Happy Holidays!

Dec. 2008 and we’re getting ready for Solvi’s first and Oliver’s fourth Christmas. True to the spirit of the time, we’re actually having a white Christmas, much Oliver’s delight. This is really the first year that Olie has really gotten into spirit of things. He shouts with excitement every time we see a Christmas tree, or lights, or Santa. His enthusiasm is infectious and makes the holiday that much more fun for Chad and I as well. (Except that we are reeeaallly sick of listening to his dinosaur Christmas Carols CD.) Oliver composed his first letter to Santa this year which included many blue things as well as many Bob the Builder characters. He was also generous enough to include requests for Solvi and even a “squeaky rooster” for Bella.

Solvi is of course oblivious to Christmas but may have given her mother the best holiday gift of all by uttering “mamamamama” for the first time 2 days ago. Sure it’s just vocalizing, the expansion of her “bababababa/dadadadada” repertoire, but I’ll take it just the same. Along with her charming consonant-plus-A babbles, Solvi has added another less attractive sound. It’s hard to describe really, except to say that she sounds possessed. If we didn’t know that she was a total angel, we might worry that her head would start spinning around. It’s quite humorous really.

Though she does push her butt back over her legs more and more now, Solvi is not crawling yet. This hardly inhibits her from getting where she wants though. In fact so adept is she at navigating the horizontal plane that we call her the “Rolling Ninja”. Just when we think she’s stuck for sure, a quick kung fu move, and she on her way again. The other day while I was engrossed in a down to the wire Ebay bidding battle for Olie’s Christmas present, Solvi managed to roll out of the living room, down the hall, around the corner and past the kitchen, before I found her.

On the culinary front, Solvi is now enjoying 3 solid meals a day. With each bite she opens her mouth wide like a baby bird (revealing her second bottom, front tooth which joined the first only one week later). When she’s done she locks her lips tight as a clam. So far so good, except that she appears to be intolerant to bananas and avocados (apparently they have a similar protein), which cause her to break out in a red rash. Next month: finger foods.