Christmas with Laughing Grandma

{Backtracking: December 27, 2010}

We had so much celebration this Christmas! I didn’t want to open Christmas presents with my mother on Christmas Eve because I hadn’t finished their gifts yet. I thought I might stand a chance of getting them done in the few days after Christmas so we could all open together. But we had so much going on with Studio Grandma and Grandpa after Christmas that I didn’t have time. Plus, Father Bill was planning to head back to the coast, and I couldn’t let him leave without letting him open his present. So I gave up, gave them a lame rain check, and we opened our Christmas presents.

Father Bill gave each of the girls a box of candy canes. As soon as Eleanor opened hers, she didn’t say a word, she just started licking her lips. Look at that tongue in action!

When Phaedra opened hers, she smiled and then quickly started trying to open them.

My parents gave Eleanor and Phaedra a game called Bed Bugs, where they have to grab the bugs as they bounce around on the bed. Eleanor really liked it. Phaedra liked it too, until we turned it on and the vibration combined with the bouncing bugs made it rather noisy.

She loved catching the bugs when the bed was turned off, though.

Grandpa and Grant. I made that shirt for Grant as a joke. It didn’t last long, but that’s another story.

My mother brought out some chocolates she had gotten for Christmas and shared a few with us while the girls were eating their candy canes. When they saw the chocolates, they both wanted chocolate. Grandma gave Eleanor a little bite, and when she went to Phaedra, saying, “Do you want to take a little bite?” this was Phaedra’s approach to the situation:

She’s no dummy! She learned from her mommy how to take a “little” bite of chocolate.

Hopefully Grandma was done with that one, ‘cause it’s gone now.

Beaver Fan

I’m not much of a bird watcher, but I noticed this bird in our back yard the other day and thought it was pretty neat looking. I didn’t take the time to switch lenses on my camera, and I didn’t want to risk opening the door to get a better view. So the pictures leave something to be desired. I tried looking it up online, but I couldn’t find anything that looked like it. I’m really not much of a birdwatcher. It could be something just as common as a robin for all I know, but I couldn’t find a match. For now, I’m just calling it the beaver fan, because it sports those team colors with pride. Anyone want to identify it for me?

Movie Night with Grandma

Last week, while Grant was in class one night, we invited Grandma over for a movie night. We got Beauty and the Beast from the library; the girls had never seen it before. We all snuggled in on the couch and watched together. What a pleasant way to pass a long evening without Daddy!

I didn’t get much of the snuggling action with Grandma around, but that’s okay. I know how good it feels to have those two little girls cuddled up on your lap, and I wanted to let Grandma enjoy it. The girls liked the movie. I don’t think it scared them too much. Eleanor cried when Belle was reunited with the Beast. I wasn’t sure if it was because it seemed like he was dying or because they were back together until she choked out, “I’m just so happy.” My sensitive girl.

Whenever we watch Beauty and the Beast now, Phaedra says we are having a movie night, even if it’s first thing in the morning. She requests the show by asking for a movie night.

My Budding Artist

Just the other day, Eleanor sat down with the little art tote I made her for Christmas and started drawing. She threw out a few attempts before she got to this and decided she was happy with it. She did this all on her own. I gave her no assistance or input until she said she was finished and showed it to me.

This is Eleanor dressed as Word Girl. If you look closely, you can even see the yellow star on her chest, and her yellow cape behind. I thought it was very good. I love how she made the shape by shading instead of drawing an outline and filling it in.

And since I’m sharing her art, I have to show this one. It has been on my fridge for a year (maybe even two!) She was just barely starting to draw things that actually looked like they were supposed to be something. She brought this one home from church one day.

When I asked her about it, she said, “It’s me in a green wind.”

It’s one of my favorites.

The following photos are for no reason at all except for the fact that Phaedra saw me taking pictures and requested that I take pictures of her. I don’t turn down a willing participant!

To Get Me Going

It’s been a while since I’ve done much blogging, so I thought I’d post some snapshots I took of the girls on Sunday. Maybe if I do an easy post that’s almost all pictures, it will get me back into the blogging mood. Plus, I’ve been terrible about taking photos of the girls once a month. I was only going to take pictures of Phaedra (because she’s the cooperative one), but Eleanor can’t resist a photo op when I’m not trying to get pictures of her. If my original intent is to get pictures of her, she somehow senses it and goes into sabotage mode.

Mouth full of fishy crackers.

And here comes Eleanor. She just can’t resist.

If you can’t tell, this is Eleanor’s “scowly” face. We’ve recently adopted a game that Phaedra loves where we switch back and forth between a scowly face and a happy face. I started it one day. We laughed. It has returned several times. That’s how things work around here.

Scowly face.

Happy face.

It’s all in the eyebrows.

Then we played some peekaboo with Phae hiding her face behind the skirt of her dress.Who needs modesty with legs like these?

(Answer: She does. As soon as she’s a little older. For now, we can admire the toddlerhood.)

Ah! That felt good to blog again. I hope everyone is having a wonderful time in this new year. I’ll spare you the post about resolutions this year and how extremely fast 2010 went by.

We’re all doing well. Grant is back at work and taking classes. The girls have had some daddy withdrawals after such a nice long break having him home, but it hasn’t been as bad as the beginning of fall term. He’s officially half way done now, so I’m beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. I can’t wait for these late nights without him home to be over!

But until then, we’ll just keep plodding along. Just like 2010, I’m sure it will be over before we know it. Oops. I said I was going to spare you that talk. I guess I’d better sign off now. Hope to return soon.

The photo challenge at I Heart Faces this week will be determined by vote. If you want to see my entry, you can hop on over to my other blog HERE. And if you feel like showing your support, you can vote for my photo by clicking HERE. Just scroll down and click “vote” under #224. Thanks!