Hello 2011

We spent New Years Day visiting the Hauptmans and Kilbanes. These are good friends of Brian's from high school. All the kids together were quite the handful...but so cute. Pictured above are Alex Hauptman, Kaitlyn Kilbane, Marcus Kuder, Brady Kilbane and Owen Kuder.

New Years Eve

We flew to Cleveland to spend New Years with family. The first order of business was gift opening, and Marcus was an old pro at this. Can't you see his excitement?!!!

Then we got dressed up (sans socks) for our New Years guests. Marcus is sitting in a rocking chair that was Brian's as a child. Super cool!

Cousin Elizabeth and Aunt Leslie made some fun party hats. Too bad Marcus' bedtime is about 7pm...he didn't quite make it up to ring in 2011...but he had fun otherwise!

9 Months

Marcus is already 9 months old. My precious little baby has turned into this precious little guy. We all love spending time with him and we're always encouraging him to meet that next milestone. He is bursting with personality with those smiles and babbles. He is a perfect fit for our family.

9 Month Milestones:

• Marcus claps his hands, which is so cute. Most of the time this jester is only displayed when he sees someone else clapping, but it is so fun.
  
• Standing and supporting all his weight on his own.
• Has developed a bit of stranger anxiety for people he's not familiar with.
• Expresses frustration during occasions when he can't reach a toy or Owen won't give him attention.
  

The New England Aquarium

Despite a winter storm warning, we headed downtown to the Aquarium for a fun time. Marcus enjoyed strolling around and getting a close up view of exhibits.

Look at me now!

It's hard to tell, but Marcus is standing up on his own in this photo. This is the first time I've seen him do this...he was sitting in my lap and he just pulled himself up. I guess that new toy just needed to be seen!

First Christmas

Marcus was all ready to open gifts on Christmas morning. He just had to wait for his brother to wake up!

Some gifts were a bit big, so Marcus needed a little help unwrapping. But for the most part, he loved the entire paper tearing experience.

Mommy's little Christmas cutie.

Marcus happily hung out in his pod chair. In the aftermath of the gift opening, he was thrilled to play to with the ribbon more than new toys!

I love Marcus in this photo, he always seems to have an eye on his big brother.

And Daddy surprised Mommy with a new car, so we all got bundled up for a drive.

Visiting Santa

Today we went to visit Santa, and it wasn't surprising that Marcus' reaction to the jolly man was less than stellar. Poor little guy probably didn't know what to think of being thrust into the lap of a strange, old man with all that facial hair. Maybe we'll have better luck next year!