Early Christmas Present!

Last weekend we all got an early Christmas present in the form of a visit from Anne and Tim, our dear friends who live in St. Louis. We had a great time just hanging out, getting in the Christmas spirit, and even going out for a grown-up dinner! We miss them already, but are looking forward to their return for BGG's baptism as they have graciously agreed to be her godparents. We miss them already. Here are some pictures of our fun weekend! Merry Christmas!

At one point, Will nearly played Tim to death...

We went into Pittsburgh to see the International Santa display, gingerbread houses and model trains. Will pointed to everything that he wanted to see, which was pretty much everything...

Checking out the gingerbread houses. He would have loved getting his little paws into those!

The Guarino's in front of the enormous Christmas tree!

Wonder Will

As promised, here is a little video of Will walking!

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving!

Looking cute before eating.

Trying some mashed potatoes!

Escaping from getting his clothes changed because mashed potatoes were everywhere!

Trying a bit of dessert!

With Grandmom and Grandpop.

With Aunt Jennifer.

There is also a tradition in my family to go to the Festival of Trees which is a charitable event benefiting local children's services. We were excited to take Will to see the trees and meet Santa. He liked Santa for about 30 seconds and then wanted Mom! By far however, his favorite part were the model trains. He was mesmerized!

Watching the trains with Pap.

Looking at the trees with Dad.

We have WALKING!!

Yes, it is official, Will has taken his first steps. Last week, right around Thanksgiving he was letting go of things (like coffee tables, ottomans, etc.) and would take one step toward whatever he wanted. On Sunday evening, we witnessed about three steps and since then it has been 6 or so steps each time. We're really proud of the little monkey, but fearful of what this means for our home :-) We did manage to capture some of his first strolls on video and I'll work to post that soon.

In other news, Will also got 2 more teeth last week. That makes 6 total now. Joe is insistent he's ready for a steak on the grill! He also had his 9 month check up and is the picture of health. He's 20 lbs. 2 oz (50th percentile) and 29 inches tall (75th percentile). Our pediatrician also gave the green light for him to start exploring more table food. So far he likes mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, cooked carrots that he can pick up and feed himself, and pieces of rolls. He also had a bit of jello and ice cream dessert at Gandmom and Grandpop's for Thanksgiving!

More soon!