Momentous Occasion...

Never before have I had enough to share to require two posts in one day, but I had to document this rather momentous occasion...

Mollie's first haircut!
Before: Sporting the mullet :o)

She got to sit on Gigi's lap and play games on her phone while Sarah worked her magic

Such a big girl! And the final result! We went home, took a bath to get all the itchy hair off, and then she let me blowdry her hair for the first time. Such a sweet little do for a sweet little girl!

It took her nearly 23 months to grow enough hair to deserve a haircut, but it finally happened. It already looks much healthier and thicker, and there's still enough left for piggy tails! We had to trim the back because it was filling in way faster than the front (resulting in a mullet!), so I think it looks much better and will hopefully grow out better this way.

She did a great job, and only cried for a second. Getting to set in Gigi's lap was the key :o) She even got a sucker when she was done! Thanks, Gigi, for being there with Mollie, and thanks Sarah for fixing her hair and making this momentous occasion a success!

Christmas Season Continued....

We truly have had an exciting month of December! Here's where we left off last time...

The week before Christmas, we headed up to Red River, NM with the Livingstons for our traditional "Christmas Ski Fest". Sadly, the snow was lacking this year (only one lift open and very few runs), but we had a blast nonetheless. This was Mollie's first experience with snow, so it took her a day or so to get used to it (or really to get used to the big jacket, hat, gloves, boots, etc). But once she did, she had so much fun! She made snow angels, ate snow, went sledding, liked to slide down slopes on her bottom, met a few snowmen, and liked to walk in it (once she figured out how to!).

For the most part she hung out with her Momma Shelly and they played and played and played in the snow while the rest of us skied. (Thanks, Mom, for letting me ski!!) Since I was skiing with the boys, I was actually thankful for the lack of runs open...that meant they had to hang with me! (Luckily the only runs that were open were blues and greens, which is where I like to stay. The boys typically hit up all the craziest black diamonds they can find!)

We stayed in a quaint little A-frame cabin accross the street from the lift (convenient!!), brought a Christmas tree, all our stockings, and made sure Santa knew where to find us :o) Mollie also got to decorate gingerbread ornaments to adorn the Christmas Tree! Here are some pictures from the trip...there were so many that I thought it may be easier to upload it in the form of a collage. Click on it and you should be able to see the pics enlarged.

Also, while we were in Red River, Mollie decided she liked to "shake her booty". I have no idea where this came from, but she would just stop what she was doing and start dancing. I got it on video...it's not the best shot of it but funny anyway!

Just before we left for RR, we had the opportunity to celebrate as a family of 3! Santa came to our house, too, and we had fun watching our groggy, bed-head-ridden toddler wake up to find treasures in her stocking and under the tree! We then had a special Christmas Breakfast of cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate. It's fun to start traditions of our own, and I'm sure there will be more as the years go by. Here are some pics of our little celebration:
Merry Christmas, sleepyhead!
Santa brought Mollie an easel, and stocking full of goodies! Placing her new ornament on the tree"Ooooh yeah!" as she always saysCinnamon rolls and hot chocolate (in a special mug from the Polar Express!)

We had a wild and crazy December, full of Christmas cheer! It was a blessing to spend time with all our families, and I hope yours was as joyful.

Let the Celebrations Begin!

Here's a look back at our month-long Christmas celebration! That's right, all month long. I think Jesus' birthday deserves more celebration that one day, anyways :o)

First of all, we started off the celebration with a trip to the North Pole. We boarded the Polar Express (kids in their pajamas, of course), drank hot chocolate, sang Christmas songs...

Maddox and Lacye!

Momma Shelly, Mollie, and Me

Mollie loved sporting Maddox's Santa hat...

...but did NOT love Santa!
She immediately started crying and clung to me for dear life. So much for a successful picture with Santa this year!

We continued the celebration at Gigi and PaPa's house...

Santa came!

Fun with Gigi and PaPa

Crazy Cousins :o)

Showing Aunt Cici some love

Remote-controlled cars for the kiddos!
Yep, that's Mollie holding her naked baby while riding her tricycle.

Then we headed over to Nanny and Pop Pop's house for even more celebrating!

We opened presents, played with toys, had a wonderful meal together, then went out and played on the playground near their house!

It was a beautiful day for playing outside! Not like December at all...

Even little Paxton got in on the fun!

I've thoroughly enjoyed celebrating Christmas all month long. We have too many family members to squeeze it in all one day. This way, we get to spend quality time with each family, aren't rushed, and the kids get time to play and soak in all the memories and traditions.

So I hope you've enjoyed a peek into what Christmas is like in our family...but there's more to come! We're headed to Red River this week to celebrate with the Livingston's! I'll post pictures next time.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, too!

Tis the Season to be Jolly!

Tis the season, indeed. We are jolly around our house right now, and here are a few reasons why...

1. Christmas music is playing on all the radio stations

2. Our decorations are up and Mollie loves the "Kismas Treat" (Christmas Tree)

3. Mollie walks around singing "Jingle Quack", a version of Jingle Bells sung in the book "Jingle Duck", one of her current favorites.

4. She loves her Baby Jesus figurine in her Little People nativity scene

5. We got to enjoy a lovely Christmas dinner at Church last night and then watched our youth kids put on an awesome little musical. Mollie sat through the whole thing just mesmerized; she loved hearing the kids singing! And we're SO PROUD of how well she sat quietly and listened!

6. We started the "Elf on the Shelf" tradition; Mollie thinks it's so funny that the Elf is watching her. She likes to look for it each day!

7. We're all anticipating our ski trip to Red River here in a few weeks!

8. Mollie says "Oooh Yeah!" when she sees Christmas lights on houses

9. We're loving starting our own Christmas traditions as a family

10. I'm jolly because I'm in my last week of course work for my teaching certification!! Whew hoo!

11. Jason's jolly because Mollie is in a "I want my Daddy!" kind of mood...these opportunities are rare but cherished :o)

12. We're both jolly because our little smarty pants can sing her ABC's! Not sure if we've posted it yet, but I'll do it again anyway. Super cute.

13. I'm loving the colder weather...just with there was some snow with it!

I'm sure I could go on and on about what makes us jolly this time of year. Most of all, we're super blessed and excited about getting to celebrate the Birth of Christ with our families!