Christmas in Kansas

Wait a minute, weren't we just in Kansas for Thanksgiving? Why yes we were! This year we made the effort to go back for both holidays. Of course, this was on a year when they were less than a month apart. Not great planning on our part. We started in KC this time. Hear we are toasting to the holidays and new family with a nice wine that Anne bought in Italy, like 8 years ago. She's been talking about drinking it for years, glad we finally got around to it!

Someone was a little excited.

Bob and I then got a night out from the babe and spent it on the Plaza. It was great to see the lights but it was 0 degrees F out and the windchill was insane. Of course, it was the Plaza and Christmas so the fountains were still running. Ridiculous. 

 Finally it was Christmas! We opened gifts at the Podany's on Christmas Eve. Cedric enjoyed trying to open the presents at first, then it became my job to open and pass him toys. 

He had a great time sitting on Bo Pa's lap, checking out his new stuff. 

Christmas morning we drove to Kingman to be with the Mason's. 

Cedric had a nice time checking out his great-grandma's gifts. He loved her new shoes. 

I think coming back to Kansas so quickly was good for Cedric. He was much more comfortable everywhere we went. He slept and ate better and just seemed happier overall. 

And it wouldn't be Christmas without a selfie!

The weather was snowy in KC but warm in Wichita. Cedric had fun playing in the melting snow. 

 We also took Cedric to PF Chang's and he had a great time trying to use the chop sticks. Not much else to say, it was just really cute.

It was nice to spend time with my family, here is Cedric with my mom and brother "Uncle Clif".

We were in KS for two weeks and did get to see lots of friends. Sadly, I only took photos of this get together. Probably because it was the only one with multiple kids. Cedric was moderately interested in Lindsay and Travis' son Bennett. He wasn't jealous at all while I held him and generally kept his distance.

Here is Cedric with Ellie, BJ and Shannel's daughter. They ignored each other most of the time as well but did bond over arrowroot cookies and puzzles. 

Doesn't Cedric look so old here? He really is becoming a big kid. 

We flew out on New Year's Day and so got to take a quick photo of our "baby new year". Thanks to our families for being so wonderful to us over the holidays. We were very spoiled and thank you all for everything!

Thanksgiving in Kansas

For Thanksgiving we went back to Kansas. Cedric and I flew alone and it went fairly well! Each flight was a little easier than the first, mostly because I quickly learned the importance of having an extra empty seat next to me. 

We spent the first week in Wichita and spent Thanksgiving lunch in Kingman with the Mason clan. The weather was great and I convinced everyone to take a group photo. Thanks to Bill for taking the shot! Next time we'll bring a tripod. 

Next we went to Leawood with the Podany's. Over the weekend we were able to celebrate Anne's engagement to Chris. We are all very happy for them and looking forward to the wedding. Cedric will be a ring bear (#HIMYM) so be prepared for some super cuteness this summer. 

We had great weather for late November so we all hung around outside after the engagement photo shoot (I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself). 

We spent our time cheering on the Chiefs and eating BBQ. Pretty normal stuff. 

Cedric had a nice time seeing both his great-grandma's over the holiday. He was a little apprehensive of the wheel chair but when we gave him his own vehicle he warmed up. 

How cute is this photo? You can't stage this stuff. 

15 months

Since Cedric will have a 15 month appointment I figured I should post about his development. The appointment isn't until after our Thanksgiving trip to Kansas, so he'll be almost 16 months by then. Oh well. This is kinda long, so you may just want to hit the videos and call it good, unless your a grandparent. 

Cedric surprises us every day with what he understands and can do. He learned to sign "more" and "all done" and is using the signs daily. He also understands the idea of "Hi and Goodbye", waving at people as they come and go. He starts waving whenever someone puts their shoes on or stands near the door. All done and waving are basically the same, so sometimes it gets confusing. 

