December, Isaac, & Reuben

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Easter Sunday

December carrying around her Easter egg bucket

December checking out the treasures inside her Easter egg bucket.

(L to R): Makenzi (4 yr), Markus (3 yr), Emilia (17 months), December

Here is December on Easter Sunday! I had fun trying to find December a dress for the occasion. She got her 1-year picture taken in it, too. On Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa put on Easter egg hunt for the grandkids -- an indoor Easter egg hunt, just like the indoor Halloween candy hunt last October. The weather is just too frigid here for outdoor candy hunts, I guess! I don't even think the kids minded, though. They were all thrilled to find the colorful, candy-filled eggs hiding under couches and on top of coffee tables. Emilia and December definitely get the most-improved award from the Halloween hunt to the Easter egg hunt! This time, they actually picked up eggs off the floor and put them into their own buckets...and then they stole the eggs out of each other's buckets and put them in their own.

If you are looking for a gift for a toddler, I've got one for you. December has been enjoying her M&M-filled plastic eggs more than any other toy she's ever had! She shakes them, she puts them in her bucket, she empties them out, she throws them across the room...normally when she does this, they don't break open, but when they do, she is extremely pleased with herself and gets a few tasty little rewards. So far, it's provided lots of entertainment for her (and me).

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Shoes? No, thanks!

March 2007

December hates shoes. I don't understand this crazy feeling, but she refuses to wear them! I tried again yesterday to put shoes on her feet. This time I decided to put on those soft shoes, almost like slippers, without rubber soles. Surely she wouldn't mind that, right?!?

Wrong. As soon as I got them on her feet and stood her up, she started whining and crumpled to the ground. She refused to walk -- or even stand! She crawled along on the ground for a few paces. Then, she forgot she had shoes on her feet and began to stand. It didn't take long for her to remember those weird things that were strapped to her feet, and she crumpled down to the floor again, whining louder. I watched her antics for a while, trying not to show her that I thought it was quite funny, and then I thought, "I know: if anything can get her to walk, it would be a cookie!" So I went to the kitchen for a chocolate chip cookie, December's kryptonite.

I stood a ways away from her and held out the cookie. She hadn't moved. She showed immediate interest in the cookie and flailed about, trying to figure out a way she could get the cookie by not using her shoed feet. I waited, coaxing her. I was really suprised at her stubbornness! It wasn't like she couldn't get up and grab the cookie...she just wouldn't. She never did get her treat. Walking with shoes on her feet just wasn't worth a cookie to her.

December is smarter than I think she is. She knows a whole lot more than I think she does. For example, when she wants a snack, she comes and gets my attention by staring up at me and saying, "Nn! Nn! Nn!" She waits until I start to follow her, then she leads me to the kitchen and stands right under the counter where I keep the snacks. She points upward and says again, "Nn! Nn!" She has been doing this for a few weeks, but I'm still so amazed by this! I was just reminded of it again because she just made me follow her to get a snack right now. What did she want this time? A chocolate chip cookie, of course.

Monday, April 9, 2007

Our House

Last week, we put our house up for sale in preparation to move away for seminary. Would you like to buy our house? The market here is really, really bad, and there are tons of houses for sale. Here are some pictures of our house. The first two, of the outside of our house, were taken last summer -- it's not that nice and green here yet (but I really wish it was!). It's actually snowing here right now. Easter yesterday was colder than Christmas Day or New Year's Day this past year. Ick!

The other pictures are of our living room, kitchen, and dining room. I actually wanted this post to be about Easter and show you pictures that we took yesterday at my parents' house after church, but alas, I am dumb. I forgot my camera at my parents' house, so I can't download any pictures! As soon as I get them, though, I will put them up here.

Now I need to go dress December for the second time today...already. I dressed her, fed her breakfast (without a bib -- I should really know better than that), and she got grape jam ALL over her sweater and her pants. I cleaned her off the best that I could, took her out of her high chair, and peeled my hands off her sticky clothes. She's wandering around in her t-shirt and getting colder by the minute, so I should go put Outfit #2 on her. We'll see if that outfit can endure past lunch.