A little catching up to do....

Ahh, finally a minute to sit down and breathe! Mallory's taking an early nap, so that we can meet up with Grandma, Grandpa and Tessa for lunch before they head back to North Dakota. We've had a very busy week what with three Christmas celebrations and all. Mallory and I managed to get the gifts finished and wrapped (she's now a tape expert!), treats made....yep, that's about it. Don't ask about the condition of our house right now, sore subject.

We spent Christmas Eve at Matt's parents' house with his family. Everyone was there (except Tera, who is still with her dad in Maine), so it was a full house! We had a delicious supper of ham, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole and PIE! Then, off to open gifts - and there were a lot!

Mallory has the present opening thing figured out!

What do you know? Another dolly! At last count, there are now SIX in our house. The two from before Christmas and four more. Poor Matt, he tried really hard to get her interested in other things - no luck. :(

She did get a kick out of the blocks, though. At first, she worked on stacking them up. But then soon discovered it is WAY more fun to knock them down. I have been dubbed "official tower builder" while Mallory is the one girl demolition crew. (And I'm no longer just talking about the blocks!)

Ah, yes. My Christmas gifts. Well....this is what was under the tree to me from Matt.

Yep, a PICTURE of a Black and Decker power scissors. He claimed he didn't have time to get to the store. Hmph. Fortunately, he redeemed himself by pulling this out of the back:

I think he finally got tired of me cursing my other sewing machine. Too bad though....I've handed down my old machine for him to use when sewing up his work coveralls and pants. I don't want that stuff near my brand new beauty! :) Hmmm....I wonder if I'll still get that scissors?

Just for good measure, one last picture of Mallory and dolly. She was showing off her burping skills here.

That night, Matt was up late playing elf. Sort of. This was actually supposed to be from Matt and I, but it was kind of hard to transport to Grandma and Grandpa's for gift opening. Matt put it together Christmas Eve night and it was waiting for Mallory on Christmas morning. If she actually understood anything about Santa, it probably would have confused her.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I was just a little concerned, though. As you can see (if you look closely), her dolly is taking a dry sauna....in the oven! But, Mallory was thoughtful, and allowed a cool-off in the refrigerator every so often.

We had to wait until after church for her stocking, as she was so enthralled with the kitchen set that we ran out of time. I think the pretty beads were her favorite Santa gift. Oh, and this is also a picture of her Christmas dress that I made (with my new serger!). It's cute, but a bit big. I was so worried that it would be too small, that I erred on the other side. Oh well, maybe she can wear it again next year.

And finally, I'll leave you with a picture of my naughty kitty. Well, they're both kind of naughty. Daniel enjoys climbing the tree, while Chloe is the chewer! In fact, I had to do some emergency Christmas Eve day shopping for new computer speakers....she managed to chew through the cords! Thankfully, she picked the $10 speaker cords and not the more expensive computer cord!