Thanksgiving was quiet as well for the same reason, but we did celebrate with some fellow expats and had a fun time.
Leading up to Christmas, Hayden and his classmates performed in a little show and we managed to get our Christmas decorations up, just before leaving for our trip, and despite a little helper who kept trying to take them down... :)
First Stop: Prague
Second Stop: Vienna
Third Stop: Budapest
Then during New Year's week, we went to Morzine, France to spend the week skiing. Hayden and I took lessons every day. The weather was sunny for the first half, but rainy at the end. We didn't get much fresh snow, but we still had a nice time. Somehow, we managed to squeeze three families - 13 people - into a small chalet.
We are SO thankful for 2013.
Hayden continues to be a really happy, energetic and sweet little boy. He loves building and putting together lego sets (for 12 year olds) and he is showing an interest in numbers and math. He is also a great little artist, often drawing without any reference. He is starting to like reading more and more and often asks us to read from his bible book.
He is thoughtful and is starting to become more aware of his surroundings - one time he noticed me kneeling at our office desk and offered me a little kiddie chair to sit on. He is determined to be good at whatever he does, but also gets frustrated when he doesn't meet his own standards. On the flip side, he can laugh at his mistakes, saying "oh no, I forgot!" and is quick to say "sorry, Mom" if he does something wrong. He is the sweetest big brother, even now that Beckham has started to take play with his toys or flails his little body on top of Hayden (read below). We are so thankful for his sweet and gentle spirit.
Beckham is our happy little daredevil. Diving off couches, trying to climb and jump off anything and everything. Standing up then throwing his little body down, just for the thrill of the fall. Last weekend, he somehow climbed up the side of his pack and play and flipped out of it. He is always happy and loves to laugh, especially with his big brother. He is learning new things everyday. He is the first to wave and say hi when someone comes into the room and starts to say bye when he notices someone getting ready to leave, watching out the window until he can no longer see them.
He has about 10-15 words and signs - duck (his first word), apple (his first two syllable word), star (really 'tar' and he also knows the shape) and roars every time he sees a lion. The other day, he said "noou" and then pointed to his nose and grabbed my face with his two hands and touched noses with me. I hadn't even realized he had learned the word. Last week, he finally decided to do more walking than crawling and was walking all around the chalet. He was just too fast at crawling, even with one leg in front and one leg behind to make the switch until now. :) He is an extremely determined little boy and knows exactly what he wants or doesn't want (like food, recently). He is our little night owl (like me) to Hayden's short bedtime routine (like Marty), often babbling and singing for 1-2 hours before finally giving in to sleep.
We are so in love with both of our boys and are fully enjoying watching them learn, grow and develop their own unique personalities.
Work has kept us busier that we'd like. Too much travel and too many nights getting back on the computer. Hopefully, 2014 will be a little more manageable so we can have a more balanced routine
We are thankful to have gotten to know some new friends better this year - it's been so nice to take this expat journey with others. We are sure 2014 will have a lot of new things in store for us and we pray for wisdom and God's guidance to help us make the right choices for our family. Happy New Year!
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