Guess who we saw at the gas station, the toy store, and eventually his workshop on Sunday? Ella, Sophie & Santa 2010 And for posterity, a solo photo with Santa to commemorate her first Christmas! Sophie & Santa 2010 ...
Santa’s Reindeer
On Tuesday night we attempted making a little treat for our friends. Ella had a dance party on Thursday night and Friday was her last day at school. She loves giving gifts and we thought something sweet was in order. We got everything we needed... pretzels, nutter butters, peanut butter, candy melts, morsels, M&Ms, sprinkles, lollipop sticks and Scout. Elves make really good helpers! First we split the nutter butters, added a lollipop stick and some extra peanut butter. Then we put them back together again. I attempted dunking them in chocolate, but they kept falling apart. Making treats with four year olds is kind of stressful, don't you think? Instead, I began spooning the chocolate on and Ella made the reindeer faces. THIS is what they are supposed to look ...
Love Letters: Eight Months
Sophie-girl, You are eight months old... that is three quarters of a year! I should really start planning your birthday party soon. Even though I think you are growing up too fast and tell you all the time what a big girl you are, you are still my tiny girl. You are wearing Christmas pjs that your sister wore at 3 months old. Seriously. The only place on your entire body with fat is your yummy little baby thighs. They are rolly-polly and have nice little dips and dents. Just perfect for a mid-morning snack. See that little sparkle in your eye? That is mischief, pure and simple. You are so proud of yourself for being independent and you think it's funny to get into whatever you can. Just this week you have: stolen some Barbie bits from your sisters room; played with cell phones, remote ...
The Lemontree
Have you wondered why I haven't shared my Christmas decorations with you yet? Why there aren't any pretty pictures of our decorated tree? It's because I've been debating whether or not to drag it forcibly through the front door and toss it into the street. Against my better judgment, I decided this year was going to be more about the "experience" and less about the actual tree. We went to a beautiful, local tree farm and picked out a gorgeous Carolina Sapphire cedar tree. It stood tall and fat and was a beautiful sage-y green color. I figured at half the price and twice the adventure it was surely worth it. A tree I {meaning SD} cut down with my own hands has to last longer that the pricier one we usually pick up pre-cut at a local tent, right? Fast forward two hours. As SD is ...
My Little Duck Hunter
A few years ago, I bought the original Nintendo gaming system on eBay for SD. Believe it or not, it was in mint condition and in the original box. I got him tons of games for a couple of dollars each and we had BIG fun playing the games of our childhood that Christmas. Occasionally, we pull it out for a good laugh. Super Mario Brothers. Contra. Zelda. Recently, Ella took an interest and we tried teaching her to play Mario Brothers. That was a bust, so daddy gave her a go at Duck Hunt. Hilarious is the only word to describe it. ...
North Pole Express
To the North Pole via the Polar Express! We've been excited since September, knowing that we would be headed to the Polar Express Railway this Christmas season. Ella & I even watched the movie last week to get ready for our little adventure. Ella got her ticket punched by the conductor. I wonder what letter he punched? The girls LOVED standing in the window of our train car watching the world go by. We finally arrived at Santa's Workshop in the North Pole! There were pretty elves to pass out the first gift of Christmas! Sophie & Bunny loved it best! < Santa & Mrs. Claus came on the train to visit the girls There were chefs who served chocolate milk and cookies YUMMY! ...
Evening Adventure
On Friday night, SD took us for a quick bite to eat at a cute local restaurant. Sophie slept through most of it, but Ella chowed down on her salad. Soph did manage to wake up just in time for a few bites of chicken and french fries and she was IN heaven. We attempted to rent Toy Story 3 on our way home, but the Red Box was on the fritz and refused to accept payment, so instead we decided to find a few sparkles on the way home. This is our favorite street to turn down during the holidays. There are only a few houses there, but they are always decked out for Christmas and have lights everywhere you look. We also decided to drive past our house a block to "downtown" and visit our town's tree. Did you know we had the largest decorated tree in the state? ...
Out and About
Guess who has been out and about this week? Scout, that's who! He made his first appearance on December 1st, but Ella wasn't here to find him. As always, she stays with my parents on Wednesday nights and goes to Mission Friends and prayer service at our church. I spied Scout in the tree in Ella's room and couldn't wait to tell her when I dropped Sophie off that Thursday morning. The look on her face and the squeal that left her mouth was worth any amount of money could muster. It was adorable. Since them, he's appeared on Sophie's changing table, the Christmas tree, daddy's money jar, the bookcase and he's currently hanging out in a wreath on our kitchen door. There are still some dramatics going on around here, but all in all Scout has managed to wrangle the hearts and minds of our ...