Lots of pics from our Chicago Christmas

Kids on the stage on Christmas Eve

Lunch with Grace & Wes in Chattanooga

Matching hoodies!

A kid in a Meijer in West Lafayette

Travelin' girl

Coffee with Katie Rocchio

Erik Dean on the sax

Ellie, Dorothy, Erik

Boots

Second cousins on Christmas Eve

Dinner and gift exchange at Matt and Katie's house

Brothers in the kitchen

Keeping Dorothy in tow at the rest stop

A little musical interlude on the trip to Wisconsin

There was no room in the inn but Dorothy scrounged up some bunk beds for the tired couple.

Snow angels in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on Christmas night

The Sunday Funnies

Yucky
[yuhk-ee]
noun, adjective, verb, adverb

1.  General exclamation of rejection, disgust, anger, or discomfort

2.  Automatic response before one chooses enthusiasm or acceptance

Examples:

• You are yucky, Mommy!
• That candy looks yucky!
• Yucky!  I don't like baths!
• No!  Yucky!

Usage:  Often accompanied by a flat-footed stomp

Walking Bridge in Chattanooga with Grace and Wes

5 Deans

God bless us, every one!

Astronaut Dorothy

Dr. Dean at the children's museum

More Baby Andrew

Christmas tree nativity

Duet with cousin Mackie

Eanes Christmas last weekend

A little help unwrapping

The pink candle

The Sunday Funnies

Dorothy was trying to lick me; I told her not to.  She said, "Can I lick your lips?"  I said no.  She countered, "But you lick your lips."

An ongoing conflict between Dorothy and her friend Willa involves which child gets to play with the pink and/or blue item -- markers, blocks, whatever.  Dorothy found a toy I had set aside which includes 4 paper princesses, and I told her that she and Willa can play with it when they stop fighting over the toys, because I was afraid the paper princesses might tear.  Dorothy posed a solution: "Just put my name on the pink and blue ones, and put Willa's name on the other two."

Dorothy was singing "Away in a Manger" while playing with a toy nativity scene, and she paused to tell us, "Jesus likes to hear songs about himself."

Merry Christmas from Valdosta!

Princess Party (two weekends ago)

First ballet class

Staring contest

Video:  https://youtu.be/ee3RG52twdU

Santa's Wonderland 2018

One girl, four trees

The Sunday Funnies

Dorothy:  Santa can't be watching 'cause Santa's in the mall.

Dorothy has offered some tempting threats lately.  Yesterday she said, "Mom, if you do not give me what I want, you cannot play with me tomorrow."  I said, "You are going to need to work on your threats."  So she added, "Please."

We were listening to Mr. Tambourine Man and Dorothy said, "It's funny that he says 'Play a song for me', and he is playing a song!"

When Dorothy is cutting up I will sometimes call her "Mischief Dorothy".  She confessed to me as I was tucking her in bed, "Mom, Mischief Dorothy is not real.  I was acting like Mischief Dorothy.  But it was me the whole time."

Dorothy was enjoying a bowl of red beans and rice when she spied a pepper and held it up on her fork:  "Mine has a green plop yucky!"

Sarah:  So you had lots of growing pains last night, huh?
Dorothy:  Will you measure me?

With some frequency Dorothy tells me, "Even though I turned 4, I still feel 3."

Sarah:  Dorothy, go back to bed, put your head on your pillow, and close your eyes.
Dorothy:  I try to close my eyes, but they keep opening up again!

Another weekend, another birthday party!

Pajama day at school

Dorothy was excited despite this end-of-day ennui.

DiNo-vember

Dorothy learned about "Dinovember" from a children's story and she continually stages dinosaur scenes throughout the house.

More friend fun

Keeping Willa in the afternoons is going really well.

(The yarn is their hair is Anna's white streak in Frozen.)