IT'S A GIRL

She is tiny with

Soulful dark eyes

Beautiful Black hair

And she is the perfect addition to our family....

(scroll down for pics)

Bet I had you going there for a minute huh????

The puppy was a Christmas gift from my Brother and Sister in Law, whose dog had given birth about 8 weeks earlier.  So we now have a Lab puppy named Indiana (cause my kids watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade a couple of weeks ago)  

Although D has been calling her "Broccoli" so.....

Ironically, K and X have been telling every Santa that would listen that they wanted a puppy for Christmas.  

They had no idea we were getting a puppy.

 Meeting her for the first time.  Think they are a little excited???

Pesky Little Elves

So our elves arrived for the first time late in the holiday season (a week before Christmas to be exact) since it took a while for Santa to find elves that "matched" my kids.   However, on the morning of Dec 18 X, D and K awoke to find an elf in their room amid a ton of Santa's magic snow (it's apparently magic because no matter how long you spend vacuuming it you can still find more the next day)  We told A that since he was over 10 he had to ask Santa for an elf if he wanted one.  He declined and halfway through the week informed me that the "elves were doing boring things"

We are not strictly following the "elf rules"  Our elves did not report back to Santa (although based on the behavior this year- they might be reporting back next year) and they could be touched (which meant we had to make sure not to leave them on any of our outings since the kids insisted that they come along)  

X named his elf Alex, D named her elf Rainbow and K named her elf Ralph (although in the interest of fair disclosure I think she originally misunderstood "elf" but by the time we figured it out Ralph was the name)

Our elves were, to use D's words "a little naughty".  Here are their week of escapades:

Using a box of candy canes to practice their spelling

Swiping some Christmas cookies (little did they know that overnight the dog will come swipe the cookies they swiped)

 Hitting the electronics  (X was mad that "that elf used up all my battery")

 Making rice angels (apparently when there isn't any snow you make due with what you can find....)

TP-ing the kids' Christmas Tree in their playroom

 

 And replacing their stockings with their underwear

Now some of you may have seen the video of the two kids distraught about saying good bye to their elf.  (which I might add is significantly funnier when it isn't your kid)  Let me tell you- despite knowing all week that Santa was taking the elves back AND they would return next year- K was inconsolable about saying good-bye to Ralph.  (which I am sure had nothing to do with the fact she was overtired)  She does still mention missing her elf.

However- some of her sadness was alleviated by the "thank you for watching my elves" gift that Santa left Christmas morning where the elves had been

The Christmas (un) Wrap Up

Funny how well they pose when they can't open presents until I get a good photo

Christmas Eve- exchanging gifts from the family

Christmas Morning

Every year we save the "big" gift (or the most wanted gift) for last and it is a gift from us and not Santa.  However, every year they have to go on a scavenger hunt to find where their last gift is hidden.  This year's hunt had them going between all three floors of the house following the clues (including one this year that they needed clues to figure out)

K got a DS (okay it was my old hardly ever been used DS but new to her)  

D got a new DSi (she has always had the boys' hand-me-downs which have never worked well after years of use by the boys)

Anticipation

 They each got an iPod touch (which was all they talked about wanting)

Weekend Wisdom

And the Grinch, 

with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,

stood puzzling and puzzling, 

how could it be so? 

It came without ribbons. 

It came without tags. 

It came without packages, boxes or bags. 

And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. 

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. 

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

-Dr. Seuss

Bethlehemian Rhapsody

Our church always does a puppet/kids show on Christmas Eve afternoon.  

Oh please please please let this be part of it.......

Elf You!

Wordless Wednesday

 

from http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/12/21/144076413/for-first-time-women-share-first-kiss-at-a-navy-homecoming