Gisèle, age 4

1. What is your favorite color?  "Um, my favorite color is all the colors."

2. What is your favorite toy?  "My favorite toy is the Jesus set-up."  {nativity scene}

3. What is your favorite fruit?  "My favorite fruit is orange."

4. What is your favorite tv show?  "Princesses!"  {?  Maybe she means Princess movies like Cinderella.}

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  "I like to have chips with sour cream, and I like to have fruit, and crackers with cheese, and milk.  And ice cream!"

6. What is your favorite outfit?  "My favorite outfit is to wear a flower dress with pink leggings and with a pink shirt and with tights and with I have dance shoes on and with a headband and with a flower in my hair."

7. What is your favorite game?  "My favorite game is Santa Claus games.  Is that a funny game?"

8. What is your favorite snack?  "I like... my favorite snack is banana bread."

9. What is your favorite animal?  "A turkey.  I mean, a rooster says bawk-bawk!  That's what I like, 'cause it's silly.  Isn't it, Mom?"

10. What is your favorite song?  "Princess songs."

11. What is your favorite book?  "Hmmm... Christmas books."

12. Who is your best friend?  "Everyone!"

13. What is your favorite breakfast?  "Favorite breakfast is pancakes with syrup and butter and milk.  Is that yummy, Dad?"

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  "Kick a basketball.  Yeah - kick one."

15. What is your favorite drink?  "Milk."

16. What is your favorite holiday?  "Christmas!"

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  "I like to... take teddy bears."

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for dessert?  "Candy canes!"  {She said that as she tried her first one.}

19. What is your favorite dinner?  "Pasta."

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?  "A princess!"

Picking Out Our Pumpkins

Back in October, just before Halloween, we went to a local pumpkin patch so that we could each pick out a pumpkin to decorate.  Jamie ended up with a big, traditional orange one; I picked a beautiful grey, fairy tale-shaped one; Gisèle picked a smaller orange one with a long stem (that she wanted us to cut off when we got home); and Miles picked a tiny little orange one.

"Miles, look at that one!"

On a mission

Checking out a grey one

Exploring with Daddy

Miles found his!

"Cheese!"

Gisèle making silly faces

"Over der, Mama... what dat?"

Gisèle found hers - she liked the stem

Zacchaeus

Gisèle and I read about Zacchaeus in her Bible.

Me:  "So Zaachaeus wanted to do good things, so he told Jesus that he would give half of his money to the poor."

Gisèle:  "What is the poor?"

Me:   "Poor people are people that don't have very much money, or don't have any money at all."

Gisèle:  "So Zacchaeus wanted to give some of his money to them? That's nice.  And sometimes robbers come and take money.  And then, maybe the robbers will run away and a dinosaur will chase them, and then they'll drop the money 'cause they're scared of the dinosaur, and then Zacchaeus will come and get the money, and then he can take it to the poor people.  That would be nice, too."

Silly Face Competition

Spiky Hair

Gisèle's prayer tonight, while playing with the front of Jamie's hair:  "Dear God, Thank you for spiky hair.  That doesn't have any hair around it. {cue Jamie's uncontrollable fit of giggles. Then Gisèle starts giggling.}  In Jesus' hair I pray, a-hair."

Better - The Best, Even - Pumpkin Pancakes

I've made pumpkin pancakes before (here), but these are even better.  These pumpkin pancakes taste like the best pumpkin bread ever in pancake form.  I recommend making at least a double batch and freezing the leftovers in 2-pancake packages.  (Ziplock baggies work well.)  Seriously - Make these.  Today.

Pumpkin Pancakes
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt

-Preheat an electric griddle to 350.  (If it's nonstick, as most electric griddles are, you won't need to use butter or cooking spray on it.)
-In a large bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
-In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
-Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture - mix just enough to combine.
-Scoop onto the griddle using a 1/4 cup measure.  The batter will be thick, so you may need to use the back of the measuring cup to spread it a bit on the griddle.
-Flip each pancake when the edges are dry and the bottom is a beautiful golden brown.  (The second side will need less time to cook than the first side.)
-These are great just with butter, or with butter and maple syrup.  We may also try them soon with apple butter, or with some sort of fruit compote on top.