It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! It is our first Christmas with just Brad and I (and our kids of course). We are trying to do festive things and not get too sad and miss our extended families. We took family pictures and already mailed our Christmas cards over Thanksgiving weekend. 

We decorated the house for Christmas. Joy has been great around the tree and hasn't pulled it down.  Joy is enjoying her sticker advent calendar sent from Grandma and Grandpa in England. It has been keeping her away from Daddy's chocolate advent calendar (although she does get a chocolate if she goes in the potty)

The tree is wedged between the furniture! 

We busted out her nativity that she got from Grandma and Grandpa Condie last Christmas. She loves it and calls it her "new toy"

Joy has also enjoyed choosing a small ornament to put on the below advent calendar that Grandma Susan made. It is identical to the one that we had growing up!

Joy posing by the mall's Christmas decorations. This is the face she makes when I ask her to smile these days!Reminds me a bit of Aunt Julie's monster face :-)

Cookie exchange and decorating! Joy enjoyed eating the sugar cookies more than actually decorating them.

Joy loves reading her new Christmas books. Frosty the Snowman is a favorite...

Every once and a while she gets to have a hot chocolate (made with almond milk) treat with mommy. She is great about drinking out of a real mug!