CARS - Your First Full Length Feature Film

Since early fall, you've been talking about AMAZING MOVIE, aka Disney Pixar's Cars.  

You were so excited tonight when your Daddy put the new DVD your Great Aunt Sheila gave you for Christmas into the DVD player.

You instructed your dad to sit on one side and me on the other.

You snuggled up under a tractor quilt and ate some crackers and cheese for a snack.

You held your CARS sippycup and pointed out all of the cars you recognized from the CARS books and stickers you have.

You held our hands when you got nervous, and you paid great attention until the last ten minutes, and then you got a little squirrelly.  When it was over, you said, "MORE!"

I asked you to tell me about the movie and you said, "That's a good movie. AMAZING! Likaqueen and Tow mater in that movie.  They did racing! "

I should also note that today is New Year's Eve, and you were up until almost nine, which is pretty late for you!

Elsa Everyday

The nickname is sticking. I am not sure that she'll love being called
a bug for much longer, but for now, it works.

DDD for December 29

Skid-skeer toy, a gift my dad chose for Daniel. He said, "Oh BOY!"
and "Thank you!"right when he opened it. He's been using it to scoop
up miniature cars, wrapping paper "rocks", and all manner of things
since getting it.

DDD and EE for December 28, 2011

They really do have fun together. I don't understand their jokes, but
they communicate in laughter.

DDD for December 27

He loves this cat.

DDD for December 26

Lobster Fingers!

These are Daniel's new mittens and winter hat.

Daniel says, "yobster!" anytime he wears mittens.
Also... when he tries to pull up his jeans or put on a pair of socks.

DDD December 25

Daniel and his Grandpa Douglas delivering a gift on Christmas evening.
(Spoiler alert: they were jacks for his dad and uncle)

DDD and EE for December 24

Christmas Eve 2011 was especially festive at Grandpa and Grandma Haid's home.

DDD and EE for December 23

Enjoying some holiday cheer

DDD December 22

Last night Daniel used the pedals on his tricycle for half a block.
That's a big deal for him, since he prefers to scoot! One walk around
the block with him can last half an hour, so we are kind of excited
for him to start pedaling to go faster!

DDD and EE for December 21

A Merry Christmas Sibling Shot.

DDD for December 20

Warming himself in the garage.

Daily Dose of Daniel for December 19

Daniel spent some time in Santa's Workshop yesterday doing a gift
project that involved a hammer.

The Bangs

Well, its been two weeks with Bangs.

They are still kind of driving me crazy, but I guess that's the nature
with bangs, right?

I like the slightly different look.
I dislike the feeling that my skin will break out where the ends of my
hair tickle my brow.

I guess I need to find some bobby pins to pin them back since I am
getting a little neck muscle pain from flipping my hair back, which is
pretty fruitless, actually! I brush the bangs back and then settle
back in front instantly.

I'll try to find a front view photo, okay? In the mean time, this
side view with a delightful baby instead.

Daily Dose of Daniel for December 18

Daniel recognizes Baby Jesus and tells his his father is God and these
are Mommy May-e and Jofeph. He says, "Mommy Mae-y iike Mommy Bethany
and Daddy like God." Isn't that an interesting comparision?

EE and DDD for December 17, 2011

Elsa snuck into Daniel's bath last night. They had a ball together.

DDD for December 16

Daniel picked out this picture to show you for today. He told me to
write, "Merry Christmas to from Daniel."

Dan thought he looked like Kevin from Home Alone and got him to pose this way.

Adorable Christmas Faces.

Trying to Color In The Lines.

Daniel's new thing to do is color books. He does them sporadically, and most of the time he prefers blue markers to color the pictures.  He colors the image segment by segment, even if the whole page ends up blue. I think he is learning that smaller parts make up a whole.  He also seems to feel proud of the work he accomplishes and likes to go through the book to talk about what is one the pages.  

New Nativity Set.

On December 1st, we gave the kids a Christmas gift.  Daniel AND Elsa helped unwrap, but Daniel was more excited about the gift.  He instantly told us who each person was, but was really drawn to the small wagon and hooked it up to the donkey, cow, camel, and sheep.  

I hope he gets a lot of enjoyment from this special Christmas manger scene toy and it helps to bring the Bible and our Faith to life for him.

Helping Do Christmas Decorations, December 1 2011

Daniel loved getting to help his dad dress up our house for Christmas.  In these photos you'll see him hug the Holy Family, jab a candy cane into the ground, inspect a Christmas tree, and climb a ladder to the roof, all of which happened in about a 5 minute span of time.