I’d like to note that her first drawing was, in fact, on the iPad.  So advanced.

That morning, we hit the PV mall, hoping to get in an early morning visit with one Mr. Santa Clause.  Unfortunately, he was “feeding his reindeer” and wouldn’t be appearing for visits until 11 AM.  Literally, that’s what the sign said.

So, we divided and conquered, with Justin taking El to the horses and really making good use out of our groupon for the carousel ride, and Hawp and I securing our 2nd place spot in line.

Three horse rides, one pet store visit, 2 coffees, and endless bouncing little Harper in the ergo later and Santa had arrived.  We immediately were given our order form because Santa’s “people” are marketing geniuses and realize that us parents will pay $30 for a god awful picture since it’s sentimental.  And believe me, our pictures were awful.  We actually bought a package that allowed us 3 photos but only ended p getting 2 because both girls were FREAKING OUT.  No joke.

Here’s what happened:

While watching Santa and the elves set up shop, I realized we really had not prepped El at all for this moment.  We hadn’t even really talked much about Santa.  I mean, poor girl really had no idea what was about to happen.  Here we were, about to hand her over to some random dude and then expect her to smile and mug for the camera as we walked away.  Ummnn not so much.  Add to this that Harper was just beginning her stranger anxiety phase and you have a recipe for disaster.

So, we did a quick run down on Santa, en route, telling BE that he was pretty awesome, brings gifts, etc., and that she was about to sit on his lap and it would be fab.  So, El, you are going to go sit on Santa’s lap and smile and say cheese for a picture, okay?

Shockingly, she looked right at us both and said, “No.”

At this point, we had about 2 minutes before we were up.  We were desperate.  We told her if she sat on Santa’s lap and smiled and did not cry we would take her to see the puppies (again) and ride the carousel (again) and then we would get ice cream (new bribe) and buy her a present (i added that last one for extra bribery power).  We were pulling out all the stops.

She said, “No thanks.”

And then it was out turn.  We marched up and both Justin and I tried to hand over our girls to Santa.  Both girls started freaking out.  I felt absolutely awful for Santa.  So, I suggested that Justin and I stay in the pic and Santa told us to make sure and hold each girl so they were on the opposite side of him (smart man–obviously has alot of practice with those who suffer from Santaphobia).  Alas, the girls were already traumatized and the tears did not stop.  So, I called it off after our two shots and we thanked Santa profusely and left.

We then hit the carousel because we still had a few groupon rides to burn.

Lesson learned: Prep your kids for Santa before getting in line to see him.

Oh, and please take note: it seems both girls are suffering from post traumatic shock here.  Thanks alot, Santa!

Aunt Casey came for a few weeks, which was lovely. I got to feel little Baby Scottchell kick many times. We had an awesome baby shower for her and got to do lots of baby bonding over childbirth classes with my doula and diaper dyeing in our backyard.

Aunt Kel came to live with us for much of December, and just moved back to her house Sunday. It was pretty awesome having her stay with us. Kind of like an endless sleep over. Beastie especially loved jumping into bed to snuggle with Kel. Diaper-less. Beastie is frequently diaper-less now that we are deep into potty training. This kind of disturbed Kelly. But she went with it and for that I applaud her!

We put up tons of lights for Christmas, resulting in a nightly power outage caused by a blown fuse. Our weirdo house only has one outdoor outlet, which we hooked about 1,000 extension cords to in order to power up the light display. On the up side, I now know how to fix a shorted fuse!

We got an adorable, mini tree for a steal because a portion of it had been chopped off. It looked a little odd but also kind of adorable. We opted out of ornaments this year and just loaded on the twinkle lights. I’m thinking APS loved us this month.

Justin and I both hit the 30 year mark, and celebrated by throwing a New Year’s Eve/Birthday party complete with beer pong, jello shots, and dancing. It was a total blast and a great way to ring in the new year.

The babes are doing lots of new things. Elliot is regularly peeing on the potty, though if she has any sort of undies, diaper, anything on, she will pee in it. So, there is alot of naked time around here. She also will only pee on the potty in the living room, which is kind of strange. It’s pretty hysterical to watch her carry her frog potty from the bathroom into the living room and then hop on it.

She is talking up a storm and also is singing and dancing all. the. time. This one loves the arts and is a huge fan of the easel her Mimi and Poppy got her for Christmas.

Harper is finally sleeping through the night regularly, going down at 6:30 and waking at 6:30. She then eats and usually hits her crib for another hour to hour and a half. Elliot is also sleeping till past the 7 AM mark. This is a glorious development.

Harper is still a speed crawler. She is standing more and more often but still not walking. I think it will be maybe another month before we have an official walker.

Both of these girls are so in love with each other and it is so awesome to watch. Harper follows Elliot around like it’s her job. And Elliot loves to run in and “get Harpie” as soon as Harper wakes up.

I am really looking forward to this year. We have a NOLA reunion trip in February, 2 Spalding family visits from Mimi, Poppy, Erin & Val in February and April, a new Baby Scottchell to welcome in April, and multiple fun family weddings this summer and fall (Map, i’m counting you as family). On top of all that, we get to watch the little Beasts grow up and do something new and sweet (or crazy, as is more often the case) every single day.

Here’s to a fabulous 2012.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Hawp literally snoring in the backseat of Justin's car on the way home from Nana & Papa's on Christmas eve.

Mommy and I have the same haircut now.

I love my Nana Kreber and the totally AWESOME balloons she brought me!!

How big is the baby? So big!!!

Imps.

Daddy/Daughter pretzel sharing time.

Huh, is that some sort of age appropriate food item over there??

Screw baby food, Daddy. It's you, me and this pretzel, for-ev-er.

so much better than spaghetti.

Hawp's first ride on the horsies! You will al be happy to know both girls are wearing undies here.

Beastie's make-shift lair.

Literally the best "we got a Christmas tree" photo we could manage.

Merry Christmas!!

You better believe i'm sitting on my potty practicing under this blankie!

Hawp's first train ride at the railroad park! I should probably add that this also was preceded by her first ride in the bike trailer. Which she hated.

Mwah.

My adorable fam.

Christmas morning

and that is all. over and out.

That is all.

So advanced.

It’s absolutely insane how excited toddlers get by sprinkles.  Mental note: buy Elliot sprinkles at the dollar store for all her future birthdays.

Anyway, we had alot of fun and I also had a plate full of delicious sugar cookies and vegan gingerbread to hold me over for the weekend.  Woo-hoo!

We also had a special guest appearance from Nana Kreber, who was visiting from Ohio for the week.  She brought the Beast 2 balloons that can be walked on a leash.  These were the absolute hit of the party.  Unfortunately, it was quite a windy day, and the dog balloon was lost to the elements.  Fortunately, we saved the dinosaur, so, he will see another day.

Hawp LOVES cookies.  She seriously stalked the goodies, standing at the little table, waiting for the big kids to leave their cookies unattended.  Then she would swoop in and grab the leftovers and shove whatever it was into her mouth.  Then she would choke.  So advanced.

We had so much fun with all their little friends.  And the little beasts had a waaaaaaay better response to this holiday activity than they did to meeting Santa.  Look forward to that upcoming post, peeps.

OMG, a baby dinosaur!! Nana K brings the absolute best gifts!

So, get this, I pee on the potty and I get candy. Every. single. time. It should really be called Parent training.

Ahhh my eyes!!! Curse you, Arizona sun!

Hmmn, I only need .2 seconds to make those delicious choking objects mine...