Austin at 9 months old

My baby is 9 months old. It is an exciting time of development for him. Right around Thanksgiving, he was undergoing some major changes. He now has four teeth on the top and four on the bottom, he is crawling like a wild man and can easily pull up onto his knees. I have even caught him pulled up onto his feet a few times. Crazy. He has a little bruise under his eye right now after taking a tumble... and so it begins:) We go to the doctor this Friday, so I'll have all his new stats then. He is not yet sleeping through the night (still getting up once or twice). I think this is the week I'll begin sleep training him. It's time and it's my own weakness that is keeping him from learning how to get through a whole night without waking. Parker was the same way. He is babbling a lot. He has directed the syllable mama and dada at Pete and I, which could have been coincidental, but we think he knows what he's saying. He also like saying bah-bah. I am going to start teaching him a few signs now that he is becoming more opinionated and aware. He loves Parker and is constantly laughing at him. He loves to grab for our food, but is still learning how to keep solids (other than baby food) in his mouth. He loves the Christmas lights and is mesmerized by crowds. He is the kind of baby that makes other moms want to have more kids. He is always happy and content. Hope he keeps that up. We love him so much.
Here's two cute videos of him.

Kids Sing

Two shows down, one more to go. Phew. Starting of children's chorus, Kids Sing, has been an exciting venture for my sister in-law Denise and I. We've learned a lot and overall, I would say that for our first season we have been very successful. Our K-3 group has 30 kids, and our preschool group has about 10. The K-3 group performed a seven song show, with narration and props, at three different venues. Our first show was at the Old Poway Park's Christmas in the Park event. There were HUNDREDS of people there watching us. In hindsight, we should have started with a little smaller crowd, but the kids handled the large audience very well. In one of the songs, there's a kickline, and the crowd went wild! Note to self: Always include a kickline in the show. And their costumes looked fantastic!

Our next performance was one we put on ourself, and was held at an elementary school auditorium. It was nice and we had about 200 friends and family members in the audience. Our stage was decorated with two Christmas trees (Denise's and mine), balloons, and garland. We both literally picked up the Christmas tree from our living room and shoved it in our car. We felt very Grinch-like. 

Our final performance will be this Wednesday at a nursing home. I think it's a good way to close. Low pressure and it will bring a lot of joy to the folks there. And I think it's a wonderful thing for these children to learn to serve others. 

Our goal was to enrich lives through musical performance. I think we did that. The kids enjoy coming to rehearsal, they made some new friends, and improved on their performing skills. It's been exciting to see the kids that were once so shy, really come out of their shell and volunteer to sing solos by the final week. It's been A LOT of work, but I hope that the work we put it now, is building up something great that will be serving children and their families in the community for years to come. I know my chorus experience as a child was incredibly transformative in my life. But I'm glad that after next Wednesday, we'll get a little break. 

I am so thankful to be doing this with Denise. She's so talented, calm, and patient with me. Without her,  my group would consist of three children (she did most of the recruiting), I would have had numerous panic attacks (can't count the number of times she said, "It's fine. That's not a big deal."), and we wouldn't have the awesome rehearsal space that we do. The kids are lucky to have her and so am I. 

My little singer

It warms my heart to see how much Parker loves to sing. From an early age, he would always try to hum or sing along with us. More importantly, I hope he has a passion for piano, because neither Pete or I play, and we really need an accompanist:) But in all seriousness, he sings all day long. Sometimes he sings songs he knows, sometimes he changes the words to familiar tunes, or just makes up his own melody. It's darling. Here's some recent singing footage: 

He may love to sing, but he still loves his sports! He's a multi-tasker!

Sea World

Our Sea World passes are almost expired, so I wanted to be sure to get in a few final visits before Christmas Eve. It was a gorgeous day and we loved being out and about. Parker's last experience with the 3d theater was not good, as the Pirate movie was a little scary, but I convinced him the new Polar Express film wouldn't be scary. He was tentative but he calmed as soon as it started. What a fun movie that is. He was so into it and he loved how it snowed in the theater. So fun!

 They have a little snow area for the kids. Oh how we miss Michigan snow... not!

Rah rah rah!

This morning, some cheerleaders came on tv during a news segment. Parker saw them and asked, "Why they not wearing any clothes?" Perceptive from such a young age.

Lieber Family photo!

Here's my parents Christmas card photo. With our expanding family, it's a bit trickier to get everyone looking and looking good, but I think this one came out great! My parents don't look old enough to have two grandkids, in my opinion! Love my family.

Christmas on the Prado

During college, I remember going to a magical event in December at Balboa Park called Christmas on the Prado. There are lights, music, food, museums are open... it was so fun. But since we've lived out of state for the last 5 years, it's been a while. Well apparently, EVERYONE and their mother decided to go this year. I ventured out with the boys (Pete was at work), and it took a while to get to the event and find parking. Once we were there, I quickly found it difficult to manuveur with a double stroller. Plus you couldn't take strollers in the museums, so I was holding Austin while literally chasing Parker. However, he LOVED the dinosaurs at the Natural History museum. We'll have to go back. Evenstill, we had a pretty good time. We even met up with my friends Pernel and shelly. Pernel took some better pictures, so hopefully I wiill get those soon. These were the best I got. 

 Dinosaur behind us. Parker had never experienced what a lifesize dino looks like!

 Austin just rolls with it. Thanks Aussie. What a champ!