It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We've been busily preparing for the holidays around here!

Last weekend, my parents came for a visit. Nana helped us make delicious Christmas cookies. Big Sister helped decorate them.

She especially liked the sprinkles. And creating a freaky interesting face on her gingerbread man. (By the way, it was sugar cookie dough. Do you still call it a gingerbread man?!)

We also worked on adorable little ornaments for our family & friends. I really want to upload a picture, but I also want to let them be a surprise for Christmas. Maybe after...

On Sunday, Big sister had her first ever solo in a children's choir program. The lighting in the sanctuary was a little dim so our pictures didn't turn out, but she did a wonderful job. The entire evening was magical- the children's & youth choirs, the handbells, the congregation singing carols. I teared up more than once.

Afterward, we tried to take pictures of the girls in their Christmas dresses, to put in our Christmas cards. A frustrating time was had by all.

The best picture we got was this one below. I wasn't sure about it, so I vowed to see how our pictures with Santa went before deciding on a card photo.

I didn't have to wait long. Monday was unseasonably warm, so we thought we would take advantage of it and head up to Rock City. We've gone there to see the lights and Santa every year since Big Sister was born. This year they actually changed a few things.

Including Santa.

Have I ever told you that I am not all that big on change?

I'm not. The old Santa scene was in a tent, with lovely trees and a sweet little bench. I especially liked it because it wasn't your typical old man living room, complete with ugly armchair, like most studios and department stores I remember growing up. Even last year, when they put Santa in a comfy (yet old man-esque) armchair, they still had trees and snow. It was more "Cozy North Pole" than "Stuffy Papaw's House."

Guess where the NEW Santa sits?

And it didn't help my opinion of him that new Santa did not do much to set our toddler at ease. Instead of trying to describe it, I'll let the picture speak for itself:

Yep. That's the official photo. We bought another one, too, with Little Sis looking a little less terrified. But if you want to see the true experience, you can't beat that little gem right there. By the way, props to Big Sister. She tried to hold her baby sister's hand and reassure her. She was so overwhelmed with the experience she barely got to tell Santa about the cursed Barbie I Can Be Pet Vet...

When we were finished, Little Sister actually seemed a little less afraid. But (and maybe I just felt this way because I admittedly didn't give new Santa much of a chance after seeing my daughter scream in his arms in his sparsely decorated living room...) we were rushed through and she didn't get to go back and try again.

The rest of our time at Rock City was great. Big Sister was old enough this year to remember some parts from last year and to really enjoy herself.

Little Sister was really into the outdoor element of it all. She kept saying "outside" or "tree" or "water" or "touch it." Also, she did NOT, under any circumstances want to be carried. If oen of us picked her up, we had to wrestle to hold on to her, which is not ideal in damp, narrow, rocky places.
Once, Daddy put her on his shoulders (a placement that lasted all of thirty seconds) and a few minutes later we looked down to see Little Sister WALKING along the path with one shoe completely gone. The girls and I had to stop and hang out with an elf named Peppermint while Daddy backtracked to locate the shoe. When we got home, I had to throw Little Sis's tights away!

We've had other special Christmas moments this past week as well- the little kinds like sitting together and watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas or watching Big Sis hang out with her classmates at her school party or singing Jingle Bells in the car. As we enter into this last week before Christmas, I'm hoping to make time for lots more.

AND, I'm wishing you & your loved ones lots of Christmas moments- big or small- too!