This month, Alex has been traveling all over the central U.S. visiting various relatives. He took the plane ride from Germany better than expected and got over the jet lag within about a week. Even though he's been meeting all kinds of new people, he hasn't shown much shyness. He smiles and waves his little hands and is just generally a charmer.

He stands very well now -- not as wobbly as he once was. Everyone tells us he'll be walking in the next month or two. He also has four teeth, two on top and two on bottom, and it looks like some more are on the way soon. His new sounds for the month are the letters "m" and "b," which he combines with his favorite vowels to make interesting words like "aboo," "ahbum" and "bababa."

Alex eats all kinds of things now. This month, he sampled kiwi fruit and yogurt for the first time. He even chowed down on some shredded turkey for Christmas dinner. Shredded cheese, crackers and Cheerios remain some of his favorites, though. He still hasn't gotten the hang of his sippy cup, but we're sure he'll figure it out soon.

Next month Alex will be visiting Leanne's relatives out in Oregon, and we're sure he'll be a big hit out there, too!