Sunday, December 18 (day 171/365)

Today we took Phoebe to see Santa.  We weren't too sure how she'd do, but we figured we'd give it a shot.  You can see the results for yourself :) 

Saturday, December 17 (day 170/365)

There is a guy in our neighborhood who goes all out with his holiday decorations.  And I mean All Out.  For all the major holidays he puts up a walkway through his yard and then fills it with blow up decorations and lights.  Today we took the Doodle Bug down to walk through the winter wonderland.  She had a great time and really enjoyed seeing all the lights (although she did have a hard time with the "no touching" rule).  We were really hoping to get a super cute picture of her but she was just too excited to sit still. 

Why are we just standing here - let's go in!!

Friday, December 16 (day 169/365)

Phoebe has always had what you might call a big personality.  A lot of the time this makes her very fun to be around.  She is confident, funny, adventurous and expressive.   However, she also knows exactly what she wants.  And if you don't give it to her she will get very angry.  Phoebe can throw one heck of a temper tantrum.  Of course, she does have a lot to be upset about - we are really mean parents.  We are always making her wear pants, and wipe her nose and do all kinds of tantrum-worthy things.  While she is usually genuinely upset, there is a fair amount of theatrical flair involved in a lot of tantrums.  Sometimes after her bath, Phoebe will practice her angry faces in the mirror.  Here you can see what happens when the baby is asked to wear socks.  THE TRAGEDY!!!

Not socks.  If you make me wear socks, my little baby life will not be worth living.

Hey!  Are you watching??!!! 

Just when I think it can't get any worse you are going to put on my shoes!?!?!?!  What kind of MONSTER are you?!?!?!

Don't look at me!!!! I have on SOCKS ... and SHOES ... it's HORRIBLE!!!!!

It is so hard to be the baby.  So.  Hard. 

Thursday, December 15 (day 168/365)

We waffled about putting up a tree this year, but we finally decided we should take the plunge and decorate for the munchkin's first Christmas.  Having decided to put the tree up we went to get it out of the garage only to discover ... our tree had been inhabited by mice!  While that could have led to an entertaining Christmas with the cats, we decided the mouse tree was probably a no-go with the baby.  We tracked down a replacement and decorated.  We hung most of our ornaments on the top, but we left a few soft (UNBREAKABLE) ornaments on the bottom.  Doodle bug LOVED the tree.  She'd be constantly point at it and say something that we think sounded at least a little bit like "tree".  Even though we know Phoebe won't remember her first Christmas, we ended up being really glad we put in the time to decorate. 

Here Mom, here's a stocking.  Also, guess what?  It was spaghetti day at school.

Wednesday, December 14 (day 167/365)

This week was the last week of classes, so my schedule was a little more open and I was able to sneak away to take Phoebe to our parent-baby class.  We both love going and really enjoy hanging out with our baby (and parent) friends.  Phoebe loves all of the activities and new toys ... except for the parachute.  She remains very suspicious of the parachute.  It is so fun to watch her explore and play!

Look!  I have all the toys!

Share?  Hmm ... I'll think about it ...

So. much. fun.

Right after I took this picture she put the baby in the oven.   I promise she did not learn that at home.

Now that the class is transitioning from infant to toddler, we have music time every class.  Phoebe loves to dance and play instruments.

Tuesday, December 13 (day 166/365)

Some days the baby works so hard she can barely make it through dinner ...

Monday, December 12 (day 165/365)

You might have noticed that the latkes from Phoebe's Hanukkah playset have been making quite a few appearances in blog posts lately.  Usually one of them is shoved into her mouth while she toddles around looking for trouble.  Here is some photographic proof that she sometimes actually plays with them as intended.

Sunday, December 11 (day 164/365)

Phoebe has really had a lot to say lately.  Every once in a while she will launch into a little baby monologue.  It is clear she is really trying to communicate something - her silly parents just can't figure out what it is :)  (Note how she switches the toy from hand to hand to allow for gesturing). 

