Santa!

3 year well check this morning and then on to see Santa at the mall. Ella is right on target for her little, or should I say big, girl checks. She continues to be right in the middle, percentile-wise. After our EARLY, too early, appointment, we got to the mall a whole 40 minutes before Santa was supposed to arrive. Fun times trying to keep Ella amused during that time, but we were the first in line which then translates to a speedy exit and a clean Santa! HA! So Ella had been SO very excited to visit Santa. I had been priming her for it for a couple of weeks. She was all set ask him for "pink things". She even sang xmas carols with him when he was talking to all the kiddos in the line before pictures started. I was sure this was going to be a great experience this year! But, no. As soon as we got up to him she wouldn't even get close. I had to pretty much physically force her to get up there and then quickly place Teya so we could get one good shot, hopefully. Which we did. Well, if you consider a shot with Ella crying *good*. It is quite comical though, so that's something, right? Then we had to ride the train. 3 times. And even after 3 times I still had to pull her off of it kicking and screaming. Ahhhh, parenthood. And by this time it was only 11am! Who wants an early nap time?? MAMA DOES!!!

Wait For It...

We got back home from San Antonio to find that the siding was finished and more windows were in and framed! Yippee! It's starting to look like a real house!! The Dyer brothers came in for the rest of the weekend to help Papa roof the addition... yes, in the pouring rain. Not sure that the pouring rain is the most conducive weather for roofing, but I guess as long as it doesn't pour rain inside when it's finished, it'll work! We were all exhausted after the holiday travel, late nights and not sleeping in our own beds, so it was nice to be back at home and back to a sort of, kind of semi-routine. ALSO, Teya smiled for the first time! I did/can not catch it on camera no matter how hard I try! I'm sure I look like a really big jacka** trying to get her to smile on camera and then of course as soon as I turn it off, whaddya know? A smile. Ella just loves to sit and talk to Teya and tell her all sorts of fun things. She sings to her and sometimes gets frighteningly close to face, but Teya's a really good sport about it all and genuinely looks interested in everything Ella has to say. These two are already becoming fast friends and it's pretty endearing to watch their relationship grow every day :)