Christmahanakwanzakkah 2008

Another Christmas has come and gone, and this year's was great. DRL and I got to enjoy watching Elena open gifts on her own, and actually get excited for what was inside the fancy packaging. She received many extraordinary gifts (especially the fairy ride on car from Great Grandpa Beaver that is soooo very verrrrry verrrrrrrrrrry loud), and DRL and I enjoyed every moment that we spent with family and friends. Thanks to all for making the holiday so warm and special this year. We love you bunches!

And I'll post more photos soon, I promise!! Santa brought me a FABULOUS new camera.....and I've already taken nearly a hundred photos - just of Christmas - so I have to weed through them and find out which I like best.

Love to all and have a safe New Year.

More Hats

Here are photos of the last four hats that I made. The two gorgeous girls are the daughter and grand-daughter of a co-worker of mine. She asked for matching hats for them as a Christmas gift becuase her daughter was deeply in love with the hat I made for Maren. I think they look great.

This is my Cousin April's (of Mrs. Mills fame) daughter Helen.

And her son Teddy (with his grandma and my Aunt Kristy)

Maren's Hat

For those of you who don't know, I've been busy making hats for friends and family this winter. So far, my hat count is up to 16!! A co-worker of mine was blessed with a baby girl, Maren, in April, and asked for a hat to help keep her ears warm this winter. They then won a free photo shoot with an amazing photographer, and were kind enough to showcase my hat in their photos. I thought I'd post them here and let you all enjoy. She's just tooooo cute....

Photographic Evidence

Daddy put her coat and hat on her, and she sat down and pouted. Is she my daughter or what?!?!

DRL put my snowboard goggles on her face tonight, and she thought seeing the world through amber colored lenses was fantastic!!

She didn't want to take them off...

Playing at the dinner table.

I turned the camera on, and pointed at her, and she actually smiled and made a noise that eerily resembled "Cheeeeeeeeeeeese."

We bought my step-nephew this Tractor for Christmas, and still haven't wrapped it. Elena was pretty sure if she climbed on top of it and bounced up and down it would move.

Turns out, she was wrong. But she still had fun. And she still climbs on it. Maybe she needs a tractor, too.

Oreo Face

She really likes to go into Belle's kennel. Especially when she can shut the door and pretend to hide. Notice the book she brought in there with her...

She loves to eat Provolone Cheese.
Exhibit A:

This was her first time "playing" in the snow.

She didn't really know what to make of it.

She really likes popsicles.

Trouble is, she has to hold them herself. And then she drops pieces on the floor....

Sometimes she just lets them melt there. Or Belle comes and cleans them up.

She thought the cone was the best thing ever. For two minutes anyway.
She likes to bounce on Logan's Zebra

The Christmas Card photo
And another cute one...

Upwardly Mobile

It's official -- Elena is walking. It all started over the long holiday weekend. Her courage kept building and building, and now she rarely chooses crawling over her newfound bipedalism. I think that once in a while she goes so far as to actually try and run which is really quite funny to watch. I'll try to capture some video and figure out how to post it so you can all experience the chicken madness that is Elena's walk.

In other news, Elena started sleeping in her crib on Wednesday night. For those of you who didn't know, we had been co-sleeping with her since about, oh, I'd say, The Day She Was Born. And we've been trying to get up the courage and MEANNESS to crib train her for about six months now. Finally, the weekend arrived. I thought I was going to be in for hours of screaming and kicking and crying -- but it turns out, I was wrong. I laid her down in her crib on Wednesday night, she cried for about 3 minutes, and then she was quiet. Now, after nearly a week, she cries until I leave the room and she's silent. I don't think she's getting the same quality of sleep as before, but I'm hoping that will come in time. And I'm also PRAYING that the screaming will stop eventually, and that she'll be happy to go into her bed.

So now it's Christmastime. We've got the tree up, and Elena thinks it's pretty great. She likes to make bee noises, and cow noises, and squeal at the top of her lungs when she does anything that she thinks is fun. I'm excited for the first real snowfall of the season so that we can dress her up in her snowsuit and take her sledding. That reminds me....I should probably buy a sled...

That's the news for now.

Happy (December 1st) Birthday to "Gramma" Carol and "Cousin" Audrey, and Happy (December 7th) Birthday to Uncle Tony.