Do you want to hold the baby?

We asked Nora if she wanted to hold the baby, and she sat down excitedly in her chair. Should I mention that the baby (my niece) is 7 months younger than Nora and just about weighs the same amount. But Nora was excited so we let her have a go.

But then Nora got tired of holding the baby and wanted a turn of her own to be held. So she took a seat.

Silly peanut.

Now these next series of pictures are the EXACT reason why I'm not putting any presents under the tree until Christmas eve. It seemed awfully quiet so I peeked behind the couch where Nora had taken a present she found. She's such a sneak.

What, Mom? Isn't this for me?

Daddy's been gone for work so I was trying to think of fun things we could do for girls night. I thought I'd build a fort. Nora seemed to dig it. For five minutes anyway.

Then she needed a rest.

Nora has started saying quite a few things. When I'm looking for her binki I'll say "Biiiinnkkiii, where are you?" Now Nora walks around with me looking saying, "Kiinnkkii, uuuuuu aaaaaa uuuuuu?"

She says cute, cheese, shoes, Hi Diesel and a bunch of other mumbo jumbo that I haven't quite deciphered yet. She loves Baby Signing Time and signs a lot of the things when I sing the songs.

At almost 13 months she still doesn't have a single tooth. The girls been gumming her steak for months.

So excited for Christmas! Only 10 days away. I've loved having lots of time to enjoy the holidays this year. Hope your Christmas is wonderful!

Muffin Pan Advent Calendar

So excited to finally have this project done! I searched the internet for homemade advent calendars and this one was BY FAR my favorite. It only took me a couple days to put together and really turned out cute! All you need is a 24 count mini muffin pan, a roll of extra strength magnet, and all your shiny scrapbooking supplies! A little creativity doesn't hurt either.

 You can put treats, scripture verses, money, whatever fun little things your children might love in the cubbies. No more lame Wal Mart advent calendars anymore!

I can't wait for the many memories and traditions we'll create with this throughout the years to come.

As far as this lady lady is concerned, I just can't keep up with her. By the time I've picked up all her messes in one room, she's gone and terrorized the next! She's so stinkin fast.

We're already enjoying the holidays so much. We went and visited Santa at South Towne Mall yesterday. Nora was a tad irritated that we had to wait in the line for so dang long, but she wasn't even scared of the jolly old man. Going to the festival of trees tonight. Hope everybody has a wonderful weekend!