Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! We're having a lot of fun with Josiah on his first Christmas. We didn't know what to expect from a ten month old, but he was thrilled to find a 'trike' under the tree when he woke up this morning, and has already figured out how to 'ride' it and ring the bell!! it's supposed to be for 18+ month olds! he's a smarty. we had a fun christmas eve party in new hampshire with my dad's family and today we're heading over to mom and dad's for christmas dinner and more presents. josiah is wound up with excitement over all of his new toys. :)
we hope you're having a merry christmas! love you!!

The Biggest Loser Finale

My brother Matthew came very close to winning $50,000.00 this Wednesday. Of course, he is a winner in so many ways.....but the money would have been nice. :) I just wanted to post his before and after pics for you. He lost 176 lbs!!! Only two other contestants have lost more than him in the history of the show. He was a class-act on the show, graciously acknowledging all of his co-competitors and congratulating Poppi from New Jersey when she won the prize. As you can see, he looks fabulous.

Monday Monday

the 'biggest loser' finale is this week, so be sure to watch the first part (wednesday 8 p.m. on nbc) to see if matthew wins his prize! you'll be amazed by his weightloss. :)

i know i just told you that i broke my camera in my last post, but here are some pictures from last week, prior to the tragedy. our first snow didn't amount to much, but i did manage to get a picture of that. it only snowed for a couple of hours and then melted away the same day.

this picture is a cute one of josiah, showing his usual tongue stance. for the past week, he has been spitting up and a little fussy, so we may see a tooth soon. he's nearly ten months old (on the 22nd), and not a one yet.

his latest achievements: he gabbers incessantly, mostly saying da da and ba ba, reserving ma ma for when he's crying. he's always breathing loudly and snuffling and drooling. he never learned to sit; just went straight to crawling. now he has been surfing furniture for about a month. i have never seen him sit still. he waves and claps and reaches out for all the things he wants. he loves to unplug things (if the answering machine doesn't pick up when you call, blame it on josiah), flip switches, turn knobs, splash in the dog bowl, eat dirt from our ficus (sp?) tree, and open and shut doors. he bangs on the piano, tugs on heidi's tail, and pulls books off of the bookcase. he is a very busy little boy. the only quiet time when he is around is when he is being fed; he won't tolerate being spoonfed for long, so i litter his tray with little morsels and he entertains himself with it. he makes my life very interesting. :)

logan and i haven't done any shopping yet for christmas. it's beginning to dawn on me that christmas is only two weeks away!!! wow.

Sad news...

I broke my digital camera!!! I'm hoping "Santa" delivers a new one to me this Christmas. hint hint. :)

I was carrying Josiah and the camera across pavement = disaster!!!

Yesterday we had three inches of snow, and I was so bummed I couldn't take pictures to post. Our yard is absolutely glorious! We're surrounded by snow-covered trees. I am truly feeling the spirit of Christmas now. :)

Spreading Chrismas Cheer

The new ladies group at my church brought our kids caroling to a few assisted living facilities this Tuesday. The children passed out ornaments and sang a few numbers by themselves, and we all sang traditional carols together. Josiah spent the time climbing up walkers and wheel chairs, making the residents smile. I have to say: I think Josiah may be the cutest child ever to be born on earth. I'm not biased or anything. :) We also took pictures of the four cousins in matching pajamas. What a fiasco!!! It was a miracle to get one shot where one of the babies wasn't sobbing. We finally gave them lollipops, which made them happy.

Gag gift

You may have noticed that in the last few posts, I have been very careful to capitalize properly. I was inspired to curb my typing flaws by a gag gift from my brother-in-law Barry while we were in NC. A clever man! We'll see how long I can keep this up. You may need to click on the picture to read his note that accompanied the shift key.

Thanksgiving in North Carolina

We spent a week in North Carolina with Logan's family for Thanksgiving/Christmas, from Nov. 18th to the 25th. Josiah travelled very well, which was a pleasant surprise, and we had a wonderful time with friends and family. We came home with suitcases loaded down with new toys, clothes, ham, and peanuts.

Fun with Papa Perry

While we were in North Carolina for Thanksgiving, Papa Perry introduced Josiah to the essentials of farm life. He experienced cows and puppies up close and personal for the first time, started up his first John Deere tractor, and inspected his grandpa's oil truck. An educational day for little Master Perry!