Day 24: Elves Eat Sushi Too!

Day 22: Playing With the Blinds

Who says you can't do a little repelling in an apartment--even if it is on the mini blinds?

Day 21: The Reason for the Season

Rest assured that even though I haven't posted about Chippey in over a week, he's still around and doing his thing.  Truth is Reese was in Brenham all last week, and of course Chippey had to follow to ensure Reese was on her best behavior.

She really loved the scene when she woke up this morning shouting "Chippey's with Baby Jesus!".  Because of course Chippey knows the real reason for the season!

Day 12: Marshmallows Roasting on an Open Fire

Reese was really impressed this morning with Chippey "making marshmellows", especially since she recently roasted marshmallows at the Domain and has it fresh on her mind.

Day 11: Chippey is Definitely a Parker

If any of you are familiar with the Parker's, you know they are all very creative and "artsy", namely Grandpa. I guess you can say Chippey fits right in.  Reese thought it was hilarious that Chippey had drawn a self portrait of himself on my iPad.  She can hardly wait to utilize this app too.

Operation Christmas Child

Chippey didn't do anything too exciting today--he's just hanging out in the tree, so I'm going to post about something else.

We participated in Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child this year with our church.  The goal was to send 500 boxes from Bethany and I'm pretty sure we surpassed the goal.

I figured it's never too early to get our little ones thinking that not everyone has it as good as they do and it's important to not be selfish and give to others.  I was definitely interested to see how Reese would react to going on a shopping trip to pick all of this fun stuff out and then realize it's not for her.  Well, she embraced it and had a blast selecting fun and useful things for someone else.  In fact, she wanted to get a lot more for someone else, but we were dealing with a shoe box to fit everything in, so we had to call it quits after a while.

Do you see a theme here?  She likes Hello Kitty.

 She was so proud to take her box and deliver it at church all by herself.  We will be tracking our package to determine exactly where and who it lands with and I'm sure this will become a tradition.

Day 9: Alternative Transportation

Chippey must have had too much fun with his other scout elf friends at the North Pole to fly back on his own, so he chose another form of transportation back to the ATX.

Sleepy Face!  She was also scared to stand on the counter for me to take her pic, but beggers can't be choosers.

Day 8: Snow, I Mean Flour Angels

Chippey is used to snow, and we don't have any here, so he resorted to having a little winter fun in the kitchen....with the flour.  All Reese could say was "Chippey made a big mess".  "Is he going to clean it up?"

Day 7: A Day of Rest

Today, Chippey observed a day of rest too, and decided to just perch up high on the window sill.  Reese was asked at church how he got up so high and her reply: "he climbed up a ladder". Duh! Why fly when you can climb a ladder?

Day 6: Chippey Cooks Breakfast

Saturday morning Chippey was up bright and early after his return from the North Pole and whipped up some elf-sized pancakes, just for Reese.

Day 5: Getting a Little Carried Away with the TP.

From the bathroom to the kitchen without a tear! That's pretty impressive, Chippey.  Of course, we made it a little easier on you given our living arrangements, but still!

Day 4: Taking Some Tips from Santa

Reese and I baked chocolate chip cookies last night and it seems that when Chippey returned from his trip to the North Pole, he just couldn't resist himself.  Perhaps Santa has taught his scout elves a thing or two?

Day 3: It's Important for Elves to Have Good Dental Hygiene Too!

Reese found Chippey on her bathroom counter this morning with HER toothbrush in hand, sitting in HER cup, with HER toothpaste leaking out of the cap.  She then proceeded to say that she wanted Santa to bring her a new toothbrush.

Chippey Day 2

Reese had a hard time finding Chippey this morning.  I guess I'll blame it on this tiny cluttered temporary apartment we're in or maybe she has similar genes as me (my parents always said I ran around looking at the sky and trying to hunt Easter eggs--I still deny it).  So, I ended up having to pick her up for her to notice him hanging out in the strainer full of rice crispies on the pot rack.  You can't see it, but he made quite the mess on the counter below too.

Don't You Just Love Lists?

And here I am...still stuck in 2011--on the blog, at least.  So to catch up REALLY QUICK and get into 2012, I'm going to make a list.  Don't you just love lists?

