A Visit with Santa!

We had playgroup yesterday and Santa Claus came to visit!  It was definitely an interesting visit.   It was half and half - half the kids were scared and half the kids liked Santa.  Sage was one of the kids that was scared of Santa, she wouldn't even sit on his lap.  She was trying to get as far away as she could.  We so appreciate Santa taking the time out of his busy schedule to stop by. 

Marshall, Allison, JJ, and Andrew.

Sage would only sit with Santa if I sat with her.

JJ was the first one to sit with Santa.

Allison was next and she was done with Santa!

Then Marshall, he wasn't so sure...

Andrew was up next - it helped that Santa came prepared and handed out fruit snacks!

No way Sage was going to sit on his lap!

Allison thought Santa seemed better with her Mommy!

Baby Alice was just fine with Santa.

Andrew and JJ sitting with Santa!

Maybe next year Santa will be a hit - hope so!

Reading to her friends

Sage loves to read.   There are times when I get kicked out of the chair because she wants to be the only one reading in the chair.  Monday was one of those days.  Sage wanted to read to Baby & Paddy.  Her two favorite stuffed animals. 

Chippy the elf

Chippy the elf has been keeping a watch over our house this Christmas season.  He was sent here by Santa to keep an eye on Sage during the Christmas season.  Chippy will report back to Santa to let him know if Sage was naughty or nice!  He moves around the house each night and searching for Chippy is a priority each morning.  He stays up high so Sage won't touch him or he will lose his "magic".  Here are a few spots Chippy has been keeping an eye on Sage.

Sitting on the curtain rod in the dining room.

A vase on the mantel. 

Up on top of the wine cabinet.

Right in the middle of the Christmas Tree!

My favorite spot so far - the dining room chandelier!

Christmas Stickers!

Sage seems to enjoy all things Christmas.  She is really enjoying the Christmas stickers that Nana and Papa sent her.  I took a bunch of the stickers to church with us on Sunday to keep Sage occupied.  She usually doesn't sit with us in church - she goes to the nursery.  But this week was the Cantata and we figured she would enjoy the Christmas music.  She did enjoy the music, each time the music stopped she asked for More!   She only lasted about a half hour then Daddy took her for a walk. 

Here she is with her Christmas stickers -  right now she thinks its fun to stack then one on top of the other!

Christmas on the Farm

We went to Christmas on the Farm this past weekend.  It was at a local farm about 20 minutes from the house.  Sage's favorite part was looking at the cows!   We made a reindeer candy cane and took a hay ride.   We had a fun family day!

 She was so into the cows she wouldn't look at me for a picture.  She kept her mittens on almost the entire time we were there!

Getting crafty with Mommy!

Showing off her reindeer candy cane.

New Tradition - Gingerbread House!

I remember when I was little making Gingerbread houses with my mom.  I loved adding the candy on the house.  We started that tradition this year with Sage.  I did cheat a little though.  I bought a kit that had all the pieces in it: candy, gingerbread pieces and the icing!   I put the house together while Sage watched a Mickey episode.  I knew she didn't have the patience to watch the house go up and to put the candy on it.   She wasn't to sure about the candy at first but by the end of decorating she was telling me where to put the icing so she could put the candy on.  I loved passing on this tradition to my little one! 

All set up and ready to go.

Starting to decorate and not quite sure. 

Totally into decorating and loving it!

She had to sample her favorite candy - M&M's.

Sage and Daddy showing off the finished product!

A close-up view!

Pom-Poms

Sage was given a set of Pom-Poms by a special friend and she loves them!   She has been waving them all over the house.  Reese likes that they are the perfect shade of orange to match the Chicago Bears.   I think that there will be hours of entertainment with these pom-poms!

School Projects

Yesterday was the last day of school for Sage before Christmas break.  She has lots of fun at school and seems to enjoy the other kids and her teachers, Miss Kerry and Miss Shelley.  She came home from school with three gifts for Reese and I.   I think it is such a thoughtful thing for the teachers to take the time to have their students make gifts for their parents.  I tried to talk Reese into opening one of the gifts but he said no!   So for now they are sitting under the tree waiting for Christmas!  Looks like she had fun decorating the bags!

Numbers

We got Sage a new book for her birthday all about numbers.  It is one of her favorites these days.  She was sitting in the chair reading the book and counting.  I love to hear her count!   She can count to twelve but doesn't recognize the numbers yet.  I was perched on the end of the coffee table to get a picture of her and this is what I got. 

Because if Mommy was sitting on the coffee table it must mean that Sage has to sit there too.   She hopped off that chair so quick to come try to get on the coffee table.  Learned my lesson on that one - no sitting on the coffee table to try and get a good picture!