December Good Times

Busy busy busy! 

December always is, right?

It definitely has been an eventful month at our house.

Here's some stuff we did.

Christmas lights and hot cocoa. We went to "Christmas Street" in Sugarhouse and a similar one in Taylorsville. Eleanor fell asleep of course.

A couple weeks ago my bro Dennis came to visit. It's the first time he's been to my house, ever! He had just barely left on his mission when we moved here. Let's just say my girls had fun playing with him. He's a great sport!

Lia had the most eventful week! On Thursday the 17th, she had to have some cavities filled and came out with a shiny new silver cap on her molar (more on that in a different post). The next day, we went to the mall with Josh and Appols and their boys and stopped at Claire's to see how much ear piercing would cost. This little girl has been talking about getting her ears pierced for weeks now. We had already talked to her quite a bit about how it does hurt and you have to care for the pierce afterward. She watched a different girl get her ears pierced and then we asked her if it was something she wanted to do. Very seriously, as is her style, she said,"Well, I think I want to walk around for a minute and think about it." So she did. And after a minute, when we asked her if she had made a decision, she said. "Okay. Yes. I want to." 

I was actually quite surprised. I thought she would decide to wait for a little while. But she sat up in that chair (squeezing my hand tight) and held still while they marked her ears with marker. When they pierced the first one, she flinched and whimpered a little, and a couple tears squeezed out, but she held very still and didn't make a sound while they did the other one. As soon as she got the mirror and saw the shiny little "diamonds" in her ears, she couldn't stop the smile. 

I told her she is responsible for caring for her ears now, and taught her how to clean them and keep track of how many times a day she does it. We really don't want any infected ears! So far she's doing great. She says she loves them.  

Before--a bit nervous but still wanted to do it.

After--trying to hide her smile.

So cute!

Afterward, we went to the Christmas in Color light display down the street from our house. A bit pricey at $20 per car, but so awesome! We loved it.

On Sunday we had our Christmas Program at church. I was super busy getting ready for it, because I was in the ward choir and playing piano for the primary song and for a duet. Our family also sang "When Joseph Went to Bethlehem" together as a special musical number. It was a lot of practicing leading up to it and honestly I think I took on too much. Sometimes I forget how to say "No." The program turned out really well though. We practiced a lot with our girls because obviously they can't read, so they memorized all the lyrics to our song and sang it beautifully! Those girls love to sing. Lots of people told us how much they enjoyed the song, and I think it's because little voices are so angelic. Plus, the girls were dressed in their beautiful new Christmas dresses from Great-Grandma Penman, and how can you resist this cuteness?! 

(They weren't wearing their Santa hats at church...but so cute, right?)

Sister kiss!

Oh my heck. I can't stand how adorable they are. 

I love how Eleanor poses for pictures. Usually she's doing a silly face, but she gets in front of a camera and just starts throwing out model poses like a pro. I'm a bit jealous, actually. I always look awkward in pictures.

This girl is going to be five years old in three days. Can you believe it? That dress especially makes her look so grown up. Oh, and that panda bear was Eleanor's consolation prize for not getting her ears pierced. Apparently it had to be in the pictures.

My birthday was Sunday, the same day as the church program. Dustin gave me this sweet Adventure Time shirt. Love Marceline! Here's to my last year in my twenties, and my first 29th birthday!