Abi's Family Drawing

We have a magnet that has the word "family" cut out of it. I really like it, and so it hangs on the fridge and I put pictures in there. Abi likes it too. She also likes to color on the fridge. (Yes I let her do it...she uses dry erase markers, and it comes off with just a tad bit of elbow grease.) So, she likes to use the magnet as a stencil. One day, she colored the entire thing in. And then, she drew her family underneath it. The picture is labeled accordingly. I think it may have been coincidence that she drew her family, but it was so cute! And, she was so proud.

Beautiful Baby Bobby

Ahhh...I can't help but smile and gush when I see these photos. What a sweet, beautiful baby!

Abi's Feet

Abi loves, I mean is infatuated with, cameras. She will take pictures of everything. The great part is that she is a great photograper! (I only wish I had some of her skills) She will walk around and take pictures of the TV, the walls, the baby, well, you get the idea. There is however, a trend in all of the little photo shoots she has. For some reason, she HAS to take a picture of her feet. Some of her best shots are the ones of her feet. So, for your enjoyment, I present the best of Abi's feet.

Winter Wonderland

Hold the phones! Stop the presses! It snowed a quarter of an inch in Portland! Cancel everything!!!! Ok, to be honest, I am glad that they cancel everything around here when it snows. (Even church!) For one thing, I hate driving in it, and I hate being cold. It is very pretty though, and I am glad that I get to enjoy from inside!

Cookies!!

Deciding that I needed to spend some quality time with AVD today, we decided (more like I decided, and she consented) to make cookies. She loves to pull up the kitchen chair and help. Sometimes it is hard for me to let her help, like when I need to get dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less, but today is not crazy, the baby was sleeping, and we were both totally relaxed. We made no bake cookies. I would go as far as to say that these are AVD's favorite.

She had fun stirring the entire time it took to boil. I think she was enjoying watching the butter melt.

We then plopped them on the wax paper. Watch out! The funny looking ones are reserved for AVD. That's because she licked the spoon after every one she put down.

If the chocolate on her face is any indication that she had fun, then she must of had tons of fun!

Chips and Lolli-loli

Yesterday, as I was driving through town to pick up some food for my sick husband, I asked AVD what she wanted to eat. She said: "Chips and lolli-loli." Mom translation: Chips and guacamole. This was the first time she had ever tried to say guacamole, and let me tell you I was floored. I was laughing so hard not only because of how she said it, but because I understood her! What makes it even funnier is the fact that she LIKES guacamole and now can ask for it by name....well, sorta.

Candy Making

Today I got a wild hair and decided that it would be fun to make candy for Christmas. Usually, I make cookies. And when I say cookies, I mean that I make like 8 or 9 different kinds of cookies, and stuff them in my freezer until it's time to eat them. This year, I don't have the time, nor the energy, (or the freezer space) to do that, so I have made Snickerdoodles, and now I have made candy. I made Layered Peppermint Bark. It is like peanut brittle, except with chocolate... Anyway, it was really rather fun, however, it was more of a hassle than anything. Of course, AVD wanted to help. When AVD wants to help, it means "I want to eat whatever you are making, and play in the sink and make lots of messes with the water." So between trying to keep her from eating the chocolates, and stirring the double boiler, the door bell rang twice, the baby wouldn't stop crying, and to top it off (I'll be honest) I didn't really know what I was doing with the candy, and I had a time crunch. Needless to say, my first candy making experience was well...like this: AHHH!!! But maybe if you were a fly on the wall you would have laughed. Especially when I took my meat mallet to the chocolate to break it into edible pieces. That was the best part!!