All By Herself!

Nicole recently asked if she could put the "Snow White" puzzle together. I've posted about this one before. It's 300 small pieces that even I have a hard time with. I did put the puzzle in sections into ziploc bags but still thought this was going to be way too hard.

Well, over the past week Nicole has worked and worked on this. She never got frustrated and never stopped. She finished it today. All by herself!!

Playing Cards

Britt and the girls went to Incredible Pizza the other day and Nicole picked out this deck of cards at the prize counter. 

Today we were playing a version of "war" and Nicole was constantly winning every time we laid down cards. I said something about how I couldn't believe it and she just looked at me with this reassuring look and said, "Don't worry. You'll get a Jack and a King..." I got suspicious since Nicole had dealt the cards while I was preparing lunch. When I asked if she had looked at the cards when she was dealing she simply said, "Yes." When I asked if she picked the best ones she again admitted, "Yes." Needless to say, she won with 31 cards to my 20. She was so excited about winning and I had to explain that cheating is not winning and how it's kind of like lying. The scary thing... didn't seem to bother her a bit.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

We have been decorating the house but stopped short of the living room Christmas tree (we have one in the kitchen and one in each of the girl's rooms...I know... don't say it.) Anyway, here is a little idea of our nice evening. We had cookies and sparkling cider and Christmas carols. Nicole was so excited and, when it was all over, she came up behind me and gave me a hug. Then she said, "This feels just like Christmas." I pray this will be one of those good memories she will always carry with her.

The snacks were a hit with Allyson.

Allyson is really getting into dress-up or "nup" as she calls it. For the longest time we kept thinking she was asking for a nap. Finally, we figured it out! Here she's sporting her Cinderella dress.

If the above picture didn't look dangerous enough, watch this:

It's cold enough for a fire! Perfect atmosphere. 

We showed Nicole Daddy and Mommy's "First Christmas" ornament. 

Then Nicole's "First Christmas" ornament.

And, finally, Allyson's "First Christmas" ornament. 

Daddy puts the star on top. 

You have no idea what it was like getting these last two pictures...