Christmas

December 25- We had a nice Christmas morning at home, E had a good time opening presents, and trying them out. She loves her trike, and can even get on it with very little assistance. She has the idea of peddling, but we don't really want to encourage bike riding in the house, and she needs a helmet before she really gets going. We spent some time with Ama and Grandpa Ada and Ted and Nate. E has  a pretty hard time telling those two apart, but they are pretty understanding about it. E really got the hang of opening presents this year and she was good at it! Her favorite gift has been a baby from Ama and Ada, it came with a bed, stroller, and a diaper bag, so its got lots of possibilities. We had to add our own blankets. She's also really enjoyed her shopping cart, she likes to load it with snacks, water cups, and the dinosaurs from her Dinosaur Train set and push them around.

I had picked out a really pretty dress for E to wear, the kind that you picture little girls in for Christmas, and of course when it was time to get dressed, E started saying "I don't like it, I don't like it" and crying. So, no pretty dress for momma.

December 24- I had to include two pictures, above it E with the tree they made at daycare on Wednesday. All the kids were so excited about the trees that the minute I walked in every kid was pointing out the trees and talking about them. She got to bring hers home on Friday and was so happy. She got to eat some on Christmas Eve, and she picked off an m and m right away, but it was to hard and she didn't like it. Now, she picks off the candy and feeds it to dada or I.

We spent some time at Grandma and Grandpa's house, E has been asking for "Grandpa Norderhaug" a lot lately, so she was extra excited to see him. She loved checking out the house and making her usual circuit. She loves this Ned from Dinosaur Train figure, and had had a very good time playing with him. She also liked having dessert, she got to have two cookies, which is sort of a record for her. She also got to have juice, so it was a big day.

We also visited with Great Gramma, E liked prime rib quite a lot, and really impressed everyone with her ability to play while the adults finished dinner. E particularly loved her cousin Setona. I guess she is getting to the age where she really likes to watch and imitate big kids, she was really impressed with everything Setona did and wanted to be part of it.

December 23- We had a girls evening tonight for a little bit. We stopped at the library on our way home from daycare and got a few new books to read. E really liked the puzzles and the puppet theater. We also had our first potty training at a public place adventure. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but of course she didn't actually have to go! When we got home, A and her mom came over for a little visit to drop off E's Christmas gift, she got a tutu, which she hasn't wanted to wear yet, I guess since she's not really into dresses, it makes sense she's refuse. Then, E and I went over to Ama and Grandpa Ada's house to visit with Teddy and Nate. It was the first time that E has seen the two of them in the same room since she was pretty little, so it was funny watching her try and figure out who was who.

December 22- E's night time routine has taken on several new steps, here she is saying nite nite to a votive candle holder, on the way up the stairs she also says nite nite to the coats and the wall. She had to come downstairs because she forgot to say good night to the snowman, and because she didn't have the Christmas tree touch her head and say good night to the legos. Its a long routine, and easy to forget parts!

This morning, E, Ama, Ada and I went out for breakfast at Mickey's Dairy Bar, E wasn't a very good eater, but liked seeing the football stadium across the street. Then E, Ama, and Ada went home. They played at Hoyt where E really liked the car, and played in the snow and E built her first snowman. E also learned Ring Around the Rosie today, as soon as I walked into Ama and Ada's house she grabbed my hand and Ama's hand and we went around.

December 21- I put this little toy together for E after some advice from some other moms, she doesn't like it as much as other kids, she mostly likes to shake out the pipe cleaners and then leave them on the floor. E wore a Christmas outfit today, but she fought me while getting dressed, it worked out well though because daycare took her picture in a Santa hat! At daycare the kids frosted sugar ice cream cones with green frosting and decorated them so they looked like Christmas trees. The second I walked in the door E dragged me over to see it.

December 20- Here is E kissing the Christmas tree nite nite, her lips don't actually touch the tree, she just puckers up and leans in. Today she came home from daycare talking about "Mr. Bucky Badger." I'm not sure where the Mr. came from, but its pretty funny. The whole night was Mr. Bucky Badger. Tonight we got to have dinner with Aunt Norma, and E was a very good girl eating in a restaurant, she colored lots of pictures, and showed off her clothes baby.

Tonight was also the first night that E's head touched the Christmas tree when she was kissing it. She looked about ready to cry, so we told her how funny it was that the Christmas tree touched her. She started calling the tree funny, so it worked!

December 19- Today E stayed home from daycare with dada. She was completely over her sickness, so they had a fun day doing a little Christmas shopping and playing with the legos at Barnes and Noble. E and dada are a good team when you need to get something done. The same cannot be said for E and momma, we tend to spent our time playing, and E knows momma is the push over, so we just don't seem to get as much done.

