Favorite things Friday . . on Friday this time!

I'm finally feeling better and my nose isn't completely clogged for the first time in a month, so I have lots of favorite things to talk about! (Funny how a good mood helps for that . . . ) Most of them have to do with Clara, since she is who I spend the majority of my time with right now.

1. Giving Clara a bath: I totally had a blast with her tonight for about 1/2 hour during bathtime. She is just getting to be so fun! She is now enjoying "silly play" as I refer to it . . she appreciates something being funny and just cackles at it. For example, I took one of the bath toys and pretended like it was "walking" along the side of the bath, only to dramatically teeter on the side and fall into the tub with lots of "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" sounds. She fell over two different times she was laughing so hard. It's also fun to have her in there for 30 minutes and play with her in a contained space that she actually protests when I take her OUT of there instead of when I put her in!

2. Chai tea in the a.m./Hot cocoa or cider in the p.m.: I have gotten into a bad habit since Christmas. I think the Chai tea that my sister gave me for Christmas is going to run out soon, so that's probably good, because, as much of a treat as it is, I really don't need that many calories every morning. A cup of hot cocoa or cider after the kids go to bed while we watch TV (or blog!) has also been a staple at our house. It makes the long winter months a little more enjoyable. :)

3. New Year's Day with my family: We didn't do anything special, really . . we met up with all of them at a nice restaurant for breakfast around 10 a.m., opened a few presents at my Aunt Gail's house (which I'm still feeling guilty about . . . I was specifically told that we WEREN'T exchanging presents with that side of the family this year, so I brought NOTHING . . . only to be greeted with gifts for Jeremy and I, as well as a bunch of fun stuff for Clara and Darius, from all of them . . the stinkers!) and then we all watched whatever Bowl Game was on that afternoon. The best part was that my 11-year old cousin, Emily, entertained Darius for most of the afternoon. Actually, the other best part was watching Clara go from being totally terrified of their dog to chasing after her and trying to grab her ears by the end of the day . . . all the while, saying "Dah" and signing "dog" over and over all day long. Fun times. :)