December's Lunches

December is excited to help Mommy with laundry

Can you see them? 3 squirrels (the one on the far right is pretty hard to see -- it's on the fence post)

Yum, yum!

Here are some pictures taken out of one of the side windows of our house. I sometimes save December's food scraps from breakfast, lunch, and dinner -- she leaves a ton of scraps! -- and dump them outside, just outside the window. This provides great entertainment for December and I (okay...maybe just me), and it feeds the birds and squirrels, too! Yesterday, we had three squirrels and lots of birds eating December's leftover bits of corn dog...she loves the dog part but isn't so keen on the corn part.


This afternoon, Brad and I took December to the playground at the preschool near our house (the same one Grandpa and Grandma M. had taken her to last week). She loved it! Her favorite was the slides. It was beautiful here today (about 65 degrees F/about 18 degrees C) and sunny! Finally, the snow has left! Calgary sounds like it has been nicer than here lately. Brad and I were excited to be out, too, and I think we had as much fun on the playground as December did. We did the see-saw together and everything. There's nothing that brings out your inner child like a playground! You should really try it...or you can come over here -- we'll play with you!

Shoes...the Reprise

We are making progress! Every day since that last post about December and her shoe-phobia, Brad and I have been making a big deal about this pair of shoes. We say things like, "WOW! December, what beautiful shoes those are! I'll bet you will look really pretty with those shoes on...aren't they such nice shoes?" and on and on. A few days ago, December had progressed to the point where she would pick up a shoe and bring it to me (because she knew it made me say all kinds of wonderful things). As soon as she had deposited the shoe in my hand, she ran away as fast as her two little legs could carry her, to a safe distance where I couldn't put the shoe on her foot.

But, as you see in the picture, she has progressed even farther than that! She now is willing to put one--and only one--shoe on her foot and walk around in it! Even this is for limited periods of time, though. And yesterday, December and I took a walk, and she wore two shoes in her stroller! (For most of the walk, anyway.) She is getting there. Shoes are friends, not foes.

Go out? Without December??

December's sign for, "I'm sleepy. Please put me to bed now."

Daddy and December playing her all-time favorite game: "Chase me!"

Last Friday, Brad and I got the chance to go out on a date...alone. I was thrilled! We had been out together since December was born, but December always came with us. That worked better when she was younger -- and less mobile. Lately she can't sit still long enough to eat at a place where we'd actually have to sit down and wait for food to be brought to our table. Fast food restaurants are exactly December's speed.

Grandpa and Grandma M came over to babysit December, which, of course, she loved! December loves Grandma. They went and played at the park, on all the playground equipment. It sounds like they had a blast. Having Mommy and Daddy gone didn't bother her one bit, especially with a fun Grandpa and Grandma around to play with!

Brad looked online for indoor mini-golf places (don't you love mini-golf?), and he found one! It wasn't just your normal mini-golf, either. It was...Glo Golf! Wa-hoo! We mini-golfed under black lights, where the fish and sharks of their underwater theme glowed. Our golf balls glowed, too. It was fun! The black lights did mess with your eyes, though. After that, we went to the Olive Garden, my favorite restaurant. Since it was a Friday night, we did have to wait for half an hour or so, but I think it was worth it. It was definitely worth it for Brad and I to get to go out by ourselves again!

Oh! Side note: December's newest word is "Amen." It's so cute to hear her do this! I wish you could hear it. She doesn't do it spontaneously at the end of prayer yet, but she'll do it when she's prompted, at any time of the day.

Choosing Clothes

December dressed herself today. Do you like her outfit? She chose it out all by herself. She actually wanted to wear this outfit on Monday, but her mother is a bit pokey in understanding what she wants.

When I opened her drawer on Monday to chose her clothes for the day, December immediately snatched this pink dress and the red leggings out of the drawer. I took no notice, chosing what I wanted her to wear. But even after I dressed her, she still carried around these clothes. Throughout this week, I've tried to put the clothes away, but she's rescued them out of the drawer each time I've put them away. She has been carrying them from room to room every single day this week. Then, yesterday, it hit me. These clothes are the special ones she wants! I put them on her today. And now, December is happy that she doesn't have to carry these things around anymore, and she is happy to have communicated with her slow mother.