The All Encompassing December Update

Wow, I've been a slacker! So brace yourself for a long list that will cover everything we've been up to during December.

* Met up with some friends for pizza and a Christmas festival that a nearby neighborhood was throwing. We didn't end up staying very long because waiting in super long lines and a 2 year old don't mesh very well. 

* Karlee battling cold after cold after cold. Poor thing can't catch a break!

* Entertaining ourselves with the boxes that Amazon sends that are easily 4 times larger than the item being shipped.

* Successfully made Karlee some cute pajama pants. The original plan was to make some for Penn and I, but let's just say that never happened.

* Scoring an awesome deal on Groupon to try out Smashburger. Fed all 3 of us for $5. Step aside In-N-Out, this place is SO much better! 

* Went to our ward party. I was pretty proud that I was able to make mint chocolate chip cookies that actually didn't burn. Karlee met Santa and although she wasn't afraid of him, she was more interested in the candy canes he was giving out.

* Went to Penn's work party where Santa once again showed up, but this time he rolled in on a shiny red Peterbilt. Karlee was a little more into the whole process this time and told him she wanted a baby doll.

* Took Karlee to the mall to ride the Carousel. She loved it! The whole time she was yelling "Yee Haw!" and "Karlee's a Cowgirl!"

* Had dinner with some new friends in our ward. Karlee, Kenna and Jenna are all within a month in age and get along really well together.

* Went and saw a couple of houses in Frisco and Plano that coordinate their lights to music. Pretty cool displays!

* Were able to catch several days where we would go on walks to feed the ducks and to play at the park. It definitely made it not feel like Christmas and December, but it sure beats being stuck inside all day long.

* One day while Karlee was napping I painted my nails (which I rarely do). She saw them when she woke up and wanted hers painted too. I took the polish off mine today and when she saw them she got sad and asked what happened to my fingers. She now wants hers a different color every day.

* We were also amazed at how she immediately knew what to do when given Penn's smartphone to play a game. 

* Monkey Karlee has been discovered sitting on top of her headboard in the morning several times. 

* Penn has had a couple of days off work since both Christmas Eve and Christmas were on the weekend. We took advantage and joined my brother's family at Gattitown, which is a pizza buffet place that is similar to Chuck E Cheese with the arcades games and whatnot, but the pizza is actually edible. That night we took Karlee to her very first movie in the theaters. We took her to Puss in Boots for .75 cent Tuesdays fearing that if she refused to sit still we wouldn't be out much for the movie. She proved us totally wrong. She loved it! She sat on Penn's lap the whole time and was a little commentator. Now she keeps asking if she can go watch "Cats in Boots" on our TV. Guess we'll have to buy that one when it comes out. On the way home she kept saying "That was fun! Let's go home now."

Here are some pictures to go along with our list. I will recap Christmas Eve and Christmas in another post.

These girls crack me up!