Family Fun in December

Like a fish in the water! Our little girl loves swimming.

With her beanie baby that Santa gave her.

Having fun with Daddy.

Loving the supersize Snow Globe at daycare after the Christmas program.

Danika's first Christmas Program, fixing her "happy birthday Jesus" hat.

Singing Jingle Bells.

Fixing her "Happy Birthday Jesus" hat.

Perfect place to enjoy some chips.

Little Elf checking who is on the "naughty and nice" list.

Hmmm...not sure about this Santa dude.

Enjoying fresh cupcakes.

Bake Cupcakes BAKE!!

We've had a great December so far! Despite VERY cold temps this past week we've had a lot of fun as a family.

Saturday, December 5 we went to the Macy's 8th floor display of "Santa's Elf land" with cousin Mikayla and Grandma Herman. Danika loved seeing all the pretty lights on the displays and she thinks she needs to go again! She especially loved the LARGE cupcake with lots of bright RED frosting on it that Daddy bought her after we toured the display.

We also had a first birthday party to attend the afternoon of the 5th and Danika had been practicing singing "Happy Birthday baby Tay Tay" for weeks in preparation for this party. The same evening we had our "Red Thread Adoption" Christmas party. Danika met Santa for the first time! She's not sold on him yet but she warmed up when he gave her a tie dye colored beanie baby bear named "peace". We don't make a big deal of Santa around our house, since we want Danika to know that all gifts come from God, who has enabled Mama and Daddy to work to give her presents, but we are OK with her knowing that Santa is a kind and friendly man who reinforces the concept that it is better to give than to receive. Danika wasn't up to sitting on Santa's lap at this visit but she did allow him to have a picture with her after he offered up gifts.

After meeting Santa and having supper at the party Danika got to try another first...swimming! Our little girl is a fish in the water! She LOVED being in the pool and when the time came to leave there were some serious tears. It's fun to watch her try new things and enjoy them so much. Swimming will definitely be added to our activity list in the future.

This week (December 10) Danika participated in her first Christmas program. Her Daycare had a very nice program featuring all of the kids. Danika's class sang "Happy Birthday Jesus" and "Jingle Bells" and each of the kids shook bells in time with the music. It's fun to see her be a part of a group and enjoy singing. She was thrilled when Grandpa Herman came to watch her sing.

Danika still loves the Christmas tree as much this year as she did last year although she's a bit upset that her "house" (play tent and tunnel) had to be taken down to accommodate the tree. Each night she likes to run to the tree and help plug it in when we arrive home.

Baking is another activity Danika has enjoyed this year. For her birthday she received a child's baking kit complete with apron, mini muffin pan, spoons, wire whisk, etc. We've baked some cookies and muffins together and she thinks this is a great activity. We've had to limit her sugar intake since we've discovered it makes her VERY hyper. Our little girl definitely has a sweet tooth.

It's amazing how fast Danika is learning new words and expressions. The other night she informed us she was "anxious for chips" and then pointed to the exact spot on the table where she thought we should place a large helping of potato chips (and dip).

We told Danika recently that she'd be going to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Iowa for Christmas. She looked at us and waved and said, "Bye Bye Mama, Bye Bye Daddy"...apparently we aren't invited to her Christmas celebration this year! :-)

Every night just before bed, we hold Danika up to her advent calendar where she can get her "baby Jesus" surprise for the night. We are trying to teach her the joys of simple little things and the true gift of Christmas is Jesus Christ. She loved this Advent tradition last year and continues to love it this year.