Who needs a DVD player?

Or books on c.d. for that matter?
This past weekend we packed up our little car and drove across "God's country" to meet friends from Arizona for our annual New Year's camping trip. It was a very long drive and both little girls (Eirena and Uc) did fabulously ~ well, Uc has a tendency to get get car sick, but other than that, she did great.
As we were driving back,we were hoping that our exhausted little girl would just fall asleep. But instead she kept herself awake chattering away for an extra 90 minutes. Dr. Daddy and I were very amused to listen to her talk to herself. We were also very impressed when we heard this:

So they went to the forest to ask for help.
"I think the moon is lost," explained Bear.
"Can you help me find him?"
"Don't worry, we'll help you,"
replied the animals in the forest.
Together they searched and searched.
But they couldn't find the moon.
At last Bear sat down and sighed,
"The moon is lost, and it's all my fault!"
Then Bear got an idea.
He jumped up and cried,
"Okay, Moon, I give up. You win!"
Just then the breeze began to blow again,
and the moon came out of its hiding place.
"Look," chirped Little Bird, "The moon wasn't lost.
He was just hiding behind that big cloud."
Bear was so happy he danced and danced.
Then everyone played hide and seek."

Yes, Eirena was sitting in the back seat of the car reciting Moon Game to herself. It entertained her, and it entertained us.

Hansel and Gretel

Dr. Daddy and Eirena have a thing for jelly beans. They are one of Dr. Daddy's favorite treats to take with him when he goes into the field for research. Since Dr. Daddy is leaving in a few days for field research, he dutifully stocked up. But he didn't hide the jelly beans! This morning Eirena spotted the bag in his "to pack" pile- and wanted some. She didn't actually know the word for them, but she definitely knew she wanted some. After asking very nicely, Dr. Daddy said she could have a few. And so the bag of worms... er... beans, was opened.

This afternoon, Dr. Daddy came downstairs and excitedly called me to 'come look'. He had placed jelly beans on each of the steps and down through the house. And there was our little Gretel following the trail ever so well. At least we knew she would make it downstairs without getting lost!


The story ends with Uc finding the last jelly bean and Eirena chasing after her saying "give to 'rena, give to 'rena". I told the dog to drop it, which she did. And Eirena promptly picked it up and popped it into her mouth. mmmm!

Thumper

Our little girl (the one with opposable thumbs) has always been quite a kicker. Our nickname for her before we knew if she was in fact a "she" was Thumper because she would kick me so hard and frequently. Once she made her grand entrance Eirena kept up the kicking. She has a very strong right leg!

Some very fun people sent Eirena a whole envelope full of balloons for her birthday and Advent. She is still thrilled and likes to have at least one balloon blown up per day. So now we have lots multi-colored balloons floating around the house.

So a new game for us is to 'bop' the balloon. She likes to hit them, catch them, and throw them. But what she is really good at is kicking them. Compared to her eye-hand coordination, in my unprofessional opinion, I think she has rather good eye-foot coordination. Maybe she'll be a football player like her granddad, uncle and daddy. But for now... ye be warned, stay clear of the right kick!