Ashlynn is 4 months old!

Holy moley.

Not only is Christmas a week and a half away, but our little miss is now 4 months old!!! How did that happen!

She has her 4 month appointment on Wednesday.  Any guesses on her current weight or height?  At 2 months she was 12lb 7oz and 23" tall.  I can't wait to find out how big little miss actually is...  (and yes, whenever she wears a two-piece outfit, she is constantly lifting up the shirt...this is a habit we are going to have to correct sooner rather than later)

what are these strings? my shoes don't have them...curious

On Monday, mom came over and helped me wrangle the kiddos up to meet Santa at the mall.  We had gone to Deer Valley Airport last weekend and watched Santa fly in on the Phoenix POlice Department helicopter, but the place was packed with kids, so we didn't get a chance to meet the big guy.  We went on a school day, during school hours to meet Santa at the mall, so it was pretty empty.  We walked right up and Ashlynn did great.  Jayce on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the man.   He did manage to tell Santa he wanted trucks, and give him a high five, but when it came to picture time, he clung for dear life to Grandma's shirt.  So needless to say, I didn't want to traumatize the kid, so he isn't in the picture.  Ashlynn handled it like a pro.

The rest of the week has been more of the usual, with lots of holiday cheer thrown into the mix.  Tonight, we took the kids of a night-time walk through the neighborhood to look at the Christmas Light displays that people have put up (there are 3 or 4 houses on the block that go all out, some even coreographed to music).

We've managed a few playdates and park trips in there as well.  And let's not forget LOTS of story time.

yes, that is my iced coffee that got kicked over....sad morning for this mama

We have started the tradition of the Elf on the Shelf this year.  Jayce loves reading the Elf's "biographical" book and hearing about how our elf came to be with our family.  And he loves finding him every morning.  He always looks in the most recent locations, only to be sad that he's not there anymore.  He truely looks crestfallen when he's not there.  When we reassure him that he's still here, he throws himself full force into the quest to find him, and gets sooo excited when he finally does.  While he doesn't fully understand the elf's purpose in the house, he has so much fun, and it's great to see his eyes light up when he finds our elf.  Said elf does not have a name yet.  We are currently taking suggestions, though he will probably remain unnamed until next year when Jayce can name him himself.  Maybe next year, he'll better comprehend the elf's job too...

For now I'll leave you with a few more pictures...this mama is quite tired, and is off to bed once she finished the beer she's been sipping on while typing this up....

the dreaded "duck face" already....

I remember when he couldn't reach the net...
let alone dunk...