What do you do when it is 10 degrees outside?

We play in our tent
We practice making funny faces
We bake cookies

And we eat them

Nature

Not long ago, Daniel, Eleanor and I spent a day in the city with our friends Jordan and Jennifer. We had a wonderful time at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. We will definitely be making another trip back to the museum soon.

In the butterfly garden

Dancing with butterflies

School Fun

Eleanor goes to school two days at week at the YMCA in our town. She LOVES it! Every morning when she wakes up she asks, " I go to school today?". She spends her days playing in centers, dancing, reading books from the book mobile, learning her letters and numbers, playing outside when the weather permits and having a grand time with her friends. Just before Christmas her class had an open house and Daniel and I attended. She had a great time dancing with her friends. We are very thankful for her wonderful teachers, Ms. Carley and Ms. Charlene and are so glad she enjoys going to school.

E with Ms. Carley
Snowman Craft
Moving and Shaking

December in Review

It feels like December came and went and I barely had a chance to acknowledge it. The beginning part of the month was busy with preparations for Christmas and our trip to Dallas. We did not decorate at home because we would be gone for Christmas and I did not want to deal with having to clean it all up and put it away. We did buy a 3 ft. pre-lit tree for Eleanor and it has now become her everyday nightlight. It did not have any ornaments on it for Christmas but last week we bought some felt hearts and hung them on her tree.

Daniel and I bought E a nativity set for Christmas (even though we gave it to her on Dec 4th) and we loved watching her play with baby Jesus and act out the stories we had been reading with her. Baby Jesus was the source of much laughter in our home. Here are just a few of the baby Jesus funnies:

1. Mommy to Eleanor - "No, we don't lick baby Jesus."
2. Eleanor to Mommy - "Baby Jesus is in time out. He is just a little crabby."
3. Baby Jesus was born on a table (in a stable).

I loved hearing her talk about Mary, Jofef and Baby Jesus. She also liked to talk about King Herod and how he was a "mean and angry king."

Each night when we would read the story of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to tell her she was with child, we would read the part of the story that said "the angel appeared and Mary was afraid," Eleanor would immediately say, "sometimes I am afraid." We would ask her what she was afraid of and she would say "whales." Not sure where that came from but it was so cute.

Every time we would ask Eleanor what she wanted for Christmas she would say, "a sheep." When we took her to see Santa she did not skip a beat when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas, A SHEEP!" Oh, if only I could have captured the look on Santa's face. He looked at me and said, I have never heard that one before. Only our little E!

We spent 10 days in Dallas and had a good time visiting with family and a few friends. We ate at some of our favorite Dallas eateries, attend Christmas Eve service, celebrated Christmas with both sides of Daniel's family, ate some more, played with cousins, and ate some more.

Before we knew the clock struck 12 and January was ushered in. Here's to a fabulous 2011!