The dog and the bear

Emma and Bea were playing with their stuffed dog and bear respectively. So as I was in the other room, I heard,
"Prick up, Exika, prick up. Exika just doesn't seem to prick up." Emma's dog is named Exika and apparently isn't feeling well. Exika is from Mexico, I'm informed.
Bea's bear is Indian and her name is Indiana. Aren't they creative?

Jonathan put lights up in their room and it made everything magical. See the sweet hugging as they stare in wonderment.

The girls in their new Advent Jammies. Nightgowns are the biggest hit!

We had a great time with Grandpa, Oma, and Josiah at Thanksgiving.

A little Violet gallery

We know, we know. This is a typical parent thing to do: post a bunch of pictures of their kids because they think they are the cutest things. Well, we don't think, we KNOW! Our little Violet sits up by herself now, kind of army crawls, and has just braved her second tooth's appearance. But what we really can't get over is her smile. We hope you agree.

The Gingerbread Houses

So here they are and boy are we proud!

What else would they be talking about?

The girls made gingerbread (actually, graham-cracker) houses at the Miller's today. Outside of Bea's house were two gingerbread men who were "talking." Jonathan asked the girls what they were "talking" about. Emma replied: "They're talking about Tolkien." One more reminder (not that he needed one) that Jonathan really needs to finish his dissertation soon.