Preparing for Christmas

We started out the month of December by putting up our Christmas Tree!  Last year we moved right before Christmas and never put our tree up, so we were very excited to do it this year.

Allan decorating the tree

Little A investigating the tree and ornaments.

Little A goes to bed so early she didn't get to help with the tree.  She loves it though! I was hoping that it might inspire her to crawl a little, but no such luck.  She's been really good about leaving it alone - which is nice.  The most she did to it was run into it with her walker (but gently enough that it never moved), and play with a couple of ornaments.  She was really good about finding something else to do when we told her no and sent her rolling away from the tree. :)

It's been really nice lately so we spent a lot of time outside.  She loves to sit and play outside and feel the wind in her hair.

She's giving you a thumbs up!

We were really on top of things this year as far as wrapping gifts goes.  We had everything done long before Christmas.  And because A is such a good girl we put all the gifts under the tree.  She tried to run over them with her walker a couple of times but otherwise left them alone.

Playing with daddy.

This is my favorite winter outfit she has. It cracks me up.  (She doesn't have very many winter clothes)

A loves to giggle while she eats :)

We took little A to see her first play.  The children's theatre put on "The Wizard of Oz".  It was adorable as always.  A LOVED it!  She especially loved when the children sang and danced.  She would move along to the music and grunt happily.  She was so interested in it that she refused to drink her bottle because it got in the way of her view.  We sat next to an older man and before the show started she was very intent on getting his hat.  He had just come from working at a worm farm though so he kindly kept it from her. We usually go and support our friends' little girls, but we weren't able to make it to their night this time.  We were thrilled to discover that some other friends' little girl was in the show we made it to.  She did a great job, said her line clear and loud, and was an adorable little bunny!

A and I at the theatre

Because the weather is so nice here they always have a light parade.  It's a lot of fun to go to.  Everyone always goes all out with their floats, and they are beautiful.  We got all bundled up (because it was a little cold to stand outside for a long period of time) and took A to the parade.  She ended up being more interested in the children around her than the lights.  She had fun though.

Allan and Little A. Every time she wears this hat people stop us to comment on how cute she and the hat are.  I have to agree.  Good job Aunties!

Rudolf the Red Nosed Semi.

Nativity Scene

Fire truck

Little A loves to get the mail. Our mailbox is down the street a bit; it's a good walk for someone so little.  We always wave at our shadows and giggle at the dogs barking on our way there.  I usually have to carry her back so I can get the mail, but if there isn't any mail she gets to walk back too.  She's always disappointed when we get back to the house, lol.
 

This day it was rather cold outside so I bundled her up. Sweat suit, hoodie, moccasins, Cabbage Patch beanie, and pea coat.  She thought it was absolutely hilarious and couldn't stop giggling about it. She laughed all the way there, all the way back, and quite a while when we got back inside.

Coming back from the mailbox with Daddy.

Little A has finally decided that she wants to move!  She discovered that if she rocks hard enough she can move her highchair across the kitchen.  She's enjoyed discovering how far she can get.  And, of course, it cracks her up and she laughs the whole time.

She made it from the sliding glass doors (which are on the side of the table not pictured) all the way to the pantry door.

She also discovered that she can mover her highchair to reach things that she wants.  In the picture below she was up against the wall and wanted the cracker that was sitting on her tray on the table.  She rocked until she got close enough to grab it and then happily ate it while I got her breakfast ready.  She was very proud of herself too.

We took Little A to see Santa at our ward's Christmas party.  It was about an hour and a half past her bedtime so she was REALLY tired.  She didn't cry at all; I was kind of surprised because she really doesn't seem to like beards.  She liked Santa's beard though, and tried to boing his curls, lol!

For one of our family nights we made sugar cookies.  I think we made three batches this year and we should have made at least two more.  I ran out of time and didn't get cookies out to our neighbors. :(  We took some to a party we had with our friends.  We had a lot of fun at the party. Little A really took to one of the men there.  I asked him to grab her for me because she was fussing (I was pinned in on one side of the table and couldn't get out very easily).  He picked her up, and she looked at him, smiled, and gave him a big hug!  She continued to smile and hug him, so he decided to keep her for a while, ha!  She played with his sunglasses and chatted up a storm while he listened politely to her.  She was having the time of her life!

Having a play time right before bed.

Gotta play with Daddy too!

Little A helped Allan and I move Mary and Joseph closer and closer to the stable's every day.  She loved looking at the advent calendar and hearing the nativity story over and over again.  She also loved touching it and trying to move the other pieces on the calendar (they're sewn on).

We had an impromptu play date with our friend H's little ones.  Her son played in the backyard most of the time.  We could hear him talking and singing to himself.  He was having a grand old time.  Her daughter is a couple months younger than little A, and they played really well together.  It took her daughter a little while to warm up, but once she did they had a ball stealing each others toys.  A LOVED having someone to play with and squealed and jabbered at her happily.

Little A discovered how to make a squeaky noise with her pacifier.  She likes to lay down and squeak.

Reading scriptures after a long day at church.

The box my mom sent little A's Christmas gifts in was full of packing peanuts.  I let A play with them while I wrapped some gifts.  She played with them for an hour!  She probably would have played with them longer, but we had to go somewhere so she got interrupted. She loved scraping them with her fingers and hearing the sound that it made.