I'm totally biased, but, this guy is pretty stinking cute! I love him.

Oh Ira. He made some big strides this past month. He's really into solid foods these days and he's vocal about it. He likes to be spoon fed and is still working on feeding himself. He'll eat pretzels, toast, etc on his own, but anything mushy he's much more reluctant to eat with his hands. He won't drink water from a sippy cup. And I actually tried to give him a bottle this past month - that was a no go. He was not interested and was really angry at me for trying to put the bottle nipple in his mouth.

Ira is scooting around all over the place. He can pull himself along at a good clip. He rocks on his hands and knees lots and is beginning to pull himself up (on his knees) on the toy baskets. Ira can't get from sitting up to his tummy, so if the sissies want him to stay out of something, they sit him up on his bottom. I finally figured out why he looks so funny sitting up. Ira sits up with his legs straight out in front of him, not v shaped. His hamstrings must be incredibly flexible because he can dive and lunge with power from sitting.

Ira is not sleeping through the night. We really need to double down on that. He doesn't nurse very much during the day because he's way too distracted. Nighttime is another story!

I think Ira may be left handed, but it's still too early to tell. He's a joy and I love him.

It was a real joy to have Jim and Catherine here with us to share some of the holidays. Before they left, we gave them their Christmas gift. It was really sweet to watch my family gathered around the gift with grandparents. A moment I for sure wanted to capture.

My baby girl is FIVE years old! It's so hard to believe. She's always gonna be my little girl I think. For her birthday, Maeve was convinced we'd have snow so she wanted to go sledding, skiing and ice skating and then drink hot chocolate. And while it snowed the morning of her birthday (magical btw), it wasn't enough to sled or ski. Conor took Maeve ice skating just the two of them in the afternoon. Maeve was thrilled with every part of her birthday. We gave her a mermaid palace toy she has been pining for. She saw it in a catalogue and has spent hours looking at the picture. Nana and Papa JJ gave her some cute outfits and Maeve wears the sweater around the clock, to bed, the whole deal. I need to wash it. Maeve wanted a chocolate cake with pink icing. Done and done girlfriend.

The day this girl was born, the world became a better place. She's so delightful. And I'm so honored to be her mom!

We had a long and involved list of activities to do with Nana and Papa JJ. But, once the adults started getting sick one by one, we had to prioritize. Instead of going into the forest to cut down a tree, we went to a tree farm. The morning we went tree hunting, an ideal amount of snow fell at the right elevation and so looking for a tree was extra beautiful. I mean, check it out! This year, I wanted a fuller tree because those are harder to come by in the wild. And I'd say we found her! Getting the tree home and lit and decorated all went really well. Maeve was a little confused as to why she didn't have some of the same ornaments as her sisters (she had yet to be born those years). Surprisingly, the babies have been very kind to the tree. I'm impressed and relieved to not have to police the tree.