 | Diary Navigation:
|
November 21, 2003
November 21, 2003
34 days to Christmas………… or at least that’s what my counter says on my knitting blog that I keep. It’s all about my knitting and quilting adventures and a little bit about our life with Erika. I’m madly working on Christmas gifts after I had promised myself that this year I would be selfish and not get into making any gifts for anyone. Oh, it just never works that way.
I meant to start writing about our Halloween experience with Erika but my thoughts jumped to Christmas because I just thought about how many Christmas decorations already were in the stores before Halloween and then how during Halloween night, all the stores transformed their Halloween displays into Christmas trees and lights and ornaments and all. Don’t get me wrong………. I love Christmas and everything there is to it – all the sights, sounds, lights and smells but it seems to be coming earlier every year. I even find that Christmas lights on private homes are starting to be turned on earlier every year. Last year I think we were the earliest having our lights on a few days before December 1st but last night as we were out driving, quite a few houses in our neighbourhood were already fully lit up and there’s one house I drive by on my way to work that has had it’s Christmas tree all decked out in the front window for a couple of weeks now.
Well, while I’m on Christmas, I’m pleased to say that I hope to wrap up our Christmas shopping by the beginning of December this year. It’s getting harder to shop with Erika because she’s so interested in all the displays, wants to run through the mall and see and touch everything. So I thought it would be best to just get it all over with early. And then that will give me all of December to do what I love so much about the season…. Decorate our home for our first Christmas in our new house, bake some goodies and finish up all those crafty presents I’m making.
Now, I’m going back to Halloween because Erika’s Halloween story deserves telling. Erika went as a little ladybug this year. She loved being dressed up and she loved having the kids come to the door. She also wanted to go out but as soon as she got out the door, she also got scared. It was dark, it was cold and the fireworks were really loud. So we went to our neighbour’s house and she was quite pleased with that. However, she would not go any further than our neighbour’s house. That was fine with me. I wasn’t going to push her into something she didn’t want to do. So we went back home where she enjoyed the kids coming to the door for a little while. Then she was ready to go back out again. This time with her Daddy. They were gone for quite some time so I thought that maybe she felt safer with Daddy and started making the rounds. He came back after about 20 minutes and their trick-or-treating experience revolved around (you go guess)…………. Yes, visiting with the same neighbours again. They spent time inside their house looking at the fish and the birds and just chatting. She wouldn’t go anywhere else. After a little while back at home again, she wanted to go out one more time. Guess where they went again???? Yes, the same neighbours once again. By this time, things were quieting down quite a bit but Erika wanted to go out one more time. I took her out this time and decided that I’d carry her past the neighbour’s house and up the street a ways. I thought visiting another couple that we know in the cul-de-sac would be a good idea. They have two kids, a girl older than Erika and a little boy who is younger than Erika. We went there and we ended up making ourselves right at home at their house. Erika was happy to visit. To her Halloween was visiting with people at their houses. I couldn’t even respond fast enough and she had climbed into the little guy’s high chair and was stealing his chips. So I stayed and visited there for about 45 minutes and then we went back home. It was quite a fun evening.
Last weekend Erika’s godmother came to visit for the first time since she was baptized at 10 weeks old. Certainly Erika had no recollection of that time almost 2 years ago but she recognized a kindred spirit in her godmother Cheryl. She adopted her immediately into the family and wanted Cheryl to do many of the things with her that I would usually do – for example going potty. Cheryl has no children so it was fun watching the interaction between the two. I’m really glad that they got to spend some time together and it gave me a break, too.
Potty training is going really well. Erika is pushing us along. We’re not quite finished yet but we’re getting close for having the daytime worked out. They are going to try that thicker waffle underwear with her at daycare in the next little bit so we’re going to try it at home, too. I know there will be accidents but it’s a part of learning.
I’m still amazed at the enormous language development kids go through at this stage. New words every day and the fun part is how Erika is starting to put them all together. Last night we were going to the store and her words were: store, toys, shopping and shopping cart. The connections and meanings are all starting to happen. It’s cool.
Nothing much else is new.
More updates soon.
Uli & Erika
 |  |
|
want to keep a diary on iParenting?
Authoring a diary on the iParenting network allows you to chronicle your family's story, preserving it for years to come. It's also a great way to get the most out of the iParenting community. Click here to start...
|
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families. 
