Diana's favorite Christmas gift DOES come with a bow. 

I think daddy's smiling because he's the only one in the house who can breathe through his nose. 

I can't wait for Christmas day!

So how long is it until Christmas? A week or two? I hope I have some time, because there's still a lot to be done before guests arrive.

Amelia has been helpful in the preparations for Christmas and Michael has demonstrated that he is an excellent last-minute shopper. Amelia is starting to act like an older girl and attempting to dress herself as well as trying other things for the first time. She surprised mommy a couple of days ago when she climbed a ladder at the playground all by herself!

She also helps with the shopping. While I was at Target the other day I asked aloud, "What else do we need more of?" Amelia helped by responding, "We need more presents." It was very funny.

Amelia is also still mimicking mommy, which is not always a good thing. While searching for a large, red bow for daddy's present I got excited when I spotted what I was looking for. I said, to no one in particular, "Now that's a big ass bow." Of course, Amelia repeated my words stating, "Big ass bow." I admit, it was really funny, though anyone listening would have thought I didn't care what my daughter said in public.

Well, back to work. I have presents to wrap and dishes to wash and rooms to clean and you-name-it before Monday morning. And of course, all the girls in the house (myself included) have colds. Still, we're all really excited about Christmas and can't wait to see family and open presents (achoo!).

Lisa

Diana showing off her first teeth. 

Sick of losing her pacifier in her sleep, Diana takes matters into her own hands. 

Off to see Santa Claus

Mom and grandma took Amelia and Diana to see Santa Claus this afternoon. The trip actually turned out pretty well. This wasn't as easy as a trip to see Santa at "small town mall, Indiana" but our timing was good and our wait was short considering it was a Saturday very close to Christmas.

Last year Amelia was a bit afraid of the jolly old elf in red. This year she seemed excited to see Santa and could barely wait her turn in line. Of course, this didn't change the fact that she would not smile for the camera. She was also evasive refusing to answer difficult questions like, "What do you want for Christmas?" and "How old are you?"

Diana, ever the mild-mannered and even-tempered baby, took everything in stride and did great.

Truthfully, we might have gotten Amelia to grin a little wider if we were still in Indiana and could spend more time coaching, but I was thrilled to get both of the girls in the same photograph looking lovely together.

Lisa

Tooth fairy update

What's it feel like to grow new teeth? Gimmie your finger and I'll show you.

"Gimmie my ball!"

Amelia had a fun day today. This morning she impressed her mom, once again, by demonstrating a great command of modern technology. Amelia asked me to turn on the Christmas lights this morning, but I was in the middle of changing Diana at the time. I asked her to wait a minute while I finished what I was doing. When I looked up Amelia was in the hallway looking at the tree saying, "Look, tree, neat!" She had plugged the lights in without mommy's help. In fact, she plugged and unplugged the lights several times today. Looks like it's time for a long talk about using electricity safely.

I had a tough time getting Amelia to take a nap today. I finally persuaded her by promising her a trip to the small park across the street after she woke up. When she woke up we put on our shoes and went across the street to play. Most of the kids there were older boys, but Amelia still had fun. However, once it was time to leave Amelia spotted four older girls (maybe around eight years old) playing with a large, bouncy, pink ball. Amelia started after the ball saying, "Gimmie my ball!"

To me, it was funny. Amelia doesn't quite grasp the relationship between "my", "your", "theirs", etc. What she was really asking was to be able to play with the older girls' ball. They seemed to understand and would sometimes toss the ball gently and low to the ground so that Amelia could catch it. Amelia would then throw the ball with all her might (about two feet) into another girl's hands. I was really happy to see her having fun with some of the neighborhood girls and look forward to a time when she can play with other girls her same age.

Lisa

Diana's a truly beautiful baby girl...are those freckles on her nose? I wonder where she gets that from. 

Amelia and Diana play side by side in Amelia's room. 

"Mom, this is silly!" If you look closely, just below the surface, you can see two white pearls about to peek out from Diana's gums. 

They grow up so fast

Amelia has been acting very grown up in a number of ways recently. In fact just the other morning she surprised me by demonstrating her knowledge of modern technology. After she asked me to replace the Teletubbies DVD she had finished watching with "The Little Mermaid" I was called away by the baby. When I returned downstairs Amelia had the old Teletubbies DVD on her finger and the new DVD started in the player. Very impressive.

Amelia also helped me carry groceries from the car to our front door yesterday. Once she got her light bag inside she saw it contained bread and asked for a slice...which ended her work...but the thought was there.

She is also learning how to interact on the playground and is beginning to learn other children's names. The other evening she met a new boy and asked him curtly, "Who are you?" Once I translated this into, "What is your name?" the boy answered Amelia and she seemed pleased that she had gotten a response out of him.

I have also heard Amelia tell me a few times recently, "No pushing." I assure you I have not been pushing Amelia - I supposed it's at least a good thing that she realizes pushing people is bad.

Lisa

Mommy finally finished hanging a small number of Christmas lights today. Add to that the fact that I recently installed my first shower curtain rod (a bit high) and I feel like a proud Ms. Fix-it.