Waking up on the wrong side of the crib

December showing the camera something (I'm not sure what)

December trying to dig through the floor

She loves spoons!

Some days, the things December does just awe me, like a couple of days ago...but other days, like today, she wakes up on the wrong side of the crib. She woke up grumpy this morning. It's just like you or I would be if we didn't get enough sleep -- but that's the strange thing because she got plenty of sleep!

This is how it goes. If she has to wait for a diaper change before she goes outside, she throws a fit. She eats next to nothing at breakfast and lunch, wailing to be let out of her high chair. Once she is out, she heads right for the chocolate-chip cookies. Then she goes and does all the things she knows are wrong -- playing with the laptop, swinging her arms and hitting me (this is her latest trick...but it's not going to last very long), etc. Then it's back to more cookie-seeking.

The day goes on in a similar fashion. Today, what I am amazed at is how mothers with more than one child stay sane! Can you imagine if two or three children woke up grumpy? But I guess you get through it...it's like Anne Shirley said in Anne of Green Gables, "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes [...or grumpiness] in it."

December the Math Genius

December is helping Brad calculate our house costs

December crawled into her baby bouncy seat all by herself, as if she wanted to pretend to be a baby again

Brad has been doing extensive work in the basement, cleaning up that water problem I was telling you about earlier. He's dug trenches with the help of my Dad and a friend from church, and today, he filled the trenches with big black pipe and stones. Soon he will concrete over the trenches. Ahh -- the joys of home owning (or rather, the joys of owning an old home). I have been working outside, sprucing the yard up. I planted flowers, and yesterday I ripped down those huge red wooden address numbers that I have really really disliked ever since I laid eyes on the house. I was thrilled about tearing those down! I nailed up normal address numbers this morning. We got an offer on our house, but the amount they offered is alot lower than what we can accept. We'll see what happens with negotiations. As you can see above, with the help of December the Math Genius, we'll soon figure out a good price for everybody!

Hearing and Understanding

Lately I have been so amazed by how much December understands. Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what she understands because if she is given a command, I can't tell if she doesn't understand what I'm telling her to do...or if she is simply choosing not to do what I'm telling her to do. But most of the time, she is very responsive, and I can't believe how much she knows!

They say you're always supposed to talk to babies, telling them what is happening around them, even if the baby doesn't understand you, because one day, they will understand what's going on! Well, that day has come for December. I say to her, "December, do you want to read a book with Mommy?" and she will walk over to the bookshelf, pick out a book, and then come sit in my lap and hand me the book she chose. OR I will say, "December, are you hungry? It's lunch time." She will stop what she's doing and walk over to her high chair, waiting for me to lift her in. OR I will say, "December, let's go outside. Where are your shoes?" She will search around until she's found them and then bring them to me. She'll hand one to me, then turn around and plop in my lap so I can put them on her feet. If she decides she wants to go outside, she'll bring me one of her shoes so that I will put it on her. When we're outside, I'll tell her, "December, hold my hand." She will lift up her little hand so she can grasp one of my fingers.

All of this amazes me. Her transition from baby to toddler is incredible. She has gone from a newborn, not knowing how to instruct her arms to move, to a toddler who is extremely mobile and spirited. I love watching this transition unfold daily.

Tulip Time Pictures

Here's December rolling along down the street as we do Street Scrubbing. She is in heaven because she is surrounded by dolls!

December and Emilia in the wagon together (this is when they were getting lots of stares and "awww"s from people. They both loved that tennis ball December is holding and kept on stealing it from each other)

The two girls are watching the parade pass by, along with my cousin Justine (in front) and me

They are enthralled by the sounds and movement of the marching band



We are taking a break from our Street Scrubbing in the Dutch marketplace. My cousins, Justine and Makayla, are on the left and in the front. In the back is my Mom, my sister Kelli, and I. Everybody's holding someone!

Markus is giving a kiss to Emilia, before we start on the Street Scrubbing parade (there's that tennis ball again)

Markus is pretty cute!

We are very focused on watching the parade

December is carrying around a doll dressed in a Dutch costume

December and I hanging out before we walk to the parade

We stopped at the greenhouse that Mom works at to look at flowers and take some pictures (December's not in this one -- she's asleep in the car)

December is all ready to scrub the streets!

This is my Great-Grandma...she is December's Great-Great-Grandma! She loves Tulip Time and the parade and was there to watch us all walk down the street.

We had so much fun at Tulip Time! The pre-parade that we were in was called Street Scrubbing. Anyone can come line up to be in the Street Scrubbing, as long as you had on a Dutch costume and were preferrably wearing wooden shoes. You also need to bring along a bucket and a broom, to scrub the streets. The firemen open up the fire hydrants ((not full blast)) so that there are filling stations for your buckets as you walk down the street. You dump your water on the street and scrub with your broom (but no one does this with any kind of gusto)! There were TONS of people there to do Street Scrubbing -- mostly parents with small children.

On Saturday, my Mom, December, and I went back to the greenhouse pictured above and got flowers. I've been planting them today and have really been enjoying myself. I still have lots more to plant, too -- and my Mom says it's time for the bean seeds to go in the ground. December loves to be outside and has already brought me her shoes to put on so that we can go out...so I'd better get planting!