Elf Workshop and Breakfast with Santa

We started the day off with this :) (tantrums because of the uncomfortable tags on his shirt... the imaginary ones, since we couldn't find any. I bet Kevin $1K if he could find one... he was pretty sad when he couldn't... but he still cut off Andrew's imaginary tags... and saved the day!)

Then I shipped Kevin and Andrew off to our ward's Breakfast with Santa and somehow thought that I'd have all this free time to clean our house and shower while they were gone. Instead, Miss C. and I had some cuddle time and she wanted to eat the entire hour plus that they were gone. I actually relished every moment. My little cuddle bug is ADORABLE and so snuggly!

Although Andrew loved the pancakes, he was missing me and baby C and wanted to play basketball, so the boys came home early and didn't even get to meet Santa!

I was hopeful that our town's Elf Workshop would cheer our little grinch (grump) up, and fortunately... it did, for awhile :)

We wrote letters to Santa

and mailed them to the North Pole

We also got tattoos from an Elf!

Little dude was so excited about his train tattoo with Frosty driving

and the highlight of the event was meeting Santa! Santa was really friendly and asked Andrew all about his Toy Story sippy cup and then he gave Andrew a candy cane... little dude now really thinks Santa is super cool. He said "Thank you" to Santa many times!

We finished up the workshop by making little mice out of Hersheys kisses.

There were tons of other adorable crafts to do... but most were a little advanced for Andrew... so we ended the day with a trip to the sticker table. Andrew made sure to include Caitlin. What a sweet big brother!

Sticker man!!

After the Elf Workshop we had an unsuccessful trip to Lowes to find Christmas lights and a tall ladder... and then we headed to the Red Tractor Cafe for lunch. Mmm! Thank you Google "baby bonding bucks!"

Kevin loved that they serve breakfast all day... and little man and I devoured french fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, and hot dogs.

massive banana pancakes

We rushed home after lunch to put this kiddo down for his nap... but he's crazy and forced himself to stay awake (despite falling asleep multiple times on the drive home).

We spent the afternoon playing Rock Band and chatting with Aunt Jessie and Tim... and whenever we ignored Andrew, he found a way to get our attention quickly- like when he poured out a container of sprinkles on the table and ate them by the handful... and dropped a lot on the floor :)

I also made my first batch of peppermint brownies of the season. Everyone seemed to enjoy them :) I'm sure I'll be making many more before the holidays are over.

I spent my downtime tonight sweeping the floor in the kitchen (sprinkles, rice from dinner, candy canes... it was a mess!). All I want for Christmas is a constantly clean house :) I don't think that is possible with a toddler living here though. One of the best parts of my day (or night) lately is a lot of time to read. Since little C actually sleeps at night a good amount so far, I have stopped reading blogs at night and focus on the churchy stuff- the scriptures and church conference talks. Recently I was reminded of this quote, which I love...

"If you're raising children be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled, will disappear all too soon, and that you will, to your surprise, miss them, profoundly.”
— President Thomas S. Monson

Every night I glean some new tidbit from my reading... and eventually I hope to actually be able to apply what I learn. Today I neglected putting away the laundry. :) I have a long ways to go... but tonight I was reminded to treasure every little moment, even the ones where there is tantruming and grumpiness. Laughing helps a lot too. I'm so glad to have Kevin around to help me see the humor in everything.

Off to cuddle some more with my little cutie! She is going to be a toddler before I know it!