Merry Christmas from the Oelrichs Family!

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
~ Isaiah 9:6

Let it Snow!

Ava received this singing snowman from Aunt Karen and Uncle Charlie last Christmas. The kids are both enjoying it this year!

Eleven Months Old

Dane is now eleven months old, and he has been a very busy boy this last month. Since he turned ten months old, he has learned to stand alone, walk, clap his hands, stack blocks, put shapes into a shape sorter, play "so big", shake his head "no", wave "bye-bye", and feed himself with a fork. He now has four teeth (two top and two bottom) and can eat just about anything the rest of the family does. He loves to eat and try new foods, and is always exploring and trying to figure out how things work. I could swear he even said "mama" last week! Russ heard it too, so you know I didn't make it up. :) Anyway, here's a few pictures of my little man:Dane's "thinking" face":Spirit fingers? Jazz hands?

First Steps!

I can't believe it -- Dane is growing up so fast! First he had to think it over:Then he tried to stand up, to no avail*:Then he took his first steps! Yesterday he turned, let go of the couch, and took about 5 very wobbly steps toward Ava, all by himself. He gets so excited and he wants to go faster than his little legs can carry him. It's so cute!

*He did actually manage to do this once. He got into this "downward dog" position and very carefully and very slowly lifted himsef into a standing position.

O Christmas Tree

Ava and I put up the Christmas tree on Saturday while Dane was taking a nap. She was a great little helper, and we had a really fun time together.

Dressed for the occasion, complete with jingle bell socks:Santa's little helper:If you use your imagination, you can smell the fresh pine scent of the artificial tree:Don't let the angelic look on her face fool you!The finished product:
We don't have a full size artificial tree yet, just this little four-foot-tall tree that can go on top of a table (or cedar chest, in our case) out of reach of little baby hands and mouths. It works out well for us, even if it's a tad Charlie Brown-ish.

Pajama Party

Ava and Dane played together on Ava's bed Thursday night in their "matching" pajamas. It was lots of fun!

Sittin' Around

The other day I walked into the living room and found this:

He was so proud of himself!

Then a little later I found Ava lounging in front of the TV:

Then she decided to get up and do a little dance for me:

They're so silly!

Long Time, No Blog . . .

. . . so I'm going to try to get you up to speed in one huge post. Here's what we've been up to since you last heard from us in October. . .

Ava learned to play tee-ball:

Dane turned 9 months old . . .

. . . and sprouted his two bottom teeth: We went to the pumpkin patch . . . . . . dressed up for Halloween . . . . . . and played in the leaves:Dane ate enough to gain a whole pound in a month. At 10 months old, he weighed 22.2 lbs.We cheered for the Tigers . . . M-I-Z-Z-O-U! . . .. . . had lots of fun . . .. . . and made lots of messes:All in all, it's been a great two months, although we've had our share of meltdowns and temper tantrums:We don't know about you, but after all of that, we could use a nap!