So we played it safe this year and just decided to stay home for Christmas this year.  And looking back on the crazy weather we’ve had this past week, we think it was a wise choice!  Molly has anxiously been waiting for Santa and his reindeer to visit ever since Halloween.  So you can imagine our shock when we asked Molly on Christmas Eve if she was ready for Santa to visit.  “I don’t want him to come into the house,” she replied with a sigh.  “I have enough presents.”  Wowzers!  We were not prepared for that!  But we convinced her to set out some cookies and reindeer treats and she was very happy in the morning when she saw that Santa left some gifts in her stocking. 

I’m not usually impressed with kids’ toys, but we got Molly this Leap Frog Tag reading pen thing and it is super cool!  If you have kids ages 3-7, check it out!

During our holiday family time, we got caught up on some Christmas movies, including Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Grinch (animated and the Jim Carrey version), and Shrek the Halls. 

Check out new photos in our December album.  And Happy Birthday, Mom!!

~ Erin

This year, Molly is really getting into the Christmas spirit… as she tries to figure out the concept of time, every day she states that Christmas is just two days away!  Not sure where she came up with that, but she’ll be right one of these days! 

We took the girls to visit Santa last weekend… Molly was very excited about it and was all prepared to sit on his knee and tell him that she wanted a Sleeping Beauty dress – the blue one – and a crown.  Well, as we were standing in the Santa line, Molly suddenly became very upset.  There was a woman standing next to Santa and Molly demanded to know who she was.  We had to quickly explain the concept of Mrs. Claus and then Molly was OK.  Whew! 

As we’ve been playing familiar Christmas tunes, Molly has picked some favorites.  It’s fun to hear her renditions of “Jinger Bells” and “Rudolph the Reindeer’s Red Nose”.  She has also seen the Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer movie a few times and has repeatedly asked to watch “The Grinch” which should make Grandma Peggy proud! 

I started my new job late last week and Doug and I attended the holiday party Saturday night.  We had a good time getting to know my coworkers and honoring some long-term retirees.  During the meal, Doug shared a story about the origins of the NORAD Santa Tracking initiative… I’ll admit, I thought he was making it up, but it’s true!  Read all about how it got started here. 

Finally, I’ve got some good news and bad news… I don’t think I’ll be able to get our annual Christmas card/photo/letter out in the mail until AFTER Christmas.  (I’ll let you decide which part of that is the good news and which part is the bad news!)  Life is just a bit crazy right now and I’m waiting for our family pictures to get developed.

~ Erin