Santa

We certainly didn't intend on having a family photo with Santa. We were at Sam's Club one day and the girl told us to stop and see Santa. We thought he was just there visiting, but he actually was there for pictures and the whole Santa visit deal. It was very low key and not quite as intimidating as the mall Santa, plus we didn't have to wait in line. Elise was interested in him, but would not sit next to him. We passed on pictures that day because we wanted Mallory to have her picture with him too, but she was sleeping. Elise talked about Santa all week- "He brings candy, chocolate chips, and Christmas". We took her back to see him and thought she would be comfortable sitting with him this time since he gave her candy. No- she wanted to see him, but would only get a picture if mommy and daddy were with her. She kept saying, "Santa not gonna touch me". The picture is much better than last year (where she is screaming and trying to escape).

Animal Shelter

Every year since Elise was a baby we have taken donations to the animal shelter for the holidays. This year Elise was sooooo excited to see all of the animals and give them treats. I saw so many cute dogs that I would have loved to bring home, but Brian insisted that it wasn't a good idea:(

On The Go

Mallory is so active! She crawls all over and is in to everything. She is now sitting up (which is so weird that she could crawl before sitting up), kneeling, and even pulling herself up to stand! We were going through a rough phase because she would wake up and sit/pull up in her crib instead of sleeping. She was up like every two hours. We had to put an end to that so we are on day 4 of Ferberizing her. She is doing pretty well- she only woke up once last night, but we didn't even have to go in her room. It is so much harder this time around. She is so happy all the time, so when she does cry it just breaks my heart. Also, I'm so afraid that her crying will wake Elise up. I just keep reminding myself that we did this once with Elise and she is a great sleeper now, so we will all be just fine.

Making Christmas

I didn't plan on putting the tree up this year (I know, I'm a scrooge). Elise had a fit one night because "We don't have any Christmas", so I put the tree up with just the lights. Brian finally dug out the ornaments and he and Elise "made Christmas".

Baking Cookies

Betah and Papa came up and baked Christmas cookies with Elise. I had to work, so I missed out on the fun. Judging by these pictures she had a blast (and I heard she sampled a lot of her work)!

Mallory Loves Her Food

It is killing Mallory to watch people eat! She gets so upset when she sees food and can't have it. We have been giving her puffs, apple slices, chunks of banana, skinless grapes and blueberries, even tiny pieces of ham. She is in heaven!