Getting Ready for Church

Arden loves Sunday's because she gets to go to church and wear a dress. Since its been cold she hasn't worn as many dresses as she does in the summer. She is getting used to tights she still thinks their pants. Oh well.

Here are some pictures from Sunday morning before church where she was dressed up in a new winter dress. Thanks Gran Gran for the beautiful dress.

Getting a Little Practice

Today Arden and I kept Jonathan while our friend Ashley had an appointment. It was great practice for having two in the house at the same time. However, Ashley made it pretty easy for us because he just woke up from a nap and had just eaten before Ashley left him in our care.

Arden and Jonathan had a great time. She got down on the floor with him to show him different toys and wanted to show him how everything worked. She even watched intently while his diaper was changed.

It was a great afternoon and here are some pictures of the two of them enjoying themselves.

Question of the Week

Why does Arden get up very early on days we can all sleep in but is out cold on days we've got places to go early in the morning?

The Start of the Christmas Season

Last night Dave, Arden and I went to the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at our local mall. It was cold yesterday and I was debating on if we should go. Then I remembered I grew up in WV where it is always cold during the winter plus there is usually snow lying around. Plus I do pay to go skiing all day where it is always cold. So we bundled up and headed out.

When we arrived there were inflatables for the kids plus a train ride. Arden was so excited. She immediately went into the bouncer where she jumped and laughed until she was tired.

Next she got in line for the slide. It was pretty tall so I thought once she got to the top she would chicken out. However once her and Dave made it to the top, she jumped down on the slide and held Dave's hand. At the bottom I hear her yell "yea!"

Then we stood in line for the train. The train ride was cold but I'm pretty sure she enjoyed every moment of it. She told me later that the train went around in circles.

While she was on the train Raggs Kids Club Band took the stage for a couple of songs. So as soon as she jumped off the train. Dave hoisted her on his shoulders so she could see better and we walked down really close to the stage where she watched in disbelief. I could tell she was trying to figure it out since her and I were dancing earlier in the afternoon when they were on PBS Kids.

Then it was time to light the tree and after the tree lighting there were fireworks. She watched them all without getting scared.

Here are some great pictures of the night.

Happy Birthday Uncle Eric

Today is my brother Eric's birthday or now known as Uncle Eric. It's hard to believe that we are both 29 but hey I knew that he would eventually catch up with me.

Arden loves her Uncle Eric and will talk about him often. However, she will not talk to him on the phone. My new favorite Arden and Eric memory occurred a couple of weeks ago when Eric and his finance Lori came to visit for the day.

When he got here Arden was really shy around him. He kept asking me if she was going to talk to him or pay any attention to him. I kept telling him give her 15-20 minutes to warm up. I told him she had been talking about his visit all weekend. Just give her time.

Well within 20 minutes this is how the rest of the day went...

Arden: "Eric, look at this."

Arden: "Eric"

Arden; "Eric come here'

Arden: "Eric, look at this."

Arden: "Eric"

Arden; "Eric come here'

This is all she kept saying. I really enjoyed watching him trying to keep up with her.

Eric I hope you had a great birthday!

Building Her Castle

Arden discovered her building blocks. She will sit there and play with them for a while. Everytime you ask her what she is building she will say a castle. Deep down she knows she's a princess.

Serious Cooking

Arden is such a little helper and it is moving into the kitchen. She will drag a kitchen chair over to cabinet and tell me she is ready to help.

She was helping me make dinner and when I pulled my head out of the fridge this is what I saw.

Dave's been working in the kitchen remodeling and he usually wears these safety glasses. He had left them on counter. I guess Arden was combining my cooking skills with Dave's remodeling skills. Overall it was pretty funny to see as she wore the glass throughout us fixing dinner.

Nesting

Today I was in the bathroom and I heard Arden downstairs opening the refrigerator door. I didn't think twice about it because I keep a milk and juice cup ready for her so she can get them in and out herself. She does a great job of getting a drink and then putting her cups back in the fridge.

So all of a sudden she opens the door to the bathroom carrying an egg! Her exact words were

"I need a nest."

She had climbed up the stairs and opened the bathroom door with a raw egg in her little hand.

I told myself not to be shocked or get upset because I did not want her to throw, drop or smash the egg. So I was moving as fast as I could to try and get the egg from her without breaking it. She is running from room to room holding the egg, running, laughing and thinking this is a game.

She kept telling me that her egg needed a nest because the egg was cold. Which by the way she was signing the word cold with the egg in her hand. Somehow I convinced her to go back downstairs and to put the egg back into the carton. I was so thankful she didn't break the egg on the carpet upstairs.

Did I mention this all occurred about 5 minutes before I had to leave for my doctor's appointment? There is never a dull day around here.

Question of the Week

Why is the grocery store a mad house all day on Sundays?

One Sided Conversation

Last night we were up in Arden's new room. She was organizing her books and toys. She came running downstairs grabbed her toy cell phone and started making a phone call. Dave asked her who she was calling and she said:

"PawPaw, Gran Gran, Eric and Jack (the dog)"

She proceeded to tell them all about her bed, books and toy and a bunch of other stuff that only she knows what she said. She told them by and gave a kiss into the receiver.

