Christmas

 After celebrating Hanukkah the 16-24th, Violet then got to celebrate Christmas.  She heard "Santa" and his reindeer on the roof the night before.  She still talks about it two weeks later.  I'm just glad "Santa" didn't fall off the roof.

We were joined by both sides of the family for Christmas, although somehow my parents managed to escape the camera.

A puppet from Auntie Marla and Uncle Merrill

A unicorn stretchkin from Grandpa.

She sleeps with it every night.

Violet and Uncle Merrill

Violet and Auntie Marla

Hanukkah

Lucky Violet got to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas!

Rapunzel slippers!

Frozen rain boots!

legos!

Thanks Auntie Jenee for the cat ears!

Giraffe!

The giraffe arrived!

After saving her money for a year, the giraffe arrived in a very tall Amazon box.  I wonder what she will save for next?

Saving for a Giraffe

Violet got a piggy bank for a gift well over a year ago.  She's been depositing spare change in it for quite some time.  We asked her what she was saving up to buy and she answered "A giraffe".  At first I thought she meant a real giraffe but luckily she qualified the statement later.  She's saving up for a big stuffed giraffe.  The time came when the bank was finally full and she took a hammer to it (under supervision).

She saved over $60!  Eric and I rolled up the change that night.  Violet and Eric then went to the bank to exchange the coins  and soon we will be heading to the toy store to get her giraffe.

Outtakes from a recent photo shoot:

Picture update

We recently picked out a tree for Christmas.

Looking for the perfect tree.

Found it!

This gorgeous tree was already bought by someone else.

Mom, I put on my own sunscreen! 

School pictures, second year of preschool:

For comparison, last year:

What a difference a year makes!

Lake Tahoe

We just got back from spending Thanksgiving week in Lake Tahoe with friends.  While it didn't snow, we managed to find a small amount on top of a mountain.  It didn't take much snow to impress Violet.

Snow fight with Nana.

Hot cocoa to warm up.

Then there was the day we went on the hike from hell.  That's defined by taking a three year old on a 2 mile hike who decides less than halfway through that she doesn't want to walk.  Violet made the hike torture for all of us. 

Miserable.

Hanging out with a friend by the lake.

Downtime.