Talking Practice

Cooking!

This video was taken a few weeks ago when we first decorated gingerbread cookies with Adaline. In it, you will hear Grammy's voice - we had put her on speaker phone so Adaline could tell her what we were doing. Enjoy!

Shopping for the perfect tree

Apparently we waited a little late this year - there were slim pickings at the Optimist Club Christmas Tree sale. I thought we were going to end up with a Charlie Brown-style tree (which probably wouldn't have bothered Adaline!). What a fun outing we had!

This is Adaline "hugging" the tree...

Thank you, Auntie Nona, for her cute dress! It was a little warm yesterday for sweaters and long sleeves, but I wanted to make sure we got some good pictures.

Adaline is such a good little helper - she was happy to help Daddy bring the tree in. Yes - that is her, holding a branch and helping guide the tree inside.

The tree is beautiful, and Adaline is in love with the ornaments. She has definitely made Christmas even more wonderful than usual. Merry Christmas everyone!

Planting Flowers

I think Bryan laughs at some of my crazy ideas for activities with Adaline - and this was one of those crazy projects... I saw some Paperwhites for sale and thought Adaline might enjoy planting flowers. We only had one casualty (she pulled the top off of the bulb!), but we will have flowers to watch grow in the coming weeks. What fun!

Tea Party!

In November, Adaline and Mommy went to a tea party together - our first ever! Adaline was ready to go early Sunday morning and couldn't understand why we had to wait until after her nap to attend the tea party... We got all dressed up - pearls and all - for the big occassion.

The historic Taylor-Grady house was a beautiful spot for the fun event...

We heard a special story about a tea party, and all the kids seemed to enjoy the book. I didn't get a picture of the kids singing - but we all sang "I'm a little tea pot..." after the story.

The highlight of the afternoon for the older kids was the tea pot pinata - Adaline wasn't sure what to make of it, but the next picture demonstrates that she quickly figured it all out...

As with all fun activities, the end arrived... Not wanting to leave (and probably a little hyper from all the cookies she ate), Adaline went racing around the grounds of the Taylor Grady House with Mom not too far behind. What Adaline didn't realize was that the gardens circled back around - so she got caught by the bushes!

We had a wonderful time together at the tea party - and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Fall Festival

Amy and Bob Parrish hosted the church fall festival - and we had a great time! Daddy helped Adaline make her own cookie (although I think Mommy and Daddy ate most of it!).

They had all kinds of western-themed games that Adaline took part in. She wasn't really sure if she liked the cowboy hats, though...

Mommy helped Adaline make a "placemat." Unfortunately for Adaline, the placemat "disappeared" not long after we got home... Hmmm. Wonder what happened to it...

All in all, it was a great family activity - and we look forward to going again next year!

Halloween

I have been reminded that I have not recently updated the blog, so I am going to try to add a few items over my lunch break... Adaline did not wear a true Halloween costume this year - but she did wear a fun fall outfit! Her daddy had bought her a Halloween "purse," and JPO had made her a darling Halloween bracelet - so she was ready to go!

Before walking down the street for our one and only trick or treat visit of the night, we practiced saying "trick or treat" which didn't much sound like the real thing. It was adorable, of course. When Terry opened the door, Adaline whispered "trick-reat" and then got shy.

After receiving a box of animal crackers, however, Adaline decided that she loved the Jacksons and trick or treating! She blew kisses before we headed back home. Many thanks to Terry and Ransom!