretend, pretend, pretend and spend time with family. She is so very innocent and loving and she has such a special, beautiful, old and wise soul.

Ellie and Ronan helping me make brownies for Grammy's birthday