Aisley at 13.5 months

I miss the "monthly" post again, but I wanted to still get something down, so I thought a half month update would be just as good. :)

Signs: apple, daddy, mommy, baby, sleep, blanket, cheese, please, cracker, more, bath, drink, noodle, all done, play, ball

You started walking just before your birthday!  However, before you started walking you were climbing on everything.

You have a very good understanding of what's being said to you.  For instance, if some asks if you're hungry, you will smack your lips or head to the kitchen.  You know when daddy's leaving for work and start for the door and blow a kiss goodbye.

Two of your favorite things are going to play at the park to swing and listening to music so you can dance (aka shake your head).

Jinger Bells

Atlie loves the Christmas season and one of her favorite songs to sing is Jingle Bells.  However, Atlie thinks it is Jinger Bells and as you can see, doesn't really know the rest of the song either. :)
I thought it was cute and wanted to capture the moment, before she figures out the real song.

Fruit Soup, the Lapps, and 50 days of School

Throughout the year, our school curriculum has us focus on different countries of the world. We started with North America, moved to South America and we are currently focusing on European countries.

Our first stop in Europe was to Norway. Branna enjoyed learning unique characteristics of the culture and we even made a traditional Norwegian dish: fruit soup.  The girls love to cook and I am always looking for recipes that will be easy for them to get involved in and that won't make a huge mess.  Fortunately, the recipe that I found was just that and the resulting dish tasted pretty good. (I think Atlie enjoyed it more than anyone!)

We also made Lapland felt squares in conjunction with our study. (The Lapps are a group of people who live in Northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Apparently, they were bright colors of blue, red, and yellow.) Since it's Christmas time, we turned them into ornaments for the girls to look back on in future years.

And lastly, we celebrate 50 days of school. Last year we had a big celebration, but lately I feel like I'm trying to walk up an escalator that is going down and can barely get the required work done.  So instead of making a big day, I awarded the girls with 50 day medals and we had root beer floats. (The floats were all that Branna really wanted anyways!) Even without the bid celebration, I think the day was memorable. :)

Aisley Walking (November 23)

Atlie's 3rd Birthday

Looking through my digital pictures, I realize how much I've neglected the blog... and I really want to catch up.  The girls and myself like to look back from time to time of milestones and various happenings over the years.  So, while these next few posts be more pictures and less words, I at least wanted to get something posted for memories. :)

As I've mentioned before, Atlie is a girl's girl and for her 3rd birthday party she told me she wanted a pink party.  Sounds easy enough, but I really wanted to narrow it down, so we decided to have a Pink Fairy Party.  Although the weather was a little bit chilly and windy, Atlie had a great time sharing her special day with her friends and family.

Choosing wings, wands, and tiaras

Face Painting

Happy birthday time!

We were even brave enough to have a pinata...

Opening gifts (she really wanted to go finish playing, hence the look)

We had a small to celebrate Atlie's birthday on the actual day.

She has told everyone that she had "lots of birthdays".