Vivian Helps with Laundry -- November 18

Vivian woke up from her morning nap just as Hazel and I were really getting going with laundry folding, so she joined the party.  She's usually pretty happy during the day so long as she has company, which works out pretty well for all of us.

If you look closely at this top picture (you can click on it to make it bigger) you can see Vivi is smiling at Hazel.  She has a sweet crooked smile that looks a lot like Andrew's.

Vivian is generally sweet, in fact.  She has started giggling, and that's pretty exciting.  If you do the little piggies game with her toes, or Creep Mouse, or Bumblebee, or Grandpa Frank's nonsense word toe counting game with her at just the right moment, she has the sweetest little giggle. Creep Mouse and Bumblebee are both games we learned from Great Grammy Joanne.

She is also really getting into grabbing toys (and putting them in her mouth, of course!).  This ball was Hazel's, and is perfect for this age.  It's super easy to grab, and is not heavy at all.  Hazel had a lesson in sharing today with this one.  While I was still folding we had a chat about how Vivi is just a little baby and it's mean to take toys away from her.  She clearly understood because every time I would leave the room to put a stack of clothes away, and she would follow shortly with the ball in hand, showing me that she'd taken it away.  Hazel would say "take" and shake her head, and then she would go give it back to Vivian, and Vivian would just light up and smile at her.  So, it's a work in progress still, but sharing is going fairly well so far.

Bundling Up for a Walk -- November 16

We bundled up to go out for a walk in the neighborhood on a blustery afternoon.  Vivian fell asleep in the baby carrier, and was the only one of us who stayed toasty and warm.  Hazel gave up on walking and chose to ride instead (usually she insists on walking as much as possible) because it was too cold and windy.  We turned back early to warm up in the house.

Yogurt -- November 12

Hazel really likes yogurt, and it often makes up a substantial portion of her lunch.  When she helps Daddy pack his lunch in the morning, he has to sneak his yogurt in so that she doesn't ask for it first thing in the morning.  After coming home from grocery shopping, while I was putting everything away, Hazel found the yogurts and began lining them up on the table and trying to open them.  Clearly Emma was hoping for a yogurt snack as well.  Hazel had a late morning yogurt snack.  Emma did not.

Castle Climbing -- November 11

So, these are admittedly terrible pictures. They do, however, provide some evidence of this child's determination to climb on absolutely everything.  She's pretty good at it, too.  The castle is hardly big enough to hold her, but here she is climbing right on up anyway.  She's been getting up on the back of the couch as well.  Needless to say, we're often more than a bit nervous as she explores her world these days!

Tea -- November 9

  

We were drinking tea as the house warmed up on this Saturday morning, and Hazel decided that she wanted some.  She wanted so much, in fact, that we gave her some in her own cup.  It was some kind of berry flavor (we tossed the box in the move home but kept the tea bags), with honey from Montana.  She drank the whole thing down and asked for more.

Hazel in the Laundry Room -- November 9

We were in the kitchen unpacking from our outdoor adventure, and turned around to find that Hazel had crawled into the dryer (the laundry is right off of the kitchen).  Since, we have taken measures to ensure that the dryer door is always closed.  

Turtle Rock -- November 9

Hazel trotted along, literally, for quite a ways on this warm and sunny fall day.  Emma was pretty happy to be out as well.  Turtle Rock is the big pile of rocks ahead in this picture.  This is a part of Vedauwoo that I used to visit often when we first moved here, but haven't done in a while.

Once we were in the trees, Emma had a great time playing in the snow.

Vivi fell asleep in the carrier fairly early in the walk, which was good for her since we were out at nap time.  Even Hazel got a nap on this trip, even though we were out in the morning and she doesn't take naps in the morning any more. 

Tummy Time -- November 7

Vivian was eyeing us while we played with a bin full of lentils.  She is getting stronger every day!

Nap Time -- November 4

We all snuggled in Hazel's bed together to read I Want My Hat Back on a cold and blustery afternoon.  Hazel was happy to share her pillow as long as she got a decent spot for herself.  Hazel has been telling and retelling this story lately.  Her version is "YOU!...blink, blink, blink...bunny...bear...mouse."  Emphasis definitely on the "YOU!".  It's short hand for "YOU STOLE MY HAT," which the bear says to the bunny.  They look at each other and blink.  At the end, a squirrel (mouse) is looking for the bunny, who has been eaten by the bear.  

Sitting with Grammy -- November 1

Reformation Day -- October 31

We got three pumpkins to carve this year, so that we could carve one with Hazel before she went to bed.  Hazel had fun with the pumpkin carving again this year, but she was way more serious about the whole operation.  Here, she is tasting the slimy pumpkin seeds out of her pumpkin.

Vivian was a good sport and batted at aircraft while we scooped and carved.

Hazel helpfully put most of the seeds back into this pumpkin after her daddy had so carefully cleaned it out.  Thankfully they aren't as hard to clean out the second time!

After Hazel was in bed, we go to work on the trickier pumpkins.  Andrew did a German Shepherd face, I did Luther's Rose in a fit of Lutheran dweebiness because technically Halloween is also Reformation Day.  We did a landscape with mountains and the moon for Hazel because she really likes the moon these days.  She also tends to look for rainbows at night.

Washing -- October 29

One of Hazel's favorite activities lately is washing dishes, which she asks to do if there is any hint that someone will be doing anything whatsoever at the sink.  I was trying to be clever when I set the roasting pan down on the floor with a towel, so she wouldn't be teetering on a chair at the sink.  I turned around for a few seconds and looked back to find her in the roasting pan!  It was fine while the water was still warm, but she was happy to get out once she started to get chilly.