The day after Thanksgiving we set up the Christmas tree and put up decorations. The girls were really helpful hanging ornaments and enjoyed looking at their stockings. Sophie gets to have her very own Christmas tree set up in her room (and Aspen enjoyed it too once she moved into the bunkbed after Christmas). It's really cute to see them sleeping in the light of their own little tree every night.
We went to a live nativity at a Baptist church near Wade's parent's house. Although the line to see the nativity was crazy long (we had to wait about 1.5 hrs, but fortunately they let us sit in the chapel watching a nativity movie), the actual nativity was really cool. We were taken on a journey to Bethlem to be taxed and met lots of people along the way. Aspen was freaking hilarious this entire time. She was making all sorts of inappropriate comments from the peanut gallery the entire time. "Who's that guy?" she said pointing to the angel who spoke to the sheppards. She tried to climb into the manger scene and steal the baby Jesus because she wanted to hold the baby. Throughout the journey there were Romans who required to see our passports. Aspen and Sophie held theirs out in fear every time one came near.
We rode Trax to temple square to see the lights. We stopped for dinner at a German restaurant called Sigfried's. And we saw the flaming fountain at the City Creek Mall. We also let the girls play at the dinosaur playground (which was probably their favorite part of the trip).
Isaac took the girls to see Santa at the library (unfortunately I had to miss this due to young women obligations). But Isaac said that both Sophie and Aspen were terrified of Santa. They wouldn't sit on his lap, and Aspen wouldn't get closer to him without Sophie being a shield between them. The only reason she was close enough in the picture was because she really wanted the candycanes he was giving out.
We had lots of family and ward Christmas parties throughout the month. Sophie had a blast at the Lloyd family party. She was so excited to play in the band. Isaac found an old trombone for her to play and she practiced that thing for hours. (She was actually really good at vibrating her lips to make it work.) And she sat with all the band members and played her little heart out during the concert. Unfortunately she played so long her lips looked like Angelina Jolie when she was done, but that didn't stop her from having fun.
We continued our annual tradition of skiing as Santa at Brighton on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately this year it was only free for the first 100 or so Santas, but Isaac and Sophie were still able to ski. We invited both of our families to join us because I was able to reserve the cabin. So pregnant people (me), non-skiers, and little kiddos were still able to come hang out at the cabin and have fun. But we had lots of Santas participate this year: Isaac, Sophie, Grandpa Dee, Grandpa Barry, Hannah, Wade, Jamie, and Jason.
I watched/filmed Sophie go down the hill for a run. Isaac really didn't help her much this year, and she was skiing really well on her own. If we could let her go more often, I'm sure she would be a pro in no time.
This year we also had an elf stop by every night to do the 12 days of Christmas. The girls were so excited to see what was left on the porch every night. On the 12th day/Christmas Eve, the elf left a note saying they have been so good and Santa will be visiting them that night. It was a really thoughtful thing for that special elf to do.
On Chrismas day, Sophie woke up really early (for her) because she was so excited. We went downstairs to see if Santa came. The girls were both good this year, so he did bring them presents. Santa ate all the cookies and left a note saying that Rudolph loved the spinach we left him. Sophie thought that was great. Then we opened presents and stockings. Sophie loved reading the name tags and handing out all the gifts this year. She wouldn't even let someone open it before passing out the next gift. Aspen was adorable. She loved every gift she got and wanted to put it on immediately or play with it right then. As she got more and more gifts, she couldn't figure out how to hold them all. But it was really cute to watch her appreciate everything so much. Sophie got a Ute sweatshirt, playdoh toys, art supplies, and a few other little things. Aspen got a baby carrier, new shoes, playdoh toys, and some other things.
It snowed a lot Christmas Eve, so we had to shovel the driveway before going to Grandma Sugar's house. Then we drove over there for more presents and lunch. Again Sophie handed out presents while Aspen played with everything. They were both so well behaved. Grandma and grandpa gave the girls flashlights (which are always a hit), and Elsa dress, cooll drawing tablets, and some other cool toys.
Because the snow was so bad, we didn't make it home for naps. We wanted the girls to sleep in the car while we drove to Ogden, but Aspen only napped for about 15 mins. I was worried she was going to be a wreck, but she was still just as happy as ever. Grandma Karla made all the granddaugters really fancy princess dresses with crowns and sparkle shoes. Sophie also got a Playmobile set and Aspen got a Little People bus.
And Isaac took the girls sledding a number of times during the days he had off work. For the first time in many years we had enough snow in the valley to sled close by our house. We found a perfect little hill for our girls because they could walk up pulling their sleds all by themselves. We also took them up to Little Mountain one day, but it was really cold.
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