Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful evening ringing in the New Year with the Kuder-Jaeger-Menges-Aunt Barbara clan!

New Years in Cleveland

 We traveled to Cleveland to see Gandma and Grandpa Kuder and got to see them in "daycare" action as they had cousins Elizabeth and Julianna one day.

And I just love this rocking chair that was Brian's as a child.

21 Months

Milestones:

-          Smiling and saying cheese when I take a photo of him

-          Eating cheerios with a spoon for breakfast

-          Playing with the train set all the time...and saying choo, choo.

-          Climbing up on the couch all on his own. Jumps around like crazy.

-          So excited to play chase or hide and seek games with Owen.

-          Reading "boo" (books) all the time by himself or with Mommy or Daddy.

-          Obsessed with watching the Toy Story movies and calls every character "Buzz".

-          Eating just about anything we put in front of him.

-          Doing great with stacking blocks and building with toys that connect. He’s great at getting all the trains hooked up.

-          Starting to use the word mine and getting the concept that he doesn’t want things taken away from him. Kind of hard with a bossy, big brother.

-          Likes to help me empty the dishwasher by handing me one item at a time. It is a bit slow to put away each plate at a time, but Marcus loves to me the helper. His favorite part is closing up the dishwasher when we are all done.

-          Does simple puzzles all by himself. The pieces are big, but he puts them in and takes them out A LOT.

-          Points out things he knows in books and on TV. Marcus loves puppies, kitty cats, balls and babies. If he sees any of these things, he will let you know it.

-          Does hand motions for songs like Wheels on the Bus and absolutely adores dancing…especially when we crank up the music and play freeze dance. He has a hilarious car seat dance that he does when Daddy plays any AC DC tune.

-          Likes to climb on the couch, and he can now get up all by himself. He’s also attempting to walk down stairs alone too, but it makes Mommy very nervous. I do not like him to do it unless I’m there to watch/catch if something happens. I am sure he has snuck downstairs on his own, but he’s still wobbly.

-          I’ve snipped a little bit of hair around his ears, but for the most part, we are still waiting on Marcus to grow some hair. I find it crazy that kids his age have a whole head of hair and get regular haircuts. Not my boy, he still has this very fine, soft baby hair.

Christmas Day 2011

Marcus had quite the surprise waiting for him on Christmas morning. He immediately found the big dinosaur and jumped right in with playing.

 Looks like someone is having fun unwrapping gifts!

 More talking dinosaurs. Marcus got lots of characters from Dinosaur Train.

 There was a break from gift opening to test our the new Hot Wheels track. Marcus loved the cars zooming around the track.

 More gift mayham. It is so cute how every open gift needs to get played with right away. Marcus insisted on being read his new books right away.

 Marcus pooped out right on the couch at noon. All that excitement is exhausting!

It was a wonderful Christmas, spent mostly in our pajamas.

"Say Cheese"

Marcus will now pose and smile for the camera when I ask. This is his cute "Cheese" look.

Mama's Little Helper

Marcus has been really into helping me empty the dishwasher. He unloads one dish at a time, so it is quite the process...but how can I resist that cuteness?!!!

I think his favorite part is when I say "Close it up" and he happily pushes the door shut.

Christmas Cookie Baking

Marcus tried to help out with our cutout cookies this year. He was totally interested in the cookie cutters and wanted to be a part of it all.

Book Worm

Marcus has been partial to this chair in Mommy and Daddy's room for reading lately.

Shopping for our Christmas Tree

We went in search of our Christmas tree and Marcus got prime viewing on Daddy's back!

Marcus was so good for the entire process...he happily waited in the backpack carrier while Daddy performed his tree cutting magic.

Tree Decorating

 When we got our tree home, Marcus was fascinated with the tree decorating. He loved checking all the orniments out and made sure all the ones he liked were right where he could reach them!

Giggly cute...testing out the camera for a little family shot.

Santa Comes to Lexington

Tonight we went to Lexington Center to greet Santa. He made a grand entrance in a firetruck.

The boys loved seeing Santa, the big Christmas tree in the Center lit up, and all the excitement. 

My Santa Baby

Just too cute!

Christmas Excitement

We order a Christmas gift for Grandma Kuder that came in the mail today. Owen immediately insisted that we wrap it, so out came the wrapping paper. It was quite the job to get one box wrapped with two overly excited boys who wanted to help every step of the way! Marcus especially enjoyed the crinkly paper.