Santa and stuff

Up until this year, Noah hasn't been a huge fan of Santa.  We did a Santa picture for his first Christmas, but the past two years we just didn't bother.  We decided to give it a try this year and Noah loved it!  Elliana?  Not so much. :)  We started with just the kiddos and Santa...

 

Hoping to get a little smile from E, we added Mommy and Daddy...

 

Realizing that a smile probably wouldn't happen (no big deal :) ) We took one of just Noah and Santa...

 

Noah and Sydney (one of his best friends)

  

It's been a full month.  Really full.  Like, 8 Christmas parties, 3 weekends of overnight guests, cooking/baking for 25 dinner guests, shopping, wrapping and trying to stay sane in the midst of all of it full. :)  Don't get me wrong, I love it (esp having overnight guests!)!  But it has been full. Even though it was full, we made time for our annual Tom's Farm trip with Hylke's mom and dad, brother, sister and their families.  The kids always look forward to riding the train with Oma and Opa!

 

 

Our last TMOMs of the semester the kids came in and sang for us.  It was the first time either one of my kids had "performed" for me.  It was such a special morning.  Here's a quick glimpse of my cuties.

 

Noah refused to wear his "Christmas Chain". :)  Oh well.

Fall and Dress-up

If you've been around me much in the Fall, you may have heard me complain at how warm California is in the fall.  I am ready for cool, crisp weather on September 1.  If you are familiar with California (esp. Southern California) weather, you know that this makes for a very unhappy girl for about 2-2 1/2 months (it is currently 79 on December 11!).  You may have even heard me complain that though CA is wonderful we fail big time in the "pretty fall leaves" department.

Well, this year has kind of been an exceptional fall.  We have had some cool days (beginning in SEPTEMBER!) a good amount of rain (I LOVE rain) and the trees look beautiful!  If you've been around me this fall, you've certainly heard me comment on how pretty the trees look.  I have enjoyed driving all around beautiful Redlands admiring the fall leaves...some on the trees, and some on the ground.  If you're not familiar with Redlands, it's a very established city, with lots of mature trees.  In fact, I happen to live on a street with lots of mature Liquid Amber trees, and they are GORGEOUS.  Here are a few pictures I took from my front lawn.  Thank you, Lord for such a beautiful Fall!

On to dress-up.  My little girl is such a little girl.  That may seem obvious, but it kind of surprised me.  Let me clarify.  First, she is as rough and tumble as they come.  She LOVES dirt (remember this?), puddle jumping, mud splashing, and she even loves to play with her brother's trucks and trains.  BUT...she also LOVES shoes, clothes, purses, jewelry and make-up.  Now, I'd like to think that it's because she sees how cute and trendy her momma looks each day, or because she sees me faithfully making myself up in the morning, maybe because she knows how much her momma loves shoes and purses.  But alas, that is sadly not it.  You see, I'm kind of a jeans and sweatshirt girl, I do wear make-up (from time to time), and sure I love shoes (I'm desperately in need of new shoes!!!!! and can count on one had the number I actually wear) and purses (the two that I own are awesome!)  So, this little one is naturally a girl...choosing a purse and shoes over tools (most of the time) and more interested in dress up than dinosaurs.  I couldn't resist snapping a few photos of her latest fashion show, I hope you enjoy!