Walk'n on Sunshine

Uncle Stefan!

"Uncle" Stefan was also back in town for the holidays and we got to spend some time with him along with the rest of our friends.



Stefan is a true friend and is like a brother to me and Rachael. He has been away at seminary where he is faithfully pursuing his calling to become a Catholic priest. We have been jokingly calling him "Father" since he announced his decision to go into the priesthood, but we look forward to the day when he has fully earned the title.

Before he left to go back to seminary, Stefan invited our group of friends over to hang out, watch a movie, and have desert. It was good getting together with the whole gang again for a little while to relax and joke around.

Sippy Cups and First Steps

Brianna always seemed to have trouble when it came to sippy cups, she could never quite get down that she needed to tilt the cup back to get the juice into her mouth. So we got her a new cup with a straw. She picked up the straw concept immediately and loves drinking juice from that cup now.



And a day before she turned 9 months old, she started taking her first wobbly steps on her own!

We began practicing short distances with her walking between mommy and daddy on the floor.

Christmas Morning

Come Christmas morning and Brianna got to open all the rest of her gifts.



And of course, we had to get the ever-so-popular picture of her with a bow on her head

I think she was happy to get a new Backyardigan and a stuffed bumble bee as big as her!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, Rich, Sharon, and Hannah came over to open presents. Brianna got to open a few of her presents that evening as well, one being a new Curious George book with a Curious George stuffed animal.



I think she was a little dazed about what exactly was happening...



But she enjoyed opening her first round of gifts, which also included a new sock monkey as well.

Professional Photos

We also got some professional photos taken for the Holidays to share with our family and friends.



We absolutely adore this picture of Brianna sitting in a chair.

Such a CUTIE!

Waking up from Naps

In December Rachael and I made the decision to move out of the condo and back in with her parents while I looked for a new job. Because of that, we only have a few pictures from December before Christmas came around.

However, I did find these two snapshots of our beautiful daughter that were taken after her naps during the day.



What a goofball!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Finally, the weekend after Thanksgiving, we all went out to have dinner with Brianna's Great Grandparents. Though not as big as the annual Felix Family Thanksgiving reunion in Indiana, they loved seeing their great grandchildren and sharing a meal with the family we have here in Colorado.



We also took a very special family portrait. This is definately a keeper.

More time with Family

We also went over to my parents house for part of the day where we spent time with Jason, Laura, Paul, and Meredith. They are usually out of town during Thanksgiving, but this year they decided to stay in Denver.



We had an excellent meal and enjoyed each other's company while playing with the kids.

Playing at Grandma and Poppy's with Hannah

As Thanksgiving rolled in, we spent a lot of time with family. Hannah loves playing with Brianna and frequently asks about her and wanting to go play with her cousin.



While playing, we have found that the best toys tend to be simple things like boxes, tin cans, and platic containers.

Bri also loves crawling on people's laps. Below, I think she was trying to stare down poppy while he was watching the football game on TV.

The only trouble with her crawling in someone's lap is that she very much enjoys putting her hands on faces and in other people's mouths (Not to mention the occasional pulling of hair). Grandma and Poppy love to hold their granddaughter, and Bri is more than happy to stand and giggle in their arms.

Jungle Time

Way back in November we had posted that Brianna, along with getting her first tooth, was trying to stand up by grabbing hold of things. To that end, my mom got her a neat new jungle activity center that Bri just loves to play with and climb on.



She had a great time pulling herself up and dancing to the jungle music.
(If you are wondering, the T-shirt says "Don't Hassle me, I'm Teething")

She is such a cutie, always posing for the camera. She loves putting her fingers in her mouth and feeling her new teeth. She also enjoys chewing on her frozen teethers to help sooth her gums.

She also enjoys pulling herself up on anyone's legs that happen to be sitting nearby.

Foot in Mouth

Well, here I am again having "put my foot in my mouth" when I said I would try to keep the blog updated. With the holidays is was difficult to find the time to post. However, now that things have calmed down a bit and we have a few moments of free time, we'll catch you all back up with what's been happening in our lives.