I put up my Christmas lights today. I hadn’t decided for sure if I would put them up or not this year. I was surprised by joy when I saw the Christmas decorations up in church this past Sunday and decided then that I would decorate. It makes me happy to come home at night during this holy season and see the lights shining. It reminds me of the Star of David and the light that Jesus brought into our world. So far my house is the only one on my street to have lights up. It looks gorgeous. Maybe I'll get my Christmas tree up tomorrow. We'll see. I've caught up on all my grading till Sunday (another paper is due Saturday at MN).
 |
| Look at that cute face and smile |
11-03-11
My granddaughter, Jules, and I dance together often. It is fun and makes us both happy. Sounds weird, but it is fun and freeing and I feel like I will have a life again at those moments. We hold hands and dance, she looks down at my feet like she wants to either step on them like kids do or just move her feet like mine. She lets go of my hands, dances by herself and turns around to the music till she's dizzy and falls down. Sometimes I pick her up and we swing around to the music till she bends her head back, giggles and laughs.
Sometimes my Mom is here. Jules and Grandma Coral dance together and that is so cute to see, the two of them dancing (see below).
The other day Jules went around the house pointing to Julian's picture saying, “Papa” over. I told her stories about things they did together and told her how much he loved her. It was very touching. She can say many words now, duck, tank ou, eye, nose, purse, Mama, Nana, No, bye are the ones that come to mind. She often repeats a 2 -3 word phrase which definitely has the correct inflections and intonation. We were at the little school last Friday. She had a guest sticker on her shirt that had a red apple on it. She was looking at a book that had a red circle the same size, shape and color as the apple. I say not a word. She looks at the circle. Then looks down at the sticker, takes the sticker off her shirt and sticks the red apple right over the red circle!
She loves to talk on the phone. She will walk around the house with a phone to her ear just chattering away in whole sentences of baby talk. When she get on the phone and there is really someone talking to her on the other end she is so amazed to hear the voice that she doesn't say a word.
 |
| Jules and Grandma Coral Dancing up a storm |
 |
| Jules with Koala Lou |
 |
| Koala Lou and Jules |
She loves to hear Stodies (stories). She will pick up Koala Lou and then she says stodie and goes and gets the "Koala Lou I do Love You" book. We make it though about the first 2 or 3 pages and she is on to something else. Yesterday she was digging in her toy basket and found the duck hand puppet which we hadn't played with for at least a month. She immediately puts it on her hand just like she has seen me or Grandma Coral do. If you see "Monkey" in this picture above, I will tell you a little story about him. I made Monkey for Faye when she was little. He became her favorite stuffed animal (Teddy, made by Aunt Peggy came along later) when she was about Jules age. She always had to have "Blankum (her pink shredded blanket) and Monkey" with her. We went to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico when Faye was about one and a half. Well when we got to one of the big rooms of the caverns Faye realized that she didn't have Blankum and Monkey with her. She started calling, "Blankum, Monkey, Blamkum, Monkey" over and over again as we walked through that big dark room. She ended up crying for Blankum and Monkey because she didn't understand why we couldn't get them right away. Waiting wasn't a term near and dear to her heart infact I'm sure it wasn't even in her vocabulary at the time. Well Jules likes Monkey too and I've told her the story of her Mamma and Monkey. However, Jules favorites are BoBear and at my house Rosa (thank you Rowan and Amy).
 |
| Jules and Koala Lou |
 |
| The Dancer with fancy steps and hand movements |