Here, E is trying to put the stickers back onto the big sheet.

A few funny things

A few funny things that E has been doing lately

1. Calling her tooth brush her "bish tush", she used to call it the right thing, but somehow, she's changed it.
2.  Taking all her cups out of her drawer and lining them up on the kitchen floor
3.   Insisting on sleeping with 3 blankets, but not being covered by any of them
4.  Any time she hears the word "go" she say, "E go too?" or "E shopping?"
5.  Every night after her bath and jammies we have to bring her downstairs to say nite nite to the Christmas tree and the snowman decoration
6.  Telling everyone "Christmas tree fall down" even though it happened once, weeks ago
7.  Talking about Baby S constantly, and how he came to her house, even though he came the first week of November

December 18- E was under the weather for most of the day today. She started the day off with bang, she ate 7 (small) bowls of Os and milk and a few hours later she wanted ravioli, which is huge for a kiddo who doesn't eat much. I figured she was just hungry after not having dinner last night, so I let her eat. After about half the ravioli, everything came back up. She spent the rest of the morning and afternoon being pretty snugly. But, by the end of the day, she was back to normal. Here, I'm being the "time tunnel" so that she and the broom can go through. I also spent a great deal of time chasing her, which seems to be one of her new favorites. She'll be home from day care with dada tomorrow, but hopefully she's really on the mend.

  December 17- E was pretty cuddly when she woke up today, but after a little while seemed to be back to her old self. I tried to convince her to go outside and play in the snow, but she wasn't having that. She did enjoy watching people shovel. We helped R celebrate her birthday, and E enjoyed the party. It had cake, chips, and juice, which to E pretty much means party. She even got to have all the apple juice she wanted, which never happens. She had a good time at the party, but wasn't too interested in the cake, she mostly wanted to play with R's kitchen.

After the party, the dads and the little girls settled in for dinner and watching Star Wars. E impressed all the dad's by being able to identify Han Solo, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Luke Skywalker, and knowing that Han shot first in the Cantina.

December 16- Our party weekend continued with E and I going to our friend David's going away party. E joined me (in a new party dress from Titi Willy) and was a hit at the party. She really, really, didn't want to wear the party dress, and the tantrum over it continued on the car ride to the party. We actually had to pull over and let E get out of the car to calm down. But, I told her the party would have pizza, and she got over it. After playing, coloring, and running around a little. E and Grandpa Ada went to Ama and Ada's house for bath time and jammy time. I picked her up after a bit, and we went home.

E didn't really like doing the bed time routine without dada, but we did our best. However, after E was in bed about five minutes, she fussed a little and started saying "uh oh, uh oh." When I went up to check on her, it turned out she was sick. She wasn't too bothered about it, and once dada got home, she was happy to go to bed.

December 15- E had a very busy day today. She spent the day with Ama and Ada. I was off work, and was able to join them at Hoyt. It was my first time at Hoyt and I loved seeing her play with all the different toys, she spent the morning playing with a pot, in which she had a few plastic vegetables and an oven mitt. She ran around with the mitt on, and even pushed the shopping cart around with it on.

Then, we went to E's day care Christmas party. She loved showing off for dada, Ama, and I. The kids had lots of snacks and then gave their parents ornament with their pictures on them. Then, the teachers started the music and the kids took off dancing and running. E's not much of a dancer, but she likes to run.

E's big day continued by Christmas shopping with her dada and doing a little mall walking with both her parents.

December 14- Look at that long hair, today was just a normal one at home, we spent our time clowning around and watching Dinosaur Train.

December 13- One of E's favorite toys lately has been her toy kitchen. She loves cooking and bringing food for dada and I to eat. She usually makes soup in the small blue pot, and is very good at stirring it. Her other favorite thing to do it to bring us "hot coffee" which in E's kitchen comes right out of the sink faucet.

December 12- Ama was nice enough to find these window clings for E today. E enjoyed sticking them on the window, but her favorite part was pulling them off. She was a little moody today, which caused some tantrums over little things, particularly when she didn't get her way about having a snack. Ama and Ada came over for a little bit, and E had a nice time playing with Ama. She gave very nice kisses and hugs good bye, but then, we had to run out to the car for one last good bye to Ada.

December 11- We took E to Hilldale to see Santa. She wasn't scared of him, but she spent the visit just staring into space like she didn't know what was going on. After the visit, Santa gave E a coloring book, which she absolutely loves. She has been talking about her "Santa book" ever since. After our visit, we had a surprise lunch out and then home for a nap. The rest of the day was spent at home, playing with her toys, her favorite right now is her kitchen, she loves bringing momma and dada "hot coffee."

