Ziva really got into the Christmas spirit this year. We took her to see Santa twice; the first time (mid-November), she had no idea who he was and why on earth she was sitting on his lap. After that, we "talked up" Santa a lot, read her books about him, and pointed him out to her whenever we saw him. She fell in love with Santa and everytime she saw a picture of Santa, she'd say, "Ho!Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!" (She still walks around the house, knocks on doors, and says, "Trick or treat!", so we have a feeling we will be hearing "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!" until Easter!). The second time Scott took her to see Santa, just a few days before Christmas, she could hardly contain her excitement.
We put out cookies and water (Ziva's suggestion) for Santa on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, the look on Ziva's face was absolutely priceless. She was simply stunned that Santa had been in our house and had eaten the cookies. She kept saying, "Santa? Eat cookies?" and looking in disbelief at the few crumbs left on the plate. It was so cute.
Ziva continues to make slow progress in her speech. The one thing that we have noticed recently is that she knows and says more words. Just out of the blue, she'll say random words like bandaid, toothpaste, needle, toothpick, crouton, etc. Bandaids and tape have actually become her new favourite things. Anytime anything is broken, she'll say, "Uh-oh, broken. Tape." Then she'll run into the office, get the tape out of the drawer, and bring it so me so I can fix said broken item. Bandaids are her cure all for any "boo-boo". She'll bump her leg, rub her eye, have a hang nail, you name it, she'll say, "Uh-oh, boo-boo. Bandaid." Thankfully the bandaids are too high up in the closet for her to reach them!
Ziva has replaced her emphatic "No!"s with "Mine!" If she even thinks you are going to touch something that is "hers", she'll say, "No! Go away! Mine!". It makes us laugh because she'll do this for everything from her clothes and toys to her snotty kleenexes!
Ziva has surprised us lately with some of the things she knows...which we didn't know she knew! One day a few weeks ago, she was singing to herself in her room and I was surprised to hear that she can sing the entire alphabet song! One day she was reading an alphabet book and when she got to the b page, she said to me, "Mommy...b." When making an alphabet puzzle, she picked up the Z and said, "Mommy...me." I think she knows her name begins with a Z! It has been exciting to see!
One thing Ziva does not like to do is work on her speech. She gets very sloppy and tries to talk fast but then you can't understand a thing. We are constantly telling her to slow down and repeat herself- which she hates. For quite a while now, Ziva has been able to pray "God is great, God is good..." before mealtimes. She knows it by heart and most words are correct...that is, if she slows down. She will start to pray by herself but she will hurry, so we will stop her and make her repeat it more slowly. She will comply easily enough, but the funniest part is that when she repeats herself, she says it in this very mad, ticked off tone of voice. It is hilarious. I hope God doesn't mind that she always prays mad!
Here we are, all decked out on Christmas eve, ready to go to church.
A short trip down memory lane...3 days ago was the 2nd year anniversary of when we met Ziva. This is what she looked like on that day...
...and here is what she looks like now! We also went to the doctor recently and Ziva officially weighs 34 lbs and is 98 cm tall (last year at this time, she was 30 lbs and 89 cm tall).
We took Ziva ice skating for the first time. I don't think she really saw the point.
We also took Ziva tobogganing for the first time...and she definitely saw the point of that!
A stunned Ziva on Christmas morning.
Having some fun with Mommy.
Checking out a new puzzle with Daddy.
Ziva loved her Santa hat!
Ziva seems to always get her hair in her food, so we thought a headband might help. Now the headband has become a source of entertainment at the dinner table for Scott and I. Ziva, of course, has no idea why we laugh at her.
