Bakin' DeBakers

Our tree is decorated, our cookies are [mostly] baked, and our shopping is [almost] done! We are [nearly] ready for Christmas!!! Plus our music director at church cut us a little slack today and let us sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem". Thank goodness, something I've actually heard of before. It feels like Christmas now.

Checking out the Angel up close and personal

Tree decorating had a new twist with a toddler in the house. We have some friends that were explaining shatter-proof ornaments and all other manner of baby-proofing their tree. Honestly, we hadn't really worried about it up until then and decided not to start.

I unpacked the ornaments, gave them to Layla one at a time, let her inspect them, and walk them over to Dad at the tree. Of course, we have some nice ones that we would be sad they were broken and those ones we put up high ourselves. There are a few that she keeps taking on and off the tree, especially her own footprint and handprint from last year. The only ornament broken was handled by the official family klutz, me!


We made spritz cookies yesterday and Aunt Audrey's cream wafers today. Batter for the roll-outs are ready, as is the chocolate chip dough. Layla really enjoys sitting on the counter and helping me cook and bake.

Rolling the dough for the cream wafers

Our completed cream wafers.

Now you may be thinking, Beth these don't look like Audrey's cream wafers. Turns out we don't have a 1-1/2 inch cookie cutter, so we used flowers. We also ran out of regular butter, so we used sweat cream butter (our every day choice). They are sort of like a cousin to Audrey's; they taste good, but not quite perfect. I don't think anyone will be spitting them out. We will try again next year! Audrey always told me they were made with A LOT of love and I think we had that part going for us!

Out of the Mouths

I'm copying Jen's post, I thought it was a good idea to catch up on our tot's talking:

"deez!" "deez!" (cheese)

"grrrrrr" (the noise made by bears, lions, tigers, and more surprisingly giraffes and zebras)

"mmmmmmoooooooooo" (what a cow says)

"ooo ooo ooo" while tickling belly (what a monkey says)

"Ga mama" (Grandma)

"Poppa" (Grandpa)

"Aweee" (Allie)

"Duch-da" (touchdown) accompanied by the sign whenever football is on TV.

This week she clearly identified herself by pointing to her chest and saying "Yay-ya". This is what her friends call her (an "easy" name I'm told by her teachers). Her friends Madeline and Addison run to the door at school when they see her in the window calling, "Yay-ya, Yay-ya, Hi Yay-ya". Some are close to getting the L sound; it's very endearing to hear these little friends talk to each other.

She is also identifying her nose, eyes, teeth, and (sometimes) ears. She can point to many animals and objects in books and is trying out new words almost every day. Some of them we only hear once like "unkey" (monkey) last week. We know they will all be in full use soon!

Getting in the Spirit!

We had a wonderful weekend getting geared up for Christmas and all the fun the winter season brings. Saturday morning started at Layla's School for the Annual Christmas Festival. Santa was on hand for photos, but Layla would have NOTHING to do with him this year. Many of her friends were there and she enjoyed some extra play time with them, crafts, and open gym. It was fun to visit with some of the other parents and kids.

This is as close as Layla was willing to get to Santa.
You can see she looks pretty suspicious.

Layla and her buddy Adelynn. Addie loves baby dolls and Layla loves trucks.
I don't think they fight over toys all that often!

Our second stop of the day was our regular trek to Spring Grove to the Richardson Tree Farm to cut down our Christmas tree. It is nearly an hour drive, so both Layla and Jason caught up on their zzzzzzz and Mom enjoyed some peace and quiet on the wintry drive into the country. As I was looking up the link I realized it is now called an "Adventure" Farm. They have "orbiting" and zip lines now. It is quite a production.

Layla loved the tractor ride and wandering around looking for the perfect tree (not too many options for the white pine, which is Jason's fave). It was fun until it started raining and then the farm briefly lost power - no tree shakers, tree baggers, no food, and no cash registers. Thankfully, it was restored quickly.

Tractor trailer ride, probably Layla's favorite activity of the day!

Layla and I at our Christmas Tree!

We headed to the nearby town of Antioch for a late lunch at a cute little Italian restaurant. Layla doesn't get to eat out very often and was delighted with the waitress and even more with her antipasti plate of mozzarella and prosciutto. Apparently, she has good taste!

Layla's Christmas Wish List

Christmas season is upon us! In the event you are inclined to get a gift for Layla, here are some things she would really like:

- Money for College (yes, boring, but us parents really like this gift).
- Books - ones with flaps that open, different textures, and movable parts
- BabySmart Cooshee Booster Seat (any color except pink - we'd like to use it for more than one child)
- Fischer Price Push-Popper
- Art Supplies (finger paints, colored paper, crayons, etc.) Washable and Non-Toxic!
- Travel Size Magnetic Drawing Board (like this) Note: when you click on this there is also a drawing board that is totally inappropriate for kids. I think you'll know which one.
- Hooded Towel and Bath Robe (2T)
- Bathtub Toys
- Duplo Building Block Sets
- Little People - Farm Set, School Bus, etc.
- Balls of Any Kind, Sports Games

Thanks to our generous friends and family we are not in need of any clothes right now, but 2T for next fall/winter if you like picking out cute outfits (who doesn't?).

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It is still a work in progress, but I would love to hear your comments

www.debakerdesign.com

Thanks!