Gearing up For The Holidays

Last week was a busy one. We arrived home from Thanksgiving break, blinked and it was December. Lydia , Katie and I have been busy making things festive around the house. All of the Nativities are about to drive me crazy. Mary and Baby Jesus are missing from all of them. I find them in the car, bath tub, beds, everywhere but where they are supposed to be. Lydia, Maggie and I went to gingerbread story time at the library. They read a few stories and then we decorated gingerbread cookies. Lydia thought it was so fun but felt bad that Jake and Katie didn't get to participate so Friday after school we made cookies.

I sent Lydia downstairs to choose some cookie cutters out of the cookie cutter box. This is what she came back with. Yikes!

We decided in on a more managable size.

Katie is very serious about her decorating and also is specific about the gender of the cookie she will decorate. Only gingerbread girls. See the skirt? I can hardly tell but she knows the difference.

Lydia ate most of the m and m's before they made it onto the cookies.

Even Big Jake joined in the fun.

Maggie just sat in her high chair and pleasantly watched the goings on.

A sucker never hurt either. We had such a great time with our cookies that we decided to take a couple of cookie kits to a few of our friends. We hope that they had as much fun as we did.

Lydia has developed into quite the little student. Last time Bubby came she brought her lots of paper to draw on. (Katie won't use it because it isn't "clean" on the other side.) It doesn't bother Lyd. She does all of her letters and scribbles on anything that will hold still "clean" or not. In fact she prefers my shopping list, or Christmas lists, she just writes right over the top.

Miss Rie just did a midterm assessment at school and was thrilled that Lydia knew all of her letters an numbers. She can write them too, but do you think I can get her to write her name? NO! Her teachers assures me she has other more important skills and the name writing will come with time.

And here are a few movies of Miss Maggie walking. I can't believe the difference a week makes. This week she is almost exclusively walking. She looks way to little to be walking. It is fun to see how pleased she is with her self. Such a big girl.