The Tree Farm

This was actually one of the nicer days for us to go pick out our Christmas tree this year (above freezing and not raining). We started out walking, but after a few steps, both Jillian and Bridget wanted to be carried. We walked to the far side of the tree farm, like we always do, and fortunately Mommy immediately found a nice tree (shown in the photo). Jillian helped Daddy with cutting down the tree, holding on to the saw the whole time. She had let us know that she was very concerned about when the tree falls down (that it might hit Briget), so we got out of the way when it did tumble. We loaded the tree up in Papa Ken's truck and took it home.

Funny Hat

     I have this sack of granny squares that I started to crochet years ago and almost every time Jillian was here, starting when she was about a year old, she would put the square on her head as a pretty hat.  So yesterday Bridget found the sack and did the same thing, putting the crochet on her head as a hat.  She would look at Papa or I so we could say, "What a pretty hat."

     Jillian has such a knack for using words that we find amusing.  She fell asleep on the ride up but when Papa packed her in the house she said she was just "relaxing".  Today I had to be Santa many times and pretend to bring her a present while she was sleeping.  She is definitely getting into the Christmas mode.

Bridget-Speak

We're starting to hear some words and semi-words out of Bridget:

1. "Ma-ma" and "Da-da" : We're hearing these more lately, especially when she wants someone or something. Usually, it's a wailing kind of thing.

2. "Out" : She started saying this at Grannie's house, when she wanted to go outside whenever Sophie went outside.

3. "Buh-" : This is her way of saying "Bottle". If she starts pointing and yelling at the bottles when she wants her milk, we tell her to say the words, and then she'll smile and say "buh-".

4. "Nah" : Well, it sounds like this when she wants a banana. Not sure if she's really got this one yet, but we'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

Not only these, but she's added some sounds to her repertoire, including the "k" and "hard g" sounds.

Princess Castle

This is Jillian's latest fun thing to do. She loves to build her very own princess castles out of her wood blocks, to which she adds lots of princesses and other figures. She's been very proud of her creations, and very unhappy when Bridget destroys them.

Utensil Practice

Mommy decided it was time for Bridget to work on her utensil skills a little bit, so she gave her a plastic fork to eat her dinner. Bridget did a pretty good job when she managed to get something on the fork ... it usually took about 3 or 4 tries. But, she stuck with it and got a lot eaten that way.

Christmas Crafts

Jillian is taking an Oreo break after working hard on her gingerbread house.  I helped her make the base and glued it so after her nap she could decorate her house.  She has gotten so good at decorating by looking at the picture and putting pieces where they should go or she will decide how she wants it to look.  She worked for a long time, even peeling the sticky backs off the pieces.  She realized there was a pattern on the roof and followed it but sometimes she liked green better.  She was excited to take it home to show Mommy.

Walking Sophie

While Jillian was at preschool, Bridget spotted Sophie's leash and wanted me to hook it up.  Sophie put up with a lot and I had to untangle her several times, but Bridget really enjoyed it.  When I felt Sophie needed a break and took off the leash, Bridget had one of her "throw myself on the floor and cry in anger" sessions.  Later she got to do it again and must have been tiring of leading the dog as she didn't object much when I rescued Sophie again.