December -- warm and memorable

Our December was festive and WARM!  Thank you mother nature for not sending snow our way.

Christmas lights

Hannah and Nathan put some lights up outside our house.

Not many people put lights on the roofs here because they are so high and steep.  So we put wrapped them around our lamppost in the front yard, and outlined a few areas of the house.  Hannah loved helping with decorations.  By the way, did you notice how green the grass is? Yeah -- we've had such great weather all month long!


Christmas concert

At the beginning of the month, Nathan and I were in a small choral group and we performed at a Christmas community event.  At that event, there was a bell choir that performed several Christmas carols.  Hannah LOVED the bell choir, and she was mimicking them during their performances.

Hannah's birthday

Hannah had a birthday this month and she was so excited!

She helped make cupcakes for her school party.  We got the frosting a little too runny, but it still worked out ok and she didn't care one bit.

Hannah was excited to open her presents.  She got money, and some Sunday dresses.

We gave her Financial Peace Junior, and the Smart Saver Bank.

We decided it was time to start teaching Hannah how to manage money.  We were a little worried that this stuff would be a little over her head, but she has completely proven us wrong!  Financial Peace Junior (and accouterments) was the perfect gift!

She has done a really good job at doing her chores.

Tis the season to be ... sick

I got sick just a few days after Hannah's birthday.  This was a terrible bug and it wiped me out for 2 weeks!  I went through so many tissues.  One day, I went through about 10 tissues in about 15 minutes.

Christmas

Hannah fully grasped the magic of Christmas this year, and it was fun as parents to see.  On Christmas Eve, she asked me at breakfast "Mommy, how is Santa going to come out of the fireplace?"  "Mommy, how is Santa not going to get burned by the fire?"

One fun thing about Christmas, was Hannah loved finding Jasper each morning.  He found some interesting places to hide.

She ran into Santa a few times during the month: at our ward Christmas party, and at her preschool.

On Christmas Eve, we made some sugar cookies for Santa.  Hannah was very generous with the sprinkles on the cookies.  

She was so excited to leave a plate of cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer.

On Christmas morning, Hannah came running into our room (without seeing what Santa had brought) yelling "Santa came!  Santa came!"

Here is what she found from Santa:

An empty plate.

Presents from Santa.

A letter from Santa.

The weather was so warm in PA (almost 60 degrees!!!) that Hannah was able to go out and ride her bike.  We also went to a new park that Hannah found.  She likes to call it the purple park.

Family visiting

After Christmas, we had some family come up for a few days.  It was great to have them come.

While family was visiting, we went to breakfast at the Nittany Lion Inn.  Upon entering the dinning room floor, we found a gingerbread that was decorated like the Nittany Lion Inn.  It was very impressive.

Miscellaneous

We had dental appointments this month, and Hannah got her first x-rays.  This kid loves going to the dentist.  She pretty much lets them do whatever they want.

Hannah got a few headbands from a friend.  She's enjoyed trying to wear them in multiple ways.

We also had dinner at a friends house.  We like to call this the snowman house.  There are snowman everywhere and Hannah loved looking at all of them.

Nathan and Hannah built a rocket ship out of cardboard.  She has thoroughly enjoyed playing with it.

Despite being sick for a few weeks, our December was great and a lot of fun, and one we will never forget.