Nice to meet you, Santa. NOT!!

Pretty sure of what would happen, we went on to take Paisley to visit Santa for the first time. She HAD to see him and have her picture made with him on her first Christmas, right?!? Paisley is extremely friendly, and waves, smiles, talks to, even reaches for strangers at times, however, "Winnie the Pooh" answered a neighbor's door on Halloween, and she about had a heart attack. SOOO, I didn't know how she would feel about Santa. She didn't mind him at all until we got close to him, and then we knew there was no way she was sitting on his lap! I tried anyway (for some reason), and she s.c.r.e.a.m.e.d. Reaching, climbing, nearly clawing, etc., but we had waited in line for a good 45 minutes with a toddler, so we wanted a picture. Jason and I jumped in and this is the *best* one we got. We did get a funny memory!

Shop (and eat) 'til You Drop!

This weekend we had the opportunity to spend extra time with Jason, so we soaked him up while finishing Christmas shopping. We also grabbed a late lunch on Saturday at Olive Garden, and after church on Sunday we went to Mimi's for brunch. I couldn't help but snap pictures because usually when we are out to eat, it's Paisley and I with friends, and I am too busy keeping her content to take pictures! But this time, I could take them! We successfully finished our shopping except for 1 gift, and 3 small ones, so we did pretty well. We had a great weekend together!

Nice 'do...

Paisley's hair has been growing so fast lately, and that has led to some pretty funny nap hair sometimes. On Friday, she woke up like this...

And from the back...

Still standing on it's end as you can see. Oh, and who needs toys when you have a box lid? That's the best toy ever!

LOVE this girl, crazy hair and all. :)

Monkeying Around

This girl is a "climber", there is no doubt. She climbs on boxes, toys, chairs, loves stairs...she climbs on anything she can get footing on. Now, I didn't *see* her get into this situation, but I am assuming she climbed over the railing...

(Yes, we still use the Bumbo seat because she is so little that I feel like it gives her a bit of a boost, and must be a lot more comfortable.) Here she is strolling around. Can't seem to get a good picture of her looking at the camera, because ours pre-flashes, which makes her blink for the real flash. Anyone know if you can turn that option off?

And here she was kissing her reflection in the stove. She is giving kisses a lot more often now! Mostly, when you least expect it, full on, open mouth, and goes for your mouth. She will not settle for the cheek. :)

More Gala Pictures

The Ortho Residents that were there

Another one of us

Abby and I

Here are a few more pictures from the Gala Saturday night. We forgot our camera, so we asked other people to take our pictures and share the photos. (Thanks Abby and Sarah!) The first group was Sarah's pictures, and this group is from Abby's camera. We had a great time!

Peek-a-Boo!

Running Around!

Occasionally, I take Paisley to the play area in the Mall and let her run around and she loves it! I know it's dirty and nasty, but I always practically hose her off when we leave, and she has the best time. Here she is running around the play house there. Enjoy!

A Night Out

On Saturday night, my parents came into town to keep Little Miss while Jason and I went to a Christmas Dinner. What you need to know is that Jason and I have only been out by ourselves 3 times since Paisley has been born! Crazy, I know, but with his schedule, and finding a babysitter, and overall making it work, it hasn't happened much. So for us, this was a real treat!

The dinner was at the Dayton Art Institute, including horderves hand drinks, a very nice Dinner, "entertainment" afterwards, and tickets to walk through the art gallery. It was very fancy! We had a good food, and a great time with friends. Thanks Grammy and Papaw for keeping Paisley (and Tyke)!

Look Who's Talking...

Paisley has recently taken off with her talking, surprising us all the time at what she can say! A few nights ago, I told Paisley to "tell Daddy night night" and to our shock, she looked at Jason and said "night night Dada". WHAT? It seems like no time ago she wasn't saying anything, now she says about 15 words! Another big surprise was "banana". I know, you probably think I'm crazy, but my Mom and Jason have both witnessed this with me! She didn't say it on the video above, but maybe I can catch it another time. A few of her words are hi, bye bye, night night, Momma, Dada, Popa, Papaw, Tyke (Ty), light, ball, puff, bite, duck, bath, and of course banana! We are loving this stage in Paisley's development as she continues to amaze us every day. She is also starting to follow one step directions, which is GREAT for helping Momma out. Have a good weekend!

Paisley's Christmas Things

Our house is all decorated for Christmas, complete with Paisley's own little Christmas decor. :) In her room, she has her very own small Noah's Ark Christmas tree (Thank you Grandpa Bill & Brenda!), and in the living room on the coffee table she has a "Little People" Nativity. While hoping she would enjoy these things as I put them out, I never dreamed she would love them as much as she does! I thought maybe next year when she was older, but she is thrilled to have them THIS year!

First, I put out the Nativity. I brought her downstairs after a nap, and lead her over to the table. She saw the nativity, stopped about a foot away, stared, and did her little laugh which is actually "ugh, ugh, ugh!" She would look at me, look at Jason, and point, not sure if she could touch it or not. She soon learned she could in fact touch it, and play with it all she wants. So everyday, she plays and plays with her nativity. (Well carries it around the house anyway, or in her mouth. She usually has Mary by the head in her mouth). She recently started leaning over to kiss the different characters! It is the cutest thing. Yesterday morning when we got up, the first thing she did was walk over and kiss the cow, and then the camel from the nativity. I am so happy she loves it that much!

She also loves her tree. Every time we are in her room, she points and laughs to the tree. We walk over and look at the animals, and she points out the balls of course, saying her sweet little southern draw "baaawwwww" at every shiny ball on the tree. I took it out of her room the first day when I put her down for a nap because she wouldn't stop talking and pointing enough to settle down for a nap! She LOVES this tree!

We can't wait to see her face and hear her "ugh ugh ugh" laugh on Christmas morning. We have already received our greatest gift ever this year, it's Little Miss Paisley Lane!