Saturday, December 10 (day 163/365)

Today was Phoebe's friend Dexter's first birthday party.  We got the little doodle all dressed up and tried to get a cute picture, but she was way too busy.  This is the best photo I got:

The party was super fun for the kids - and it is a lot of fun to see them playing together (or at least near each other).  It is also a lot of fun to hang out with our parent friends.  They are in the same boat as us, so they aren't offended when conversations get interrupted every 30 seconds to track down a stray baby or when in a sleep-deprived haze we call someone (or their child) by the wrong name.  Hopefully some time in the next year or so I will regain the ability to carry on an actual adult conversation :)

We tried to take a picture of all five babies at the party.  They were not cooperative.

Phoebe and Daddy hanging out at the party.

Phoebe really enjoyed trying out all of Dexter's cool toys.  Even if she didn't necessarily use them in the standard way.

Yay! Baby friends!

Friday, December 9 (day 162/365)

Now that Phoebe is eating a bigger variety of foods, Danger is grudgingly spending more time with her.  In particular he spends a lot of mealtimes with her.  Here is trying to figure out if there is a path to cream cheese that does not involve getting a baby hug.

Today we sent Phoebe to school in her Bears football shirt.  The teachers thought she looked a little too much like a boy, so they put some pigtails in her hair.  The doodles doesn't really have much hair, so the pigtails looked a little more like antennae than anything else - we called her "little bug" all night - she doesn't look amused.

Thursday, December 8 (day 161/365)

Our cats have gotten too lazy to chase laser pointers, so it is a good thing we have a baby!

Wednesday, December 7 (day 160/365)

Phoebe has developed a real fondness for Jeremy's wallet.  She has walked off with it at least three or four times in the last few weeks.  Usually (like in this picture) we catch her rifling through it in one of her favorite spots.  One time, she wandered into the living room casually chewing on Jeremy's access card for his lab.  The card had been in Jeremy's wallet.  When we went to go look for the wallet it was nowhere to be found.  It took us several days to track down, the little doodle bug is getting more creative with her hiding places!

Tuesday, December 6 (day 159/365)

At the beginning of the month, the local fire department went to Phoebe's daycare to teach the kids about fire safety.  I am not sure how many safety tips Phoebe learned, but she did get an awesome plastic hat that she has been obsessed with ever since we brought it home.  This is actually a funny development because the little munchkin usually hates hats.  Just the suggestion that we might make her wear a sunhat outside can bring on epic tantrums.  The fire hat on the other hand - she will put on her own head.  We have enjoyed having our little fire fighter toddling around the living room.

Monday, December 5 (day 158/365)

Look at all the glorious electronic devices! If only my arms were just a little longer!

Sunday, December 4 (157/365)

Sunday is frequently football day around here because I'm something of a junkie. Things waned a bit in December as the reality of the Caleb Hanie era set in for the Bears this year. This picture shows Phoebe sitting in her new portable eating-seat, looking concerned with her papa.

Saturday, December 3 (156/365)

Kate's been pretty busy lately, so I'm going to step in as guest blogger for a few posts to help us get caught up.

December 3 was Kate's birthday, so she and I arranged for our friend Le

slie to babysit in the evening while we went out for a rare dinner together where nobody threw food on the floor or spit up on their bib. As much as we love the muffin, it's nice every couple of months to have a leisurely, sit-down meal together.

This, of course, does not mean that Phoebe did not do some adorable things for her mama's birthday.

Kate got Phoebe a wooden Hanukkah play set. You can see the menorah off to the left, and next to it is the spatula used to make the wooden latkes that came with the wooden frying pan. Did I mention that this is my favorite wooden play set ever? Anyway, it also came with a whole bunch of wooden gelt. Phoebe is sadly holding one in her mouth, clearly pining for when she can get actual chocolate gelt.

Later in the day, Phoebe is looking stylish in her new shades.

Finally, here's a movie of Phoebe in a moment when she clearly thinks she has Danger cornered.