It all began with her advent calendar. I made these for ella last year. I was hoping to fill them with tiny toys and treats, but dang, it's hard to find fun and safe toys to fill 25 mini stocking with. So of course, grandma came to the rescue and got ella this - but when I opened it up and took all the toys out, I realized that I had done so without looking at what bits go with what bits. So now ella is is getting parts of trees and plants and animals that may not necessarily go together. Oops! But I don't think she mind - not really.
Every year we go to the port's gingerbread house contest. This was this year's winner in the "professional" category. Ella was completely memorized by this entry - mainly because it's the house from "UP," which happens to be her favorite movie.
I've always wanted wooden snowflakes for the tree. I found these at a local nursery - the same place we get our summer veggie starts.
Our first snow fall. It only really lasted a day. But enough snow came down to allow for several snowball fights. Let's just say, Tony got the worst of it. He was sadly outnumbered and out witted.
Finally our beautiful Christmas tree. Every year we decorate it differently. This year was no exception - the theme - sparking sugared dinosaurs with ginger people.
Ella decorated these cookies with her sitter emma. Don't they look fabulously perfect for our tree!
Ella is so crazy about her sugar coated T-Rex. I so love that about her.
Cycloptic ginger people. What every tree needs.
After seeing Christmas Eve on Sesame Street - we had to have tinsel for our tree. We searched all over town and finally found some at Target. Ella was so excited about it, that she designated the job of tinsel thrower solely to herself. But after a while, she decreed that Tony should do the top of the tree, I should do the middle, and el would decorate the bottom - all by herself. What a team leader!
Of course, the perfunctory Christmas tinsel beard. Ho Ho Ho.
