It's as easy as 1...2...3!!!

So, Sydney took a few unassisted steps on her own on November 22nd. She made forward moving progress after standing...this was different from those times I like to refer to it as falling gracefully. Some times it is a lunge, or a stumble, or something of that nature. But on this particular occasion she lifted up her tiny little legs and pushed one in front of the other. This exceeded the 'one step and drop' method that she had perfected, and on this day she actually strung together three steps. We hope the cats heed this development...and if not they like to experience even more clumps of hair ripped away from their tails and various body parts! We wish her continued growth in her walking endeavors!!!

As this week marked Sydney's first Thanksgiving, she found it her duty to share things that she has been grateful for in her first year of life. She decided to provide a top ten countdown of those things she is appreciative of. While friends and family are the obvious top items, she wanted to share her 'other' things.

#10 My orange ring toy...at times I could not live without it, just as you could not survive without your spleen...at least I don't think that is a vital organ

#9 That I can get away with crying like a baby because...well, I'm a baby

#8 The great ladies at daycare that watch my back...much love to ya's

#7 I can be called a boy and not get to upset about it, especially when some can't obviously tell that pink and purple are girls' colors (this really says more about them than me...honestly people, get a clue)

#6 Let's face it...turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, and enough food to make the waist line stretch the limits of your diaper lining

#5 Pets. Life would by specifically 39.9% less interesting without cats to chase and birds to laugh at. While I know I may torment them from time to time, I only do it out of genuine love and affection

#4 My peeps (this is a shout to all of my baby friends....holla!)

#3 At this age I can pull of fat thighs and knees, and cankles (no visible sepration between the leg and foot) are the 'in' thing

#2 Being born...you know that little thing that makes it possible to have the other 9 things on my list

#1 That I can poop in my pants and no one judges me!

Well, the end of Thanksgiving can only mean one thing...the start of the Christmas season!!! Sydney was excited to help decorate the tree. Yes, the decorations are out and we're in full holiday mode. (I'm pictured above with my Uncle Steve...who I recently called 'momma' at Thanksgiving!). Below, I'm pictured with my biological mom while critiquing her tree decorating.

Tip #19: Encourage Art
It is very important to support your child’s creativity, especially when they express it through art. Make sure to provide the tools they need to facilitate this growth…otherwise, you may find their canvas will be your wall, couch, or possibly even your pet.

Sleepless in Bellingham???

Actually, Sydney has had a couple of really good nights of sleep. In fact, Tuesday night and Wednesday marked two full nights of sleep in a row. Not partial nights, but full nights that actually required her parents to wake her up the next morning! As great as it was to have a full night's sleep, it was also important to practice getting her up, as the coming years will be tested with "I don't want to go to school," and "just five more minutes"....all of the regular dialogue expressed by weary kids actually not wanting to get up :)

Aside from a couple of very restful nights (followed by one...let's just say not restful night), Sydney got to experience a new adventure this week. On Saturday, Sydney and her parents got to experiece the EMP...or for you folk not from around the Pacific Northwest, the Experience Music Project in Seattle. Sydney enjoyed the trip, and got to learn what real singing was about. She probably realizes now why she instinctively cringed when her parents would try to sing...and she was accurate to do so! There will be no members of the Fuller household trying out for American Idol...but that is ok, we can't be great at EVERYTHING!!!...haha!

November marked Sydney's 11 months of life outside the womb. This means one thing, that her big 1 year is fast approaching. In thinking of that, I thought it would be fun to do a 'then' and 'now' look at Sydney's life. In respect to that, I have shared a picture from her actual day of birth to a couple of pictures taken shortly after her 11 month birthday. To make this comparison as scientific and to scale as possible, we are providing pictures of Sydney wearing the same stocking hat that she wore on the day of her birth. I'm not sure that I see much of a difference, but I'll let you be the judge of that :)

Unfortunately, there is no tip

of the week this week. If you are a new parent and rely on the wisdom and guidance we provide, we apologize for any inconvenience. Actually, we are just making most of it up anyhow. We wish you the best of luck in parenting this week, and hope that the absence of our education (if you can call it that) does not lead you astray. Some random words of wisdom until next week (although not 'baby' related)...don't eat farmed fish, don't drink foldgers, and don't eat yellow snow. We hope this helps your earthly experience in some way until we resume our tips next week.

