Christmas Cookie FUN!!!

Making sure the measuring cup is empty after adding the milk to the dough

On a Sunday evening a few weeks before Christmas, we decided to make my family's traditional sugar cookies as a family. What an awesome experience this was with our 18-month-old! Not only was it filled with tremendous "help" from attentive eyes and fingers, it was also rife with hilarity from her innocent comments.

Susannah currently has an exceptional amount of both spoken and sign language, and regularly combines her words and signs to form simple sentences. She switches back and forth between American Sign Language and spoken English with ease, and in doing so, regularly CRACKS US UP! Several humorous moments in our cookie-making expedition include:

• Her wide-eyed excitement upon hearing that it was time to add "vanilla" to the mixer. She looked up and signed with a combination of awe and a hint of worry, GORILLA!

• When Daddy told her it was time to add "flour," she looked around the counter at the ingredients and signed, FLOWER.

• She imitated the whirrrrr of the mixer, dug her fingers into every ingredient in order to "Taste pease!," and became incredibly excited (gasping with astonishment, as a matter of fact!) when a shape emerged from beneath a metal cookie cutter outline!

Adding "flower" to the dough

Gesturing along with the mixer's round-and-round movement

Such focus while watching Dada roll out the dough onto the counter (as in all things, Susannah's "focus quotient" is intensely high for a toddler)

Making snowmen in two different shapes!

Sweet chubby fingers...

Time to roll and cut a second batch (note the flour on hers and Daddy's cheeks!)

With the final scrap of dough, I cut several cookies into the shape of a "crescent moon." (Yes, in case you were wondering, she DOES distinguish between a "crescent moon" and a "full circle moon." Still working on "waxing gibbous"!!! :) I have a feeling it won't be long until our heavily-linguistic, moon-centric Strawberry recognizes all of the moon's phases!)

For three days in a row after lunch she would ask longingly for a "Moon cookie, pease!" and then eat the entire thing without stopping! She consumed more sugar in those three days than she had in her entire life up until that point!

This is just one of the many Christmas traditions we did as a family this year. What magic this season held for us with new life in our home!