Patty cake

SNOW!

What a beautiful snowfall! I have been looking forward to our first decent snow this year to see how Ella would react. Last year she was not into it. When she woke up this morning I told her it was snowing. She caught on really quickly and started saying it herself. It took me a good 20 minutes to get Ella and myself ready to go out. She was raring to go! 

We played out front for awhile. She noticed Elliott looking at the front door longing to come out. She kept saying his name so I told her we needed to go out back with the boys. Here they are enjoying EVERY MINUTE OF THIS!

I don't know what it is about snow, but it makes them crazy!! 

We played out back for a little bit, and Ella was ready to go in. I swear it wasn't ten minutes later, and she was ready to go out again. I put all her snow gear back on her and out we went. She immediately ran behind the shed. I walked over to see what she was doing and heard her grunting. She was pooping!! She always holds on to something when she goes...haha. I had to take her in, strip her down, change her diaper, and put it all back on!

This is her as she's going. I just couldn't resist. =)

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! 

When did she get so big? 

I hope everyone is enjoying the snow as much as we are! 

Cousins!

TWO!

Snow

Yesterday morning when I woke up it was snowing. I always love the first flurries of the season. It gets me really excited for our first snow. 

Nobody gets as excited as Elliott. He loves the snow. He is always outside in it no matter how cold it is. 

Ella woke up just in time to see some flurries. I hope she likes the snow a lot more than she did last year. 

This year, like every other year, I am hoping for a white Christmas. Something about snow just makes it a little more magical! :) 

Simon the elf

Meet Simon

Simon joined our family in December of 2008 right after Ella was born. 

Simon is a scout elf. Santa sent him to us to watch and report. Simon is Santa's helper. Each night while we are sleeping Simon flies to the North Pole to report to St. Nick. He comes back before we awake. Each morning we have to find him. So far we have found Simon on...

The mantle...

The light above the kitchen table...

The only rule that we must follow is that we can not touch Simon. If we do his magic might go and Santa won't hear all he has seen or know.  The night before Christmas his job will end, and he will spend the rest of the year with Santa. When the holidays come around next year he will magically reappear. 

What a fun holiday tradition we have started. Ella doesn't quite get it yet, but it's fun to show her where he has reappeared each morning. So far, Ella has been on her best behavior so Simon should have all good things to report to Santa! 

CMOE

We headed to CMOE this morning to meet up with Erin, Bree, and Mallory. Ella has a lot of fun playing with Bree. We hadn't been to CMOE since this past summer. It's always neat to see how much Ella has changed and what her interests are each time we go. The girls had a good time, and Erin and I had a nice time visiting. Hope we can do it again soon!