Date Night!

My friend Molly came over and watched Declan for a few hours so Tony and I could enjoy a night out. We went out with our friends Rich and Angela and had a great time. We decided to go down to the Depot for a little skating, and had a blast. We had never been down there before, and it was such a fun winter thing to do. Then, we went back to the Higgins house for some good food and a little Wild hockey game. Thanks Molly for giving us a night out!

On the go....

Declan has been crawling for a few weeks now. It isn't your traditional crawling quite yet, but it gets him to where he wants to go. We wonder if he will ever crawl regularly because he has mastered his inchworm version of the crawl pretty well, and can go pretty fast! We took some pictures of when he was just learning how to get going.

Dad, can't you just give it to me?

Thanks Dad!

Mmmm, tastes good.

Ok, I can do this all by myself.

Oops

Look at me!

I got it!

Easily distracted :)

Lil' helper!

Declan (and Luca) wanted to help me with the laundry the other day!

My favorite place to go.....

Declan definitely has a favorite place to go - the window! Now that he is crawling, he makes a beeline over there anytime he can. He loves to look outside, and wave to the house across the street. Luca likes to hang out with him too, which is really sweet. Here are a few pictures of Declan's favorite place to go....

Hi Mom!

Best buddies

So sweet....

Mmmm, this tastes good!

Kiss!

One more....

I forgot to add this pic to the last post, and I thought it was too cute to leave out.....

New Years Eve 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Tony and I had a fun New Year's this year. My parents offered to take Declan and Luca for the night, so Tony and I could enjoy a night out, which we were very thankful for. We decided to get a hotel room in downtown Saint Paul, so we wouldn't need to worry about driving on New Year's Eve. We started the night out at the Wild game, which was a really good game - we won in overtime! Then, Tony and I had dinner at Pazzaluna with 3 other couples. We hung out in downtown Saint Paul for the ball drop, and by midnight, I was exhausted! I sure can't stay up like I used to be able to!

Go Wild!

Hanging out in between periods with Kate and Angela


At dinner in Saint Paul

Mikey

Me and Angela

After a yummy dinner!

The whole clan!

The next morning, we went to pick Declan up at my parents, and he was very interested in Dad's hockey helmet - which made all of us very excited:)

He's ready to go!

Declan's New Accomplishments

Tony and I can't believe Declan will already be 8 months old on January 9. How time flies by! Some of the new things Declan is working on:

- Starting to venture out from baby food to things such as cheese, pears, bananas, cheerios, avocados, breads, etc. He still only has his two bottom teeth, but he has really good at gumming his foods.
- He is SO close to crawling. He gets up on all fours, and rocks back and forth. He is scooting like crazy, and we really need to keep an eye on him!
- He is saying mama, dadada, bababa, and nanana all the time!
- He is very curious, and is always interested in anything that Tony and I are doing.
- He smiles more then anyone I know. I hope he stays this happy through his teenage years!
- He now can recognize family and friends, even though he doesn't see people often. He seems to know who he has met before.
- He is developing a little bit of separation anxiety, and gets scared if he can't see us while he is playing on the floor. It's kind of cute, but hopefully it doesn't get too bad!
- He is incredibly flexible (which Tony and I have no idea where he gets this from), and loves to take his socks off and put his toes in his mouth - weird, but cute!
- Declan and Luca are still best buddies, and love to hang out with each other. Luca is very nurturing with him.
- If one of us watches Declan for a while, and the other one of us comes home, Declan gets so excited to see us, and squeals and laughs, which is the BEST thing to come home too!

That is about it for now! Happy New Year!

Declan's 1st Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve at the Caswell's, and had our traditional Famous Daves for dinner, which we look forward to every year. This year, Declan joined us at the table. He even got to try some corn bread muffins!

Not quite sure what this gift opening this is, but he seemed to enjoy ripping off the wrapping paper. However, he seemed more interested in the wrapping paper after it was opened!
Getting sleepy......

Thanks for all the fun gifts Grandma!

Tony's parents gave Declan the rocking chair that Tony had when he was little, which was really neat! It's still a little big for Declan, but he gave it a whirl. He seems to like it!

I love books!

We spent Christmas day at my parents house, and the day began with Declan opening his gifts. No one really cared about their own gifts this year. I think Declan had more gifts then everyone else put together!

A new piggy bank from Aunt Tolly!

Hi Dad! This is fun!

Ok, I am ready for my next gift!

Playing with his new blocks

Hanging out with Grandpa Rooney

Ooooh, what could this be?

Declan did not want to go bed, so he played with his new rings and provided much entertainment for all of us in Dad's hat.

Visitors

We had some fun visitors in December......

Will and Katie came down for dinner, which was so great to see Will one last time before he had to leave. They got down there just in time to see Declan before he went to bed.
Colleen showing Declan the tree, which he was fascinated with!

Will was on "put Declan to bed" duty while us girls ran to grab dinner and while we were waiting for Tony to come home from work. He did great! Declan thought his watch was very yummy!

Will's Birthday!

Will was home for two weeks from Afghanistan in early December, and Kate threw him a surprise 30th birthday party. We brought Declan with, and he was such a trooper! Will was very surprised, had no idea! Here are some pics from the night....

Colleen and her boyfriend Andy

Declan getting sleepy, but didn't want to miss the party

Kate and Will walking in for the surprise!

Declan playing with the party decorations!

Playing with Aunt Tolly