And just for the record...Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Age...is it just a number?

It's amazing to think that Sydney is getting older and older. As Sydney ages it can only mean one thing even more monumental....that her Mom is getting older! That's right, Karen will be celebrating a birthday on the 13th. For the sake of confidentiality, but really just for my own safety, I will not reveal her age...or even hint at her age. I wouldn't dare to dream of honing in on the decade she currently calls home (more than two but less than four), or identifying the year she was born (rhymes with seventy-seven...ok, I guess it's not great rhyming when it's identical, but hey, maybe I'm just terrible at rhyming...LOL!). So there, at least I gave no hints and have ensured my safety!

But with this advancing in age, it can only mean one thing...that Sydney has benefited from the increased wisdom that her mother has achieved over the years. It's is apparent that Karen's years have led her to develop a personality that exemplifies the essence of caring, nurturing, and most certainly maturity (as demonstrated in next picture).

Sydney asked me to include the following message to her momma on her birthday. "Momma...I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I hope you have fun, and I'm glad I can celebrate your birthday this year on the outside world. I'll try to give you a nice big kiss later, even if it come with a quart of drool. And thank you for all of the hugs, kisses, and diaper changes this year. I hope you enjoy my nice kind words for your birthday...especially when you remember my birthday next month!!!

Sydney is also gearing up for the holidays. She's been hearing rumors about a big guy in a red suit that brings a load of booty to each home. As she's been somewhat skeptical about the situation, she's googled this individual to detemine more vital information. She is still perplexed by the unique lifestyle and career choice of Chris. In preparation for Christmas Eve, she antcipates setting snares and other booby traps to try and temporarily detain the subject and extract some answers. We wish Sydney the best in this particular endeavor :)

(We wanted to share a couple more pictures that were taken by Rebecca Brethauer...the last two :)

Tip #18: Affection
Be sure to show physical affection to your child. Hugs and kisses are important to supporting a child’s healthy development. As he or she gets older, realize that your child may want to replace this physical affection with (if you are lucky) text, emails, and tweets. If this happens and your child becomes distant, it is even more important to maintain physical affection for your children…especially when their friends may be present and it forces them to be disgusted. I would offer other advice if it were an option, but that becomes an expected role of parents.

Happy Birthday Karen!!!

Squirt and I love you!!!

A Picture is Worth...

...if taken right, can definitey be worth a thousand words. In this particular case, it may be closer to a million. We recently got our pictures back from Rebecca. So, as amazingly entertaining and funny as these posts typically are (modesty once again present), I wanted to make sure this post highlighted a few of the recent pictures, which are pretty incredible, at least in our humble opinion. Our session with Rebecca was taken out at our friend Colleen and adopted Mom Judy's property, and it was the perfect setting for taking Sydney's 10 month pictures.

While we want to share some of these amazing pictures, it is important to wet the appetite. We will be showing more in the coming posts.

While Rebecca's pictures are something that we will treasure forever, I thought it was important to also share our pictures from Halloween Day...documentation of Sydney's first ever trick or treating experience. We experienced this endeavor with David, Lili, and Maggie (Sydney's BFF). While the babies were absorbed with task of looking adorable, the dads were tasked with peddling the kids for as many sugary treats as could be solicited. The pictures below show the shameless process that occurred.

In other news, Sydney got her first dose of the swine flu vaccination. She took it like a champ, and after it was all completed started screaming "is that all you got!" She's so brave :)

Tip #17: Sleep Deprivation
Prior to the birth of your child, set up a training regiment that steadily reduces the amount of sleep you attain each night. Over a 2 month period, you will likely adjust to operating on little or no sleep, and will know what to expect in the coming months and years.