Celebrating: Part Two

After the Thanksgiving leftovers were all put away and we’d had a good night’s sleep, the family was up early to pick out a Christmas tree and celebrate our second holiday for the week. Really everyday seemed like a holiday, but these two days were extra special.

Choosing a tree



Hoisting the tree over the fence (into the small protected wildlife area behind our apartment where the muskrat and ducks live) thus avoiding a trail of pine needles





Don’t forget to water the tree folks!



And now for the decorations! Bells are my new favorite – appropriate, no? (Again, anyone know how to rotate these darn photos??)





An then we opened presents. I really liked this fancy scarf Grandma made me. It's colorful and fun to wear. I also got some new blocks. As you can see I "play" with them by practicing my demo skills. I'm coming up with new words ALL THE TIME. Haven't said Merry Christmas yet, but I've got a few weeks to practice!

'Tis the Season

Right off the bat I knew this was going to be a good week. Grandma and Grandpa Dan came to visit and they brought me a Bear. It moves its eyes and mouth - very entertaining. Sometimes I just hold onto him while I color. Sometimes I turn him on and off and on and off myself. Amazing.

Anyway, we had lots of adventures together and, needless to say lots of good food. We also celebrated two holidays (since we won't get to see them on the official Christmas)! Here is holiday one in review. (Two to follow)

Visiting a (frigid!) beautiful waterfall and having a light lunch afterwards.





On our way to do a little shopping (read: run a round HUGE building with endless themed rooms, 'toys' galore, and lights, lights, lights!).



Helping Mom and Grandma cook Thanksgiving dinner...more garlic Mom!





Playing with Grandpa D while the cooking continues in the background.



Finally, dinner is ready! I'm cooomiiiing!

Bye-Bye

I could do this for hours...well minutes at least. Don't I sound sweet!?

Playgroup

Just a few photos from playgroup today. We did some finger painting, though I was more interested in sliding, climbing, and peddling with pals. (Note my t-shirt is from Oconee State Park)

Farmer Abby

I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as apple-carving or jack-o-apples, so I can't imagine I'll ever like apples as much as I LOVE our pumpkin; still I liked apple picking just fine. The car ride was pretty - along the Columbia River with lots of boats (which I confused with 'goats' - I kept making a goat sound: 'maaaa') and towards Mt. Hood. It was a beautiful day to be out in the country.





The orchard we visited had lots of great tricycles and a big John Deere tractor to drive. I wore my pink overalls to get into the farmin' mood.





And I got to ride in a wagon when I got tired of peddling and walking.



I practiced saying 'apple' a lot and of course I sampled the produce.

Me and my Pumpkin

Recall there was a family trip to pick out this years pumpkin. Though two pumpkins came home with us that day, only one made it to Halloween. Our cute round white pumpkin fell prey to slug attack - you know what the pirates say: those who fall behind are left behind. So onward we marched towards Oct. 31st with one hardy pumpkin on our front doorstep and I must say I got pretty attached to our orange gourd. I greeted it on returning home and stopped to say 'hello' on our way out the door (which, conveniently, gave Mom and extra second to lock the door before I headed off to the street).



Well I didn't quite know what to make of the whole carving tradition. I mean, I liked our pumpkin the way it was. But the fact that you can actually light up the pumpkin once it's carved sealed the deal for me. I love lights (another favorite sign right now). So Dad and I lit it every night and I was mesmerized!









I don't know about the whole costume idea. At my age, I think it was more fun for M & D et al. than for me, but the glowing jack-o-lantern definitely made up for it. As a side note, we cooked some of our pumpkin left over from carving and roasted the seeds. I'm developing a taste for squash but the seeds were delicious. Boooo!