                                       

You can give him some basic commands, like asking him to put a toy in a bin and he can do it without being shown. When you ask him to do something more often than not he seems to understand and try to follow direction, which is nice. He can point to his head, belly, ear, toes and sometimes nose. His favorite word to say is still Mama, with Dada in a close second. He can also say (or tries to say) head, hat, hi, cheese, blueberry, and more. He can understand so many more words and it is cute to watch him practice saying something new. Pronunciation of a new word doesn't always stick from one day to the next but his understanding does. He is very smart (obviously) and seems very aware of his surroundings. We are going to have to start spelling words (like cheese) so he doesn't get excited and run to the fridge.  

Cedric finally realized he can dance. I think he does a pretty good job of it. I first noticed it last week, he was swinging his arms a la "fat guy in a little coat" style. He did it two more times in the car and really busted a move on the drive home Saturday night after dinner. So Sunday we spent a good part of the afternoon trying to dance party. Sadly, Cedric's taste in music is not as sophisticated as I'd like but that is probably one reason why he has waited so long to dance. Kinda hard to bust a move to Bon Iver. 

Cedric loves going to parks. He can go down a slide alone (he prefers head first) and always has to hit the swings. The bigger the push, the better! He likes to play in the sand or wood chips, though he is concerned about brushing his hands off if they get too dirty. I'm sad that winter is practically here, he is going to miss all the park time he's had this fall. 

We have been going to more play dates lately and Cedric is enjoying seeing other children. He likes to try and touch them. He doesn't like to share but he also doesn't take toys out of other children's hands. He just figures that once he has the toy that it belongs to him. We'll work on it. 

Cedric loves books and right now the favorite is "I Love Beasts" by Emma Dodd, one of the books from the Trundles. He also loves any book with flaps. We also have started watching a little TV (don't shoot me) and he likes Curious George. He also has a Curious George book that he makes me read 4 times a day. Bob thinks that I like Curious George, that Cedric is just going a long with it and I'm "not to get carried away" with it. Did you know there is a Curious George store in Cambridge? :) Mostly he loves anything with wheels. Trucks are number 1 to the point where we can't walk by the toy section of a store without him trying to take trucks off the shelves and push their box around. 

I know I'm missing a lot, he changes daily and is growing fast. We are off to Kansas on Wednesday for Thanksgiving and I can't wait for everyone to see how he has grown!

Apple Picking

In October Bob's parents came for a visit and the number one activity on our list was apple picking. Bob and I have been talking about going to a pick your own farm all summer but didn't know where to go, when to go, and if Cedric would stay awake and happy. Now that Cedric is on one nap it is easier to venture out and do the unknown. 

We decided to go to one of the closer farms, the Belkin Lookout Farm in Natick. We parked in their lot and took a little train out to the apple trees. 

It was the second to last weekend of the season, so they were only picking two kinds of apples and Asian pears. We did still find some great quality (and ripe) fruit on the trees, so we didn't mind. First we picked the Asian pears. 

Cedric seemed to enjoy picking the fruit and walking around. He didn't get to try any while we were walking around (still no molars) he just enjoyed the freedom and exploration of the fields. 

It was pretty quiet at the farm, which was nice for Cedric. It gave him a chance to explore. His favorite part of this walkway was the irrigation system. Silly boy. 

The farm at a little petting zoo and children's play area. Cedric liked the look of the pigs but was scared of everything else. You can see him below trying to melt into daddy's legs. 

We took the train again and finally started picking some apples. The Jonagold's were perfect!

Sadly, we came too late for the pumpkin patch. They had some pumpkins left to purchase but the fields had already been plowed. We each picked a pumpkin, which I carved on Halloween. 

Before heading home we stopped by the park we took our family photos at in September. 

We had a nice visit with the Podany's, going to the aquarium and out to dinners. Boston in the fall is very special and I hope to get out and enjoy it more next year. The leaves are almost completely fallen now and the temperature is going to be in the 40's next week. Hopefully we will have a milder winter then last year!

Family Photos

In mid-Septemper we went to the Gardens at Elm Bank for some family photos. It was the first professional photos we've had taken and I think they turned out cute. We went early in the morning and Cedric wasn't too thrilled to be there but all in all I'm glad we were able to commemorate Cedric turning one and our family. 

Hope you enjoyed the photos, I'm sure they'll pop up again in Christmas card form :).