1.  We had a great trip to the ranch just before Christmas and JP got a deer...yay! that we have a freezer stocked again!

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil

Not intended for human use...Reese's doll stroller is still intact...BARELY!

2.  We celebrated JP's birthday with lots of fried goodness (pickles and mac& cheese). I also made red velvet cake balls--I've made several flavors now and I'm totally into them!  They are easy, tasty and the perfect size.

YUMMY!

3.  I'm now trying to work off all the fun I had eating fried food, candy, cookies, etc.  Not easy, but I sure did have fun getting to this point.

4.  Reese totally embraced Christmas and all it had to offer this year.  She is really enjoying her tea cart and tea sets, new kitchen and all the wonderful food to go in it!

5.  Christmas with the Parker's was quite hilarious with 4 kids ages 1-5 opening gifts...we probably could have charged for tickets because it was pretty close to a Ringling Bros. affair.

6.  Reese still asks about Chippey every other day or so...she really misses him, but knows that he is in the North Pole with Santa helping get ready for next year.

I hope this new year is safe and prosperous for us all!  2011...OUT.

Christmas Magic on Rodeo Drive

I'm absolutely ashamed of my brief blogging hiatus, but between blogging here and keeping up with my other load of responsibilites, this one has ended up on the back burner.  Of course, there is a ton that I could retro post, but I'm true to myself and know that won't happen, so I'm just going to pick up in the here and now.

From the title of this post, you might be thinking we recently took a trip to Beverly Hills.  Well, as much as I would have loved to afford to do my Christmas shopping in the great LA burb, I'm simply speaking of the good 'ole ATX here, which to me is just as good (if not better)!

I'm referring specifically to the magic our Elf on the Shelf has brought to our home.  Reese's Godparents gifted it to her this year, and she has embraced it all....the book, the movie, "An Elf's Story" (that we watch about every other day, thank goodness for DVR) and of course the elf himself.

His name is Chippey, since we watched the movie just before he made his initial appearance here on Rodeo Drive.  And being an almost 2 year old, I'm not sure she could think quite beyond her now favorite movie to come up with a more original name, so Chippey it is....this year anyway.  I decided to not write his name in the book just yet, because I have a feeling next year he might have a new name....or not...we'll see.

Even to a 22 month old, Chippey has quite the hold on her.  We have recently taken on a more high maintenance bedtime routine which includes me singing Reese to sleep.  (insert laugh here, because we all know how glorious my voice is).  And, sometimes after many songs sung multiple times, her eyes still beam wide open and as soon as I leave the room, she gets up, stands at the door and the crying begins.  At one point last week, I said (through the door) "Chippey wants you to go get in your bed and close your eyes".  There was immediate silence, and she obeyed exactly Chippey's wishes.   Dang, I love this elf!  I'm happy to report that we are finally back to a less high maitenance bedtime routine!

Chippey's hangout today.  Maybe this means we will see his magic this evening, too as he whips up dinner for us.

JP and I have really had a lot of fun beginning this tradition in our home.  We have decided, however, to save a lot of the creative Chippey antics for years to come, when they will be fully appreciated.  It really is magical, though to see the gleam in her eyes and smile on her face when she wakes up, looks around the house, and finds Chippey in a new place each morning.  And coming home from school to find him in the same place is just as good.  When we're out and about, she asks about him and completely understands that he talks to Santa every night.

Oh, and speaking of Santa, I have to include our trip to see him.  Reese was so excited, but of course as soon as she sat on his lap, she fussed a bit.  But it wasn't for long and I feel like I could read exactly what was going through her mind by the look on her face: "I'm a bit scared of this guy in the red suit and beard, but his clothing and hat look a lot like Chippey's.  And Mommy and Daddy say Santa and Chippey are friends and he brings presents to good girls like me, so I better not pout and I better quit crying".

Oh the magic of Christmas...it is beautiful!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

...and Reese is lovin' it!  Of course, getting the decorations up isn't something that happens in one day anymore, but Reese has been a good little elf!

 She's really enjoying her nativity that Honey and Grampy bought her last year, complete with the Inn at Bethlehem, manger scene, and the 3 Wise Men.  Of course, I'm not sure if it will ever look this put together again...

Here she is sporting her ADORABLE gingerbread apron Grammy made her.  I wonder what she's going to make?