It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Addison before church with her Elf on the Shelf book.

Pickles the elf hiding in a jingle bell wreath. He hides in a different spot each night.

My sweet man all ready for church.

While decorating Friday night, this little turkey got into my purse and found my glasses. She cracked me up!

Such a ham (with a green tongue to boot).

Making her own pizza for lunch...the only way I could get her to eat was to let her make something herself. She has become very interested in cooking with me lately.

Addison's pink Christmas tree decorated by Pickles.

" O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!"

It's starting to look and feel a lot more like Christmas around our house. Friday afternoon, Addison and I pulled out all of our decorations, turned on some Christmas music, and went to town. Four hours and a couple aching feet later, the inside of the house and the front porch had been transformed with ribbon, garland, and shiny ornaments. It was the perfect indoor activity for a rainy Friday night. We still need to finish decorating the outside once it dries up a little, but I hope we can tackle that tomorrow afternoon. Nana also bought Addison a pink Christmas tree and a purple one. Addison put the purple one in her room and insisted on putting the pink tree in the kitchen. She was so excited about it that I couldn't tell her "no." It's fun to see her eyes light up when all of the decorations start going up. Although Landry has no idea what all the fuss is about, he starts kicking his legs and waving his arms when he sees the Christmas tree lights. We also started our "Elf on the Shelf" tradition on Friday. I told Addison that Santa sent her a magic elf and we handed her the package with the storybook and the elf inside. We read the book together and then I asked her what she wanted to name him. She thought a minute and then said, "um...pickles!" I have no idea where she got that from, but Pickles the elf it is. Sorry, Krisa...I guess she changed her mind. (A few weeks ago when we talked about her elf coming she said she was going to name it "kwisa," which I thought was hilarious since I knew she was referring to my friend Krisa). This morning, she found Pickles hanging on the linen closet door and ran to tell us where he was. I told her that Pickles had left a surprise....he decorated her pink Christmas tree during the night and left a special ornament for her and brother. She beamed with joy, which made my day. I think she is going to enjoy having Pickles around...especially when he leaves treats. Of course, she doesn't like it when she's throwing a fit and I tell her that Pickles is watching her and is going to tell Santa. She told me this afternoon, "I not want Pickles to watch me." HA!