December 10- This is the second year that E has helped with our Christmas tradition of making krumkake and lefse. E joined Teddy, Ama, Ada, and I at Great Grandma's house. She was excited to see Great Grandma and really enjoyed playing with Great Grandma's toys. After some time playing, E saw Great Grandma's mop, and spent the rest of her time "cleaning" the kitchen. E had a little taste of lefse, but wasn't impressed. She still likes the "chips" though.

December 9- Today we got home late, Teddy was home for a visit, so we had dinner at Ama and Ada's house. Teddy, Ama, and Ada picked E up at day care and went along with her class on their walk. She loved showing off for them. Its fun to watch Ted and E now, she remembers him between visits, although she sometimes calls him Natie. She's comfortable around him, and is always happy to see him.

December 8- Today we were lucky enough to decorate Christmas cookies with A and R. The cookies were then gifts for the condo board. This was the second time that E has decorated cookies, and she loved the sugar sprinkle. Aside from the sugar sprinkles, she liked mixing all the toppings together. I was impressed that she didn't eat cookies while we were decorating, A's mom make chocolate cookies, which is what E always asks for, but she was so focused on her mixing, that she didn't even taste a cookie.

December 7-  Today was the Christmas program at day care. E's class preformed two songs, Feliz Navdad and If Your Happy and You Know It. Then, all the kids under 3 preformed Jingle Bells. E wasn't too interested in doing the motions, or shaking her maraca. But, she stayed on stage the whole time.  After the program, I walked her back to class and got to visit a little bit. She had a hard time with her momma leaving, and was a little fussy the rest of the day. Day care reported that she's starting to get upset when she doesn't get what she wants. We've certainly noticed that at home too!

Tonight, E spent most of the evening playing with water at the sink. She's got two measuring cups she fills, and then occasionally takes a drink. We also had to have a dinosaur at the dinner table, she shared her milk with it very nicely, although having a toy at the table didn't help her eat any better.

December 6- E has become quite the dinosaur girl lately. She's thrilled that her dada got out his old dinosaurs for her to play with. Her favorite,  is getting the dinos out of their plastic tub, and carrying them around. E has had a difficult time going to bed lately. She manages to stay quietly in her bed for a little bit, but, then gets very upset about being in her crib. Last night, she insisted on being in "momma bed" which was just an excuse to play, and the she wanted "rock a baby" for a while. She finally went to bed after getting a bigger blanket.

The big excitement of the night was getting markers. E loves to color, and had really been wanting markers. She had a great time with them, although she can't get the lids off by herself.

December 5- Last year, we put our Christmas tree in a playpen to keep E away from it. This year, its in her reach. She's done really well with it. This angel ornament she's touching with her right hand is one of her favorites. She loves to crinkle its skirt. This morning, when we got downstairs, we discovered that the tree had tipped over, for the rest of the day E kept saying "Christmas tree fall down."

December 4- This morning we had breakfast with Ama and Grandpa Ada at Copper Top, we had a great table, close to a window so we could distract E. We also brought clothes baby, which is our secret weapon when eating out. After breakfast, we picked out our Christmas tree. While we did a little Christmas shopping, E went mall walking with Ama and Grandpa Ada. Unfortunately, the mall just got rid of the small coin operated car that E liked to ride on, but she was ok without it.

We decorated the tree this afternoon and then played with R. E was so cute when she was decorating the tree. The first thee ornaments I handed her, she placed carefully on the tree skirt. After a few more tries, she got the idea of decorating the tree itself.

Wonderful day

December 3- This morning, we got to sleep in since we were all worn out from the party. E got herself up cheerfully, and we could hear her talking and playing in her crib for a little bit. She helped make pancakes for breakfast, she is a very good stirrer. But, despite helping, she didn't want to eat any pancakes.

We had a little trouble after breakfast. E wanted to use a wet rag to help clean. She also wanted to be the one who used the sink to wet the rag. We ended up having to put her in the tub where she was happy to clean the tub, and scrub momma's arm.

This afternoon, E and dada went to a Discover the Dinosaurs program. They had a great afternoon looking at huge replicas, digging for "fossils," and riding dinos. They stayed at the even for two and a half hours. I was amazed. E's favorite part was stomping around and moving like a dinosaur and roaring.

At home, she and I were playing, when out of nowhere she said to me "E, wonderful day." I was ready to cry right on the spot. We played some more, and she repeated it. After dinner, she told her dada the same thing, and again in the tub. This is the first time E's ever been able to articulate her approval, or disapproval of her situation clearly. When she's happy or unhappy in the moment, we know it. But she's never summed up a day like that for us.