Let us start by apologizing for what you will soon find to be a long post. Mama is attempting to get caught up, only likely to fall behind again with Christmas seeming way too close these days! All that is left is Theodore's 8-month post...unbelievable...we just cannot figure out where time is going!!!
We are really into the holiday season this year. We love listening and singing Christmas songs (favorites being
Rudolph, Frosty, Joy to the World (E you are really good at belting this one out). We also have enjoyed Christmas movies and recently watched The Polar Express for the first time and loved every minute. Another favorite is Christmas decorations.
To help us get into the spirit we attended the Festival of Trees on Thanksgiving weekend. This was our 3rd trip, Teddy's first, and we all had favorite trees picked out...
I cannot remember exact name of M's but it obviously had a magician theme...
E loved the Rudolph tree, especially Rudolph himself sitting next to the tree
Theodore found all the rubber ducks to be quite entertaining, though he really wanted to put each one in his mouth - no thanks!
Santa was at the event but only Theodore got near, likely because he had no choice being you can see his expression wasn't one of enjoyment...
Next up was getting out the decorations at home. We decided this year we were old enough to have a small tree in our room and have really had fun going to sleep with the lights on. We also have stockings in our room and think Santa should fill these as well as those on the mantle...
haha
Theodore providing his input...
The finished project...
After this fun afternoon experience, we decided to just stick with putting up one more tree downstairs (the
pre-hinged,
pre-lit big tree) and forgo putting up Mama's first big tree which is individual branches, string lights, etc. Maybe next year we will be ready for this!
We were anxious to dive in the next morning and carefully set up our nativity scene, though we still migrate to the more fun breakable ones (Mama recently found a baby Jesus located on top of the manger...I suppose this could have been the case)
We also found some other holiday decorations downstairs and had to wear them around for awhile...if one thing is for sure it is that you can always count on us for a laugh, or 2, or 3!!!
Someone else also enjoys his silly sisters!
Carefully prepping the main tree...
The grand finale tree presentation...Martha Stewart style, Toddler Version x2
Thankfully a little elf came that night and
redistributed the bottom row and added some decorations on the top.
Christmas is upon us, except we are really hoping to have some more white stuff. The one and only accumulation we had was a lot of fun but it is already all gone...
And though I didn't make it outside to play, I did think I looked pretty cute with a hat on...
Happy Holidays!
Love, M,E, & T
HUGS...
KISSES...
And WISHES for a wonderful 2012!
The girl cousins posing after they realized they each had polka dots on their Christmas pajamas when getting ready for the trip home...
He did what he does best...just be cute! 
Papa's favorite gift for you girls was ice skates and go figure they make pink hockey skates these days, so of course that is the color he had to get!
Again we were showered with gifts (thanks to everyone, we love them all and Mama is still trying to find space) and though we don't quite yet grasp it, the most important thing and best gift of all was the time spent with our family while celebrating the birth of Jesus!
Love, M E & T
When our turn arrived, however, our tune quickly changed and we no longer wanted to sit on his lap. We did agree to get close enough for Santa to give us a "Nice list" stamp on our arm so we are making progress from last year and maybe next year will be the year!
Thanks Santa Claus for your patience x3!
With my sisters being Dora fans, I am known as Swiper in this house being I love to get my hands on everything and anything, which has included some flying bowls of food on my highchair tray!
I continue to drool, drool, drool (as you can likely see the wets spots on my onesie in the pics) but still no teeth popping up yet. I have also become very interested in feeding myself and am doing a good job of using a pincer grasp to pick up cereal, crackers, etc. One more thing which has really heightened this month...stranger anxiety and my attachment to a certain someone in our house (MAMA). She doesn't seem to mind it, though, so I am planning on seeing how long we can make it last!
Holiday Hugs!