Up On the Housetop...

I feel like it was just December 1st - I can't believe Christmas is only four days away!  And, for our family, we open our presents on Christmas Eve {more on that soon}, so that's only three days away!  This month has been busy to say the least.

On our refrigerator, I keep a monthly calendar where I write our planned play dates, doctor's appointments, etc.  This month, I also listed all of the "extras" that I wanted to do - see Santa, do the Zoo Lights, see the lights at the Mormon Tabernacle, drive around our neighborhood and see the lights, etc.  Well, we finally got to see Santa yesterday.  We've actually "seen" him a couple of times since Thanksgiving and have really been talking him up to Olivia.  Remember her Santa experience from the last two years?

In case you've forgotten...

{8 months and 19.5 months}

The first time we saw him, there was no one there and she actually said hello to him and showed him her bracelet and he gave her a little book.  But, David wasn't with us and I didn't want to do the whole experience without him.  Not to mention, just one picture was $25!  I was hoping for a picture of Olivia with Santa, one of Sydney with Santa and maybe even one with both girls.  And, I most certainly was not going to pay $75 for that!

I found a place called Bass Pro Shops (which is like a Galyan's on steroids) where you could get your picture taken with Santa for free!  So, we all {the four of us + Nana and Poppy} headed out yesterday afternoon for the visit.  Olivia rode with Mom and Dad and they did their best to encourage her to sit on Santa's lap, but apparently she just kept saying that she wasn't going to do it!  When we got there, we got passes to come back at a certain time so we didn't have to wait in line for hours.  It was so nice to be able to browse the store - they had a carousel and a huge waterfall that Olivia loved as well as other Christmas activities - and they even had a restaurant where we sat and had lunch.

She loves her carousels!

I was honestly most worried about Sydney, thinking she would cry once I put her in someone else's lap, but it was Olivia who really chickened out once we got there.  I sat Sydney down and they snapped the picture really quickly (as did I) and then we did what we could to get Olivia to even get near Santa.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like a Hello Kitty onesie!

The girl was NOT having it.  After a minute or so, with Santa dangling a candy cane in her direction, she finally agreed to let David walk over by him.  I told the man taking pictures {as I have for the two previous years} to snap the picture even if she cried.  Thankfully, she didn't.  So, maybe she'll sit on his lap next year, but for this year, David got his turn to be in the picture.

On Monday, I pulled out some stampers that I got from Hobby Lobby and had been wanting to do.  Seriously, art teachers must have some EXTREME type of patience.  I hate painting - it's so messy, no matter how much you prepare for it and expect it to be messy.  It's just not fun to me.  I LOVE to get my craft on, but my fingerpaint?  Notsomuch.  Olivia had fun and I guess that is all that matters!

But, I guess she'd rather be hanging with her Uncle Rhino than finger painting!

It was a beautiful afternoon and I took the swing out for Sydney to sit in while we made a huge mess had fun.  Love my little cutie, but she is growing up way too quickly!

I'm still hoping we can go see either the zoo lights or the lights at the Mormon church, but at the rate we are going....

Happy Wednesday from the Valley of the Sun!