Life With Our Little Ladies: December Snapshots

In September, the girls and I set a goal to make one new pie together every month for a year. I had planned on taking a picture with each one, but the October's Caramel Apple Pie was lost on my broken phone. November's pie was AH-MAZING, like best pumpkin pie we've ever had amazing. We made the Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Cream Pie. This is definitely going to become a family Thanksgiving staple.

This one is blurry, but thought it was so sweet to wake up to this sight. Ella had a bad dream and climbed right into her daddy's arms without waking either of us up.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings while Abby is at school and Juliet is sleeping, Ella and I have a standing date to gather books and meet in mommy and daddy's bed for some snuggly story time. I read to Ella. Ella reads to me. We usually end up singing lots of songs! It's really sweet quality time for the two of us. Here is Ella singing her ABCs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHTYp5NnDMc

Getting the house ready for Christmas is one of our favorite things. First up...the chalkboard!

Christmas lights: the part of decorating I dislike the most, but my favorite decorations to enjoy by far. I wish the house could stay twinkly all year round! This year, we even added Christmas lights to the end of the girls' beds. My sweet little girl helped me put the lights up while Abby was at school, so it was all ready to be decorated when everyone got home.

Two years ago, Aunt Charlene sent a snowman figurine for Abby and Ella. This year, we got this special surprise in the mail. The girls were thrilled to have one a decoration for all three of them!

Isn't it amazing how a Christmas tree can stir up so many memories from every year of life? There's so much nostalgia and beauty. We spent every night this season enjoying the twinkling lights.

Ella loves to sing Juliet her very own lullabies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWG8eR-7jVc

How Juliet feels when Mama doesn't answer her FaceTime call...

When the tree went up, out came our little elf named Macon. Chrissy gave Macon to the girls last year for Christmas. He isn't like the Elf on a Shelf. He doesn't watch for behavior and report back on everything the kids do while sitting on a shelf where no one can touch him. Macon is a fun little elf who comes to spend time with his friends during the Christmas season. He comes to love you, play, make mischief and hide! Macon also comes to share kindness and reminds us that the best gifts are those that can never be bought. He loves all things Christmas and every night he hides somewhere in the house waiting for the girls to find him in the morning. He especially loves to read about Jesus with us each night in our advent devotional. Before bed, Macon likes to be sprinkled with magic flakes. He also likes to have plate of crackers and iced water every night. Crackers remind him of the crunching snow sound and the water is melted snowflakes.

These two are the best of friends!

Afternoon coffee tastes better in fun Christmas mugs! How about a little Frosty the Snowman?

Here's a glimpse at Macon's middle of the night mischief. We woke up to a big mess, but he did make Daddy's coffee.

Daddy's loves his babies!

Look at this natural beauty!

Ella is such a sweet and loving big sister. She can't give Juliet enough kisses. We are constantly reminding her not to kiss Juliet on the mouth or hug her too hard.

Joe was away for a weekend conference, so my mom came to the rescue to help me with the girls. The girls and I were not the only ones who were excited to spend the weekend with my mom. Ollie loves Grandma, like LOVES her. I would bet it's because she has the gift of treating animals like they are humans and loves him just as much. Every time he sees my mom pull up in her car, he loses his mind, so I tried to take a video of it this time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBlGGfLFA60

Not only did my mom come up and take me out for some sweet mother/daughter time together while the big girls hung out with their favorite babysitter, Miss Margaret, but when we came home she bathed the girls and helped me put them to bed!

As Ella was falling asleep she looked over at my mom with the sweetest tear filled eyes and whispered, "I'm really going to miss you when you go home tomorrow." Then, she grabbed a hold of her neck and fell asleep.

Bonus: My mom stayed home with all three girls the next morning and I took my first solo trip to Target since having Juliet! I may have felt like I was on a mini vacation while lingering in the makeup aisle and enjoying some Starbucks!

When I got home, she helped me get the girls ready and take them for their Christmas pictures. They all did great and we got some beautiful shots! We ended Grandma's visit with a yummy lunch at Panera before she headed home.