December Days

December. Advent. Candles. Decorating. Candy canes. Nativity scenes. Singing carols. Counting Down to Jesus' Birthday. Snuggling while reading Christmas books. It's easy to see why December is one of my favorite months. Here are a few random photos taken during the first few days of December.

Pulling out our Christmas box after a 11-month hiatus
I love hearing the girls shriek as they re-discover our Christmas stash. We have a few trunks that hold our Christmas decorations, ornaments, books and movies! By the way, Moriah is in a stage where she likes to wear shirts on her head to pretend she has long hair. Did any of your girls do that? In the photo, she has her snowmen PJs on her head! And Verity still has her pumpkin tattoo on her face from Thanksgiving ... yes, we do bathe our kids but those tattoos were persistent! =)

The stockings are hung
No, we don't have a fireplace in this house but figured this dresser would suffice. I'm looking forward to our "Joy Stocking" notes tradition this year because Verity can write her own notes this year! In a few years, her sisters will join in on the tradition as well! =)
Nativity Scenes
Verity especially enjoyed setting up our 2 nativity scenes this year. I normally hide the Baby Jesus figurines all month and place them in the scene on Christmas morning. No matter where I hide them this year, the girls seem to find them! How have they not discovered the HUGE suitcase hiding their Christmas presents but have found all the hiding places of these TINY figurines?
Deck the Halls
Normally, we set up the tree with just the five of us. But this year, we decided to invite a few friends for a "Deck the Halls" party. They helped us string popcorn (Verity REALLY wanted popcorn on the tree this year), hang our ornaments and ice Christmas cookies. We thank God for our "extended" family here!

Abby's Ballet Birthday
For the most part, we have a "normal" life here ... and birthdays are an important part of that! Verity's friend, Abby, had a ballet-themed birthday party yesterday ... check out the cute tutus they made as a party activity! Moriah has been talking about her birthday for months now (turning 3 mid-January) and picked out a few Dora party supplies herself while we were in California this summer!

Coffee Shop Date
A vicious illness has been sweeping the city, taking adults and kids alike out of commission for weeks! David has been down with a bug for awhile now and I decided to give him an empty house so that he could rest. I took the girls to our coffee shop today (which has been beautifully decorated for the holidays) and treated them to smoothies. We read books and played "Old Maid" for 2 hours!