eloise: Constantly learning. Some days, I try to “teach” you about something and you seem to not be listening or not very interested. But then , days later, you will mention some tid-bit of knowledge I passed on. And I’m always astonished. How did you know that?! My little sponge. Taking in everything around her.

-joining Jodi for the 52 project!

5/52

eloise: we’re all still fighting this nasty cold and cough. I think we’ve been sick for over a month now off and on. Holed up in the house has created quite a monkey. We’ve finally gotten out in the last couple weeks to park dates and such and your energy level has been through the roof. It’s hard for me to keep up.

joining Jodi for the 52 project!

4/52

eloise: Riding bikes along the beach park path, stopping to roll down a sandy hill and deciding to stay the rest of the time rolling down said hill…. the life of this very active and very spunky 3.5 year old.

-joining jodi for the 52 project!

3/52

eloise:We went to the zoo the other day with our friends. You’re favorite things at the zoo are seeing the Lions and sliding down the “Ant hill”. In fact, you could probably spend the whole visit on that Ant Hill if I let you. You are not afraid of a little adventure, that’s for sure!

-joining Jodi for year four of the 52 Project!

At the beginning of the week, we got to meet an online friend for the first time (which is always so much fun to finally put faces to names) and we got to visit a local alpaca farm together. A very fun and interesting morning. The farm was situated up in the hills about 30 minutes from our town. A chilly morning, a few days after the rains we had, so everything had a brighter look to it and there was plenty of muddy puddles to jump in. We brought along our muddy puddle boots and headed in. The farm was owned by a lovely lady who had been breeding alpacas for quite some time. There were so many of them sprawled out in pens for acres. Munching on grass and enjoying the warm sun. The owner took us around a bit. Answered our questions and then turned us loose to visit with the gentle animals. She also had two giant but very gentle dogs who followed us around. They watched over the herd of Alpacas and watched over us as well. We even got to watch the owner and her veterinarian check some female Alpacas for pregnancy. One out of the three they checked was pregnant and it was rather fascinating seeing the teeny tiny baby alpaca on the ultrasound. We ended the morning in her fiber room, where she spins her own fleece into yarns. I came away with a little pink skein. Perfect for making some little softie scarves.

We had such a wonderful Christmas. The whole season went too quickly, I’m having withdrawls already. We were in Boston with Jeff’s family for Thanksgiving, so this year, we stayed local and after opening presents at our house and having a fun cinnamon bun breakfast, we headed to my parents house to celebrate and have Christmas dinner.
Ellie, at 3 years and a couple months, was loads of fun. Everything she opened was so exciting for her. She danced to Christmas music (her favorites being “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”and “I Saw Three Ships”). She helped me make Christmas cookies and pass them out to friends and neighbors. We did lots of Christmas crafting, she got to go ice skating several times with her Dada. Her Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles from both sides spoiled her with delightful gifts and goodies. And Santa brought her a heavy baby (made from this wonderful doll maker) and a new stroller to replace the old one that broke (from here), as well as a soccer ball she had been wanting. We had so much fun this season!

Little Polar bear softie made by me. Penguin softie by GrandyandBaa on instagram

My pinterest crafts- sweater mittens and a kitty ornament I made.



Peter Pan doll from TaleWorld on etsy

Custom Tree dolls by TansyDolls on etsy

The annual handmade Christmas dress from Gramma!

Wishing you a wonderful rest of your holiday and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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eloise: And here you are a happy, brave girl, waiting in line for a Christmas carnival ride (that by the way, I wouldn’t have dared stepped on by myself at your age), but you were adamant to ride something by yourself. You are quite something little girl!

50/52

eloise: I wouldn’t normally post a photo of your sad face, nor do I normally take photos of you when you are having such big emotions. But, this day you were happy as a clam one minute and upset or pouting about something else the next. I wanted to include one photo of the face I see just as much as that beautiful, sweet, happy face. Three has been pretty challenging. The ups and downs of emotions. The yelling. The demands. I’ve tried to get you through these emotions somewhat peacefully, but most days, I am at a loss as what to do. I felt this photo was both sad and beautiful, because it truly shows real life with this amazing, frustrating 3 year old. And as I tell you (and you often tell me), “I love you when you are angry, I love you when sad. I love you when you are happy. I love you when you are glad. I love you because you’re you.”

joining the 52 project!

We’ve been creating, crafting, Advent-ing (with my homemade one and this lovely one from Eric Carle). We’ve been playing with the Nutcracker paper dolls I found here as well as reading and listening to the music. We had a gingerbread scavenger hunt after our gingerbread men went missing. We’ve been “elving” and painting and sewing and making merry all month. And there’s more to come!! I just love this time of year. How about you? How are you enjoying this month?