Patrick was off of work today, and it was Joe’s last school day off for the holidays. The three of us went to The Playroom to try out some fun toys. Yay, family time!

Joe is cruising from one item of furniture to another with ease:

And he can now use his push toy to cross the room. He parks it next to his “office,” then cruises over to get some work done. So cute!

We had a nice, relaxing Christmas in North Carolina. It wasn’t a white Christmas, but on the morning of the 26th there was snow everywhere!

We ate way too much, laughed a lot, and watched Joe get reacquainted with his cousins. Here they are attacking poor Papa:

So now New Year’s is just a few days away. We will probably spend it as we have spent the past two: sipping champagne, making predictions for the coming year, and checking in on our sweet boy!

Joe is getting some new skills for Christmas!

First, this morning I caught him cruising from the coffee table to the couch. That means he can now cover half the living room on foot.

Then, after parking him in his crib while I got some things done, I came back to find this:

He still isn’t sure how to get down from there, but he’s so proud to have gotten up!

Go, Joe!

Our friends Matthew and Alecia are stationed in Alabama with their 1-year-old (!!!) son, Aidan. The three of them (along with Noah the Wonder-Dog) are headed up north for Christmas and stopped here for dinner on their way through.

This is why we like living right off of I-95!

For dinner, I made a recipe from my friend Vittoria’s food blog, which is chock-full of delicious things to make. The spaghetti pie was a big hit. (Thanks, Vittoria!)

Matthew, Alecia, Aidan and Noah are all back on the road now. Here’s hoping we’ll see more of them in 2011!

We didn’t make it to see Santa last year, so I was determined to make it happen this year. Their first meeting, in 2008, was so memorable!

And again, Joe couldn’t tear his eyes away from St. Nick to smile for the camera. Even as we were paying and making our way out of there, he kept bending and twisting to get a look at the old guy. Sweetness!

Mr. Man is on a roll!

Last night, while playing at his Leapfrog table, he suddenly noticed the coffee table right next to it. He moved over to it, and (with a shiny toy to lure him) cruised around it.

He made a total of three slow, deliberate laps around the table (those corners are tough!) before finally wearing out.

After the photo Joe’s teacher sent, I was dying to see him in action. Today, his physical therapist at Children’s Hospital put him in a similar gait trainer, and off he went:

Go ahead, handsome boy!

2008

2009

2010

Joe is getting over a little cold, which seems to happen every other week or so now that he’s in school.

Silver lining: He fell asleep in my arms the other night, a rare treat that only happens when he’s feeling icky.

Patrick brought me my iPhone and I put on some Christmas music, just rocking and looking at this face:

Sleep in heavenly peace …