Letter to Santa

OHHHHHH how I love Christmas!!! And it's sooooooo much more fun with kids! Especially now that Alexa is old enough to really enjoy all the little things leading up to Christmas. We've been spending a lot of time talking about Santa's naughty and nice lists these days and how Alexa really needs to try and stay on the "nice" list (which has been great help in avoiding some, not all, but SOME tantrums and whining!!!). And we've also been talking about writing a letter to Santa to let him know what Alexa, the nice little girl, would like for Christmas! When I told her about it, she said "I going to make him a card cuz he be so happy"!! So along with her letter saying she wanted a "robot" and a "little boat", she drew him a card and then she decorated the envelope as well. It's cute because she's asked for just about everything she sees a commercial for, but when it came time to actually do a list, this is all she could think of!! :-)

Anyways, today, we ventured to the mall where there was a SPECIAL mail box inside Macy's just for letters to Santa Claus. Alexa was so excited to put the letter in that I just about didn't get a picture of it!!

And then she had to make sure it was really gone!

After that, we wandered through the mall and Alexa loved seeing all the Christmas trees, especially this HUGE one! We also tried to visit Santa and it would have been THE perfect time as there was no line but Alexa didn't want to sit on his lap. Maybe another year! We've never done it yet though, so why start now??? Oh well!!

I'm really looking forward to more Christmas fun in the next few weeks!

Payton: 7 Months

Our little Payton has become quite the mover and shaker this past month!! We've graduated from just rolling, to scooting backwards everywhere, pushing up on all fours and rocking back and forth and pushing herself around in circles with her arms. She's pretty mobile even though she's not yet moving in a forward direction. And she's also become quite the squealer! She never lets us forget that she's there (like we could!!). She's taken to putting on quite the show when she's either hungry and/or tired...a very LOUD show!! Payton has also discovered how useful her hands can be...she's grabbing onto anything and everything in sight! Gone are the days of holding her on my lap and getting various tasks done...she wants to be right in the thick of things, grabbing whatever it is I'm working on or with. Makes it a little trickier to accomplish my ever growing 'to-do' list...but I love watching her learn new things. On the bright side, now that she's a bit more mobile, she's much more content to roll around on the floor for extended periods of time.

A big milestone this month...Payton is almost exclusively eating solid foods!!! We're down to nursing just during the night. It's bittersweet...it's nice to know I'll have my body back in a few short weeks, yet I'm sad at the thought that I'm almost done with that special bonding time with her.

Payton is quite the mama's girl! She does really well with other people (which I'm so grateful for since I take her to the Y just about every day and I don't know what I'd do if she threw a fit each time I left her in the play area), but when her mama is around...she definitely shows a preference to me! Can't say as I blame her!! :-) But her sweet little face lights up whenever she sees her daddy or her sister too. There's no doubt for any of us, that she loves us! And boy do we love her!!

Happy 7 Months Payton!