Reindeer Won't Fly

   This week Ashlyn had her first big school performance.  All of first grade put on a performance called, Reindeer Won't Fly. Ashlyn has a great music teacher and she did an amazing job.  The play incorporated all sorts of traditions and cultures.  Each kid also got to say at least one line.  Ashlyn was the second kid to say a line and she did wonderful.  All of her grandparents were even there to watch. We were so proud of our girl and had a great time watching the performance. 

Gracie in the bath before the performance.  Silly hair. 

Dawson ready to go watch his sister.

Gracie all dressed up.

The play

The costumes were so cute! Our little elf

Ashllyn saying her line

So cute

She was decorating this boy as a tree while they sang

Her class

Random Cuteness

    Gracie finally got her first tooth!!!  Ashlyn first felt it and sure enough she has a little tooth poking through.  She has been sleeping pretty poorly because of it, but still is such a happy girl.  The tooth is still just barely poking through, but it's working its way through. 
      Gracie is also saying, "mama" all the time now.  I absolutely love it.  She literally melts my heart each time she calls me "mama".  She is certainly the sweetest thing in the world!
    Here are some random pictures from our camera.

Loves practicing walking

She's getting so good

She's so good she can even do it with one leg

Ashlyn and I have been doing lots of crafts.  We made some ornaments out of mints. 

Finished product

Turned out cute

Silly girl

Always has a smile on her face

Her silly face

Brother and sister love

Love her Christmas pajamas.

Dawson being a silly boy.

He is such a silly boy.

The kids love their piano.  They play it all the time.

Elf

   Here are some new picture of what the elf has been up to the last few days.  The kids are having so much discovering what he did the night before.  He is just so  much fun!

    The kids were very excited to discover that he left them a very special message in marshmallows. 

This morning Ashlyn was very distraught.  She couldn't find her elf anywhere.  She literally searched the entire house. I kept telling her he was probably playing hide and seek with her.  We got in the car to take her to school, and she was so surprised to find him in Gracie's car seat. 

Sneaky elf

Ashlyn left a note one night for Eddie to take home with him

The note she wrote him.  So sweet!

    Ashlyln always loves it when he dyes the milk green.  She also loved it because her dad made waffles with the milk which were also green. 

   This night Eddie Buddy was a very, very naughty elf.  He got into my makeup.  I was not at all happy to see that he touched my makeup!

He even put some on!

    We don't know what happened this night, but he must have been extra naughty since we found him surrounded by police cars.   It's not in the picture, but he also brought a note that said Santa told him he couldn't bring a gingerbread house until the kids cleaned their rooms.  They immediately got their rooms picked up. 

Every year he brings a gingerbread house for us to make.  We found him in the window with the house. 

   This was a very special surprise.  Eddie arrived with a friend and a book.  This is our new reindeer.  The kids got to name him, and they chose the name Chippy.  The best part about Chippy is they get to touch him and give him as much love as possible. 

We were all amazed to see this huge picture that Eddie made out of tape.  He really outdid himself this time! 

Eddie Buddy

   The kids favorite time of year is upon us.  I love Christmas so much and my children definitely share my love for the holiday.  I remember how magical it was when I was child and absolutely love seeing the magic through my children's eyes.  Its truly amazing.  

     Like every year, are crazy little elf, Eddie Buddy, is here from the North Pole for his yearly visit. The kids are over the moon excited for him as usual.  They love waking up each morning to see what funny antic he has pulled.  It's really become one of my favorite traditions.  This year, he arrived a little differently.  We all awoke the day after Thanksgiving, and discovered a special breakfast laid out for the kids.  There were special snow man donuts and hot chocolate to drink.  Eddie Buddy also left each child a special note.  They were thrilled!

    Every morning we awake to something new that the silly little guy has done.  It's so much fun to watch their reactions.  Here are some pictures of this week.  I will try to take a picture each morning and post them every few days like we usually do. 

Special elf breakfast.

He's back!!!

Dawson's letter

Ashlyn's letter

He even left a letter for Gracie

The snowman donuts

Yummy breakfast

What a special treat!

I had to throw in some pictures of the kids decorating the tree.  Dawson really got into it this year. 

Doing a great job. 

Ready to add the angel

Putting the angel on

Ashlyn loves it when Eddie makes the yearly elf video and she wanted to leave a sign for him directing him towards the computer so he would make a video.

Eddie made an elf video staring our entire family, and he made a copy of himself. 

Eddie Buddy must have made Ashlyn's toys mad

One morning the kids discovered the Eddie had brought them Advent calendars. 

The naughty elf sampled some chocolate

This morning we discovered that Eddie had brought a friend and they had a blast building

Eddie is quite crafty and decorated the door with a snow man

He didn't even clean up his mess