Here is our baby walking.  The video is sideways (and I am refusing to buy the Apple upgrade that would let me edit it), but you get the point!  He is having a good time walking around the house, chasing the dogs, and going up and down stairs.

Holden is 11 months old!

Likes:

• Crackers
• Yogurt
• Remote controls
• Walking
• Dogs
• Cats (which are also called dogs)
• Miss Mandy, his favorite "teacher" at school
• Biting
• Taking everything out of drawers that he can open, off of counters and tables that he can reach, and pulling on electrical cords
• Throwing things into or out of the bathtub
• Peek a Boo

Dislikes:

• Sitting still
• Sleeping all night
• Being told "no"
• Diaper changing

The Best and The Worst

 The best part of the day: 

Mariel FINALLY lost her first tooth.  We are all looking forward to the tooth fairy visiting tonight. Patrick and I were quite shocked when she came out of the bathroom after dinner announcing "I pulled out my tooth!" Since absolutely looses control and freaks out at the thought of a splinter or tweezers or any minor medical intervention, this was very brave of her. She said that her friends at school told her what to do.  

The worst part of the day: 

Noella and I saw this morning that Hudson's ear was puffy. By the time I took Mariel to school it was swollen to the size of a water balloon, with her entire ear filled with fluid.  I had visions of coming home to a house covered with whatever comes out if a dog's ear explodes, and so cancelled my first class to take Hudson to the vet.  She had an aural hematoma, and with the severity of it the only real option was surgery (you can google it if you want some very gross pictures).  Doesn't everyone love an emergency dog ear surgery?  No?  How about 30 days of an Elizabethan collar?  I don't think Hudson is going to be happy about this.  I am not!

Happy Easter

(and 6th birthday, 10 month celebration, and Spring Break...)

A brief catch up:

We went on spring break to the Florida Keys in March.  It also happened to be Mariel's 6th birthday and Holden's 10 month milestone on March 10th. This has set a rather dangerous precedent, as Mariel has emphatically been telling everyone that we "went to the sea" for her birthday.  I wonder what she will expect next year!  We were blessed to be joined by both sets of grandparents and Aunt Carla.  Having extra family on vacation meant lots of fun, no cooking or dishes for me to wash, and a few meals of free babysitting when Patrick and I could sneak out for a dinner on our own.  Not bad!  

My biggest surprise- Holden actually seemed to know what to do with the sand.  He played with sand toys and did not really even consider scooping it into his mouth.  What a baby genius.

 Mariel, queen of the ocean.  (and fish, and slime, and sand, and shells...)

 Noella loved exploring, but most of all spending time with her "flamily."

 Holden loved the water- and his sisters loved helping him explore (Grandma is hiding back there, too)

If only every night ended like this...

We celebrated Holden's first Easter today, although he did not get to go to church with the girls and me and also did not seem to notice his Easter gifts.  Maybe he was disappointed that the Easter bunny did not bring him any of the fabulous corn-free candy that the girls got?

 The kids did all have coordinating outfits (at one point early today) but could not sit still for the 1/50th of a second that my camera needs to take a focused picture.

We had the 2012 Easter Egg hunt this year with Freddie and Aidan.  Lucky for the kids, Patrick and I spent yesterday afternoon doing yard work so they did not have to dig through weeds to find their Easter eggs!

 Let the hunt begin!

 Hooray for candy!

 I even caught the two sisters sharing- without prompting, threatening, or a bribe!

 And here is a shot of little Miss Attitude, who has spent that past two weeks sticking her tongue out at everyone she sees.  Sigh.

Keeping busy!

Holden turned 9 months old last week, and celebrated by immediately getting pink eye.  He was far less concerned about having his eyes glued shut with pus than he is about getting eye drops, but at least he only has a few more days of drops left.  He weighed in at 21 lbs and 3 ounces, and was 28 inches tall (or so... he was not too cooperative with having his measurements taken this time).  It has taken me a few tries to get a good 9 month old picture.  To illustrate, here are some of our candid shots.
First, one attempt at a picture with puffalump (I finally gave up):

He is also very interested in trying to grab the camera:

I did snap a few pictures of him in his diaper:

Including one as he seems to consider climbing out the window.  He is certainly a lot more daring than the girls were... and after Noella, that is saying a lot.

He also showed off his two (still only two!) teeth, although it is a little blurry:

And here is what most of our pictures look like with a baby who literally won't hold still for a second most of the time:

And finally, we got this one!  Hooray! The girls were obviously right when they nicknamed him Cutie Pie.

The girls are a little bit more cooperative:

Mariel (aka Pink Riding Hood) in her new cape, thanks to Grandma:

And finally, if a picture is worth a thousand words, here is the full explanation of why I have not been on my blog in a month.