January 2012... how time flies!

Well, I guess I've just been so busy in the month of December that I have a lot to catch up on.

On December 3rd it was Melania's birthday so we went to Modesto to celebrate with her. We went out to dinner at Johnny Carinos with Melania, Dan, Cindy, and Tim. Kaylie loved sitting in her high chair at the restaurant. We had a great weekend with family!

Kaylie turned 9 months old on December 15th! She is getting so big and so wiggly! This was the best picture we could get because she wouldn't hold still and every time I put a headband on her, she would pull it off. She is just a bundle of joy! I wanted to write down a few things that Kaylie has been doing for the past couple months that I don't think I've written down yet. 

Whenever someone raises their eyebrows at Kaylie she tries to copy them, but blinks instead.

If you ask Kaylie to give you kisses and you stick your cheek out, she will stick her mouth wide open on your cheek and make an "awww" noise. We are pretty sure she makes that noise because we always do it when she kisses us. SO CUTE!

If you tell Kaylie to clap her hands or say "yay" she will clap her hands for you.

She has learned how to turn pages the right way in a book and she loves looking at books.

On the 17th we went to a ward primary party where Santa came to visit. We were very surprised when Kaylie sat on Santa's lap for the first time and didn't even cry. That was neat! She even sat in the circle with all the kids while they all took turns talking to Santa. What a fun morning! 

On the evening of the 20th, Grandpa and Grandma Hall came home from their mission! We all met up at their house to greet them. The Cobabes and Coulams came too and we all stayed up talking until about 11pm. We are glad that they are home!

On the 21st we opened presents with Jessica's family because we were going to leave the next day to spend Christmas with Marcus's family. It was fun watching Kaylie try to open her first present. She loved the wrapping paper! She got a little Dora tent that she could climb into, but she was very hesitant until we threw some toys inside. We all got some clothes from Grandpa and Grandma Harrison.

We went to Modesto from the 22nd - 28th of December. Everyone was there this year except for Doug so of course we took some pictures! We had a great time with everyone. We went to Oakland one night to see the lights at the temple and also to eat Pizza at the famous Porky's Pizza that Dan used to work at in his youth. We had a fun Christmas Eve as we shared talents, exchanged gifts, and danced it off to the dance game on the Wii. Christmas day we had fun opening presents, attending church and spending quality time at home together.  It was an exciting time. We love getting together with family. I'm sure Kaylie didn't know the difference but it was fun sharing her first Christmas with her. We were sad to leave because we know that it might be a while before we are all together again. We spent some time in Modesto with Grandpa and Grandma Harrison as well. Jessica's family came also and we got to spend some quality time together.

Another exciting thing that is happening... Kaylie is learning to walk! Yes, she has taken quite a few steps now. It started the week of Christmas where she has just learned to balance a little bit better and now when we get her going, she can take 8-10 steps pretty well. We are excited, but she seems to be really cautious. She is still climbing and standing on everything, so pretty soon we won't be surprised if she just walks everywhere.

Scott and Jenn Thompson came to visit a few days after Christmas! They brought their 3 boys with them and Kaylie loved playing with them. They were so friendly and sweet with her! It was so fun having them around. Now that they have moved to L.A. we hope to see them more often.

We celebrated New Year's Eve at the Cobabes home. The Coulams, Thompsons, Harrisons, Jankowskis and Halls were all there to celebrate together. We had a lot of delicious finger foods, played games, and watched movies. A group of us stayed up real late playing the card game, Runs and Bunches, which has become quite the tradition when we all get together. We really had a great time and we are excited for this new year!