Now today when my parents called do you think she said anything to them? Nope. She did not want to talk. She listened intently when my dad talked to him and told him bye and gave him a kiss but not a peep came out of her mouth.

One day I'm sure she'll finally decide to talk to them when they are actually on the phone.

Advent Calendars

This year for Christmas I really want to have an Advent calendar as a fun way for Arden to learn the story of Jesus birth. I remember having one as a child. It helped to build anticipation and I learned the story of Christmas. I remember at night being in the kitchen and opening up each flap.

So I went on search early for one since it's still two weeks before Thanksgiving and I wanted to be prepared. However, finding one was much harder than I thought. I started out at the Christian bookstore and they did not carry them which I thought that would be the most obvious place to look but I guess I was wrong.

I finally found one at the Hallmark store. I had to ask if they had any because they were visibly displayed with the Christmas merchandise. There was one made of chocolate but that's not what I was looking for. They were in the very back of the store with a selection of Christmas cards. There were several to chose from most of them were of Mickey Mouse and penguins but they had a couple (but not many) with the manager scene on it.

It was exactly what I was looking for. Each flap has the story of what happened to prepare for Jesus's birth. I can't wait to start on Dec. 1 do this with Arden. She is really getting into the bible stories at church and I'm sure that this is something she is going to love.

So if you want an advent calendar you should probably get one this weekend but they are hard to find and there aren't that many to begin with.

Got a Spoon?

The other day Arden decided to pick out her cereal spoon. She chose the ice cream scoop. She was determined to use it. It was pretty funny to watch her try to shovel it all in to her mouth. By the time that I got the camera out she had decided that I knew better and to use the regular spoon.

Name Change

Ever since Monday after Arden slept in her bed she started calling me Mom. No more Mommy or Mama. I guess she's all grown up at the age of two.

A New Place to Read

Tonight Arden discovered a great new place to have her bedtime story read to her.

Moving on Up

On Sunday Dave put together Arden's big girl bed and he was a little skeptical that she would want to sleep in the big bed and a new room in the house. He could not be any more wrong.

She loved it. She giggled with giddiness over the sight of her new bed. We had the hardest time getting the bed made because with each layer she was ready to lay in her bed. She was super excited about having a pillow.

Finally she was ready for bed and she climbed into her big bed, covered herself up and laid there with a huge smile on her face. She only got out of the bed once and she tip-toed into the room where Dave was and smiled and waved hi. She then ran back to her room, climbed up into her bed and fell fast asleep.

It's hard to believe that it is time for her to sleep in a big bed she's growing up so fast.

Question of the Week

Why do companies believe that automated phone systems are a good idea?

Leaves, Leaves and More Leaves

We have a lot of big trees in our front and back yards. Today was a gorgeous day and Arden joined Dave outside to help him with the leaves. She climbed around in the leaves and even cheered for Dave as he was raking the leaves.

One of the funniest moments of the day was Dave had opened the door and yelled upstairs "Lisa! Bring the camera out you've got to get this on film." After that Arden would run to the front door open it and yell "Lisa! Lisa!" and then something I couldn't understand. She would shut the door and run back out play in the leaves.

It's the Simple Things

Today Arden and I had a super busy day.

Arden started off by playing with her daddy before he headed off to work. She watched Curious George and then we headed off to the pediatric ophthalmologist where she had a great exam and report. There were great lights and toys for her to watch. She also loved playing with the train in the waiting room.

We then left there and went to our bible study where she played outside with her friends and had a picnic lunch afterwards.

We then we went to the library and got a ton of books and played with all of the puzzles. We came home and ate her favorite dinner, meatballs and garlic bread. Then we read a lot of books together.

So before I put her to bed I asked her what the best part of her day.

Her response: "The pancakes."

Me: "So after all we did today the best part of your day were the pancakes we ate for breakfast?"

Arden: "Yeah"

Willing to Share

When Arden woke up from her nap this is what she yelled from her bed.

"Mommy, I want water and goldfish. I'll share!"

It warms my heart to know that she's willing to share.

A Bath

On Saturday I was folding laundry and Arden jumped into the empty laundry basket. She turned around and told me that she wanted some water. I proceeded to the kitchen and handed her a cup of water.

Her response was "No. I need water in here for a bath". She was pretending to take a bath in the laundry basket. I can't wait to see what else her imagination comes up with...it's going to be fun!

Question of the Week

Would you give her some candy if she showed up at your door?

A Halloween Ladybug

Yesterday Arden had such a great time trick or treating last night. We put her in her costume early so she would get the feel of it before it was time to go. Dave took her to a couple of the neighbors to practice.

Our friends Robert, Bonnie and Raven came and went with us through our neighborhood. Arden was a little shy and whispered trick or treat if she even said it but she was not shy in putting her basket out for candy.

Dave dressed up like a bum and wore a half mask and wig. He started putting it on early in the day so Arden would be scared of him. The best part was she loved him dressed up and wanted to go to the doors with him instead of me.

We had such a great time walking through our neighborhood it seemed that everyone was out and enjoying the night.

Here are some great pictures of the night.

Daddy helping Arden get dressed in her costume.

Arden checking out her costume in the mirror.

The daddies with their little girls.

The two back with their loot.