Big Girl

 
Barb put Elizabeth in pigtails today and she looked so much like a girl and so much less like a baby. My baby is growing up!

Helper

 
Elizabeth is really quite helpful. She helps Barb cook and clean. She helps me take my shoes off. She gives us back- and foot-rubs. She's a good shopper. She helped us put lights on the Christmas tree.

The trick of it is, she has to want to. If she feels like she's being forced to do something (e.g., put on a diaper, put on clothes, ingest medicine), she screams bloody murder, becomes as limp as a pudding, and squirms like an eel. An eel made of pudding!

The Family That Paints Together...

 

One of the many benefits of parenthood is that it exposes you to art-making in a very unselfconscious, freeform environment. The other day the three of us get into the painting and we all had a lot of fun. We should all make sure to carve out time to make art, no matter what it is, no matter what our skill level. It's liberating.

This One's For Grandpa

 

A baby, a tub of sour cream, and a spoon -- enough said.

Zoo Rave

 

Here is Elizabeth wearing her 'Muddy Buddy' rainsuit for the first time at the Zoo Lights display. For some reason this picture makes me think of the rave scene, which I know next to nothing about.

A week or so after the cold snap that sent us to Macy's Santaland, Barb, Teresa, Wendy, Riley, Lily, and Elizabeth finally made it up to the zoo for the Christmas lights display.

Little Elf

 

We just got back from a Christmas party at Terrence and Daniel's and it was fun. I left my camera in the car, so no photos, but Elizabeth wore the outfit she's wearing in the picture above (sans crown) and she was widely adored. She was also very well behaved.

Terrence and Daniel live in an apartment complex way the heck out in Hillsboro and it was quite the adventure getting there, especially given that we left the cell phone at home and the Mapquest directions were minutely, but crucially, incorrect. We ended up walking around the wrong apartment complex purgatory for half an hour, losing one of Elizabeth's shoes, getting cold and damp, before retreating to our car and figuring out the problem.

It was worth it, though, as the party was spectacular.

Santa

 

During a recent cold snap (and I mean cold!) we abandoned plans to see the lights at the zoo and took refuge in Macy's Santaland. Elizabeth loved the animatronic reindeer and elves, the lights and presents. She was even intrigued enough about Santa to tentatively approach (with buddy Riley), though sitting on his lap was out of the question.

Boat Parade?

Yep, last night we went to a boat parade -- boats festooned with Christmas lights trawling up the Willamette River. We went to the Milwaukie waterfront to enjoy a huge bonfire, Christmas carols, and other attractions, including this spectacular fire truck.


You might not notice it from Elizabeth's expression, but she is holding food in her mouth. It's a new thing with her. She likes to hold food for a long time in her mouth. Usually it results in her spitting the food out, but sometimes she'll swallow it. It's pretty funny because while she is storing the food she won't say a word no matter how much you try to get her to talk.

She's really enjoying the Christmas season. And tonight we go to a party!