This week has flown by and indeed, the whole Christmas season seems to be flying by. This is our last weekend here before we leave for Boston on Thursday. So we are keeping busy. Last night we went out with Ron and Elaine to look at Christmas lights as is our tradition. There didn't seem to be as many houses lit up (the economy?) but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless especially at the end when we went to the "biggie" as we called it. It's a nearby house that is completely decked out with lights from head to toe. We went last year but I don't think Calleigh remembered it. She was in complete awe and when we went to leave she insisted on walking through another time. There was a life like Santa there and you could clap your hands and it would start talking to you. So now Calleigh keeps going around clapping her hands and talking about that Santa. In fact, Duncan says she prayed last night and thanked Jesus for that Santa and started clapping during the prayer!
This morning Ron and Elaine came with us to church which was a great treat. We went over to their place afterwards for a nice lunch and Ron had set things up in front of their tree to try and get a family picture for our Christmas card. Oh, it's such a challenge with two little kids. We had professional ones done last week at JCPenney and I wasn't especially happy with those so that's why we tried again. I think we got something we can use this time. This evening we again met up with R&E and also the Isidro's to hit up Holiday on the Drive in College Park. We went last year and it was so fantastic with music, booths, etc. This year for whatever reason they decided not to close down the street like last year and it really detracted from the festivities. Plus, there was no music. We did see the fire truck and really, Calleigh and Braelyn had a grand time just chasing each other around so we do consider the evening a success. The weather was such a comfortable temperature that we ate our supper outside on the sidewalk amidst all the bustle. Tomorrow were heading down to Sea World after the Patriots game to attend some of the special Christmas shows they have going on.
Last Sunday we also did a few fun things, one of which was NOT the Patriots game. We watched it but it sure wasn't fun. Anyway, we made a quick trip to Walmart for something and we came across Santa while we were there. When Calleigh was this age, we put her on Santa's lap, took one look at him, and burst into tears like she was being tortured. And to this day, still doesn't to sit on his lap. But we decided to give it a try with Aubree. We put her on his lap and she just smiled away. She didn't actually look to see who was holding her so maybe if she did, she would have cried. Who knows. Calleigh just watched from a distance but never did get the courage to go up to him. Maybe next year! After Walmart, we made some Christmas cookies. It turned into quite an operation but a fun one. Calleigh did a great job cutting out the shapes with the cookie cutters and then also was able to decorate them with the icing, sprinkles, etc. But I do believe the most fun part was eating one at the end. Surprise, surprise! I was afraid the next day she would ask for another cookie, which I wasn't crazy about, but she seemed to forget about them. Instead, I've now been eating one a day which isn't a great idea either. But I will say they are delicious. They came out perfectly. For my own future reference, here's the recipe we used and I baked them for 9 1/2 minutes.
Aubree has started eating some more solids this week in addition to the rice cereal we had started her out on. The first was Green Beans. I don't know that it makes a difference what you start with but I had heard from some sources not to start with the sweet stuff since they may not like the non-sweet stuff if they start with the sweet. Since I started Calleigh with the green beans, I decided to follow suit. Well, she did eat it but I don't know that she was crazy about it (who would be, right?) The next thing I tried was carrots and that was a whole other story. She would have her mouth open for more even before I got the spoon back into the bowl. Calleigh took a great interest in what was going on and asked if she could have some too. I told her to grab a spoon and the next thing you know, Calleigh's downing the baby food carrots like it was candy. My girls definitely didn't get their love of carrots from me. Yuck! Since the carrots we've done peas and pears. She's eaten both but not as enthusiastically as the carrots. Incidentally, I've fed her each item for two days and then moved on to the next one. You're supposed to feed her only one thing at a time to make sure she doesn't have any allergies to it.
Aubree continues to be a sweet and content baby. She generally has no complaints and just goes with the flow. We've noticed that she's starting to make new kinds of noises. She's babbling now. It's hard to believe that basically three months from this age, Calleigh was saying her first word. Her sitting up is improving daily and I can now leave her unattended (although I do often leave a pillow around her just in case) sitting up without being concerned about her falling over. Calleigh is really becoming an attentive big sister. She often will sit down next to Aubree to talk to her or play with her. In the mornings I'll put Aubree in Calleigh's crib and Calleigh will put her arm around Aubree and ask her if she wants her to read a book to her. Then she'll pick up a book, open it up, and point out the stuff to Aubree, "Look Aubree, here's a lion." It quite sweet and warms my heart. Every now and then I hear her calling Aubree, "Aub" so we'll see if that turns into the nickname that Calleigh uses for her.
One of the days this past week we made a trek to Michael's to check out some crafts. While we were there, Calleigh spotted some stamps so we ended up purchasing a whole Christmas stamp and ink set (pretty cheap with our 40% off coupon). Calleigh has quite enjoyed stamping all sorts of things and I have to watch myself because I'll find myself out in public without remembering that I have stamps on my hands, up and down my arms, and on my neck. I've encouraged her to just use the paper but clearly, stamping a person, among other things, is much more fun. Thankfully the ink washes out pretty easily.
I think this completes the summary of our activities the last week. I don't know when another post will be forthcoming since we'll be busy getting ready for our big trip. But you never know.
This is something Calleigh does with her fingers. We'll often see her with her fingers like this for some odd reason.
And here are a couple more pictures from Thanksgiving...
The two guys are Duncan's brothers Rob and Russ and the blond is Duncan's sister Kristin. His sister Angela had to work. We missed you!
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