Snow!

We finally got some snow. Georgia loves to help shovel. I can't say that Penelope loved being out in the snow...maybe a good sledding trip will solve that?

Merry Christmas!

The girls had a great Christmas though we had to wake them up to get it started...they are still on Arizona time! Penelope found the whole ordeal slightly overwhelming and wasn't that interested in opening gifts. Georgia however found the most joy in opening things and gladly helped her out! Top gifts included Lotso the Bear (from Toy Story 3), a sleeping bag, and a Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) dress up outfit for Georgia. Penelope enjoyed a new baby doll and a toaster for her kicthen.

After opening gifts at home, we spent a great day with family. We relaxed while opening presents, enjoying a yummy breakfast and later some lobster stew and desserts, and watching movies. We couldn't stop remarking how next year Georgia will be 5, Penelope will be 2 1/2, cousin Nolan will be 1 1/2, and the unborn baby will be 10 months!

Georgia and Penelope in their Christmas PJs. Matching of course.
Georgia's loot from Santa.
Penelope's loot from Santa.
And from us.

More Arizona Photos

Here are a smattering of photos from our trip.

Georgia having fun at the Children's Museum of Phoenix.
Grammie Dianne and Georgia are SO silly.
Aunt Donna meeting the girls.
A family picture at the Camelback Inn (where we stayed).
A family picture on our last night.

Phoenix Zoo

We spent the first full day of our trip to visit Grammy Dianne at the Phoenix Zoo. After a cold start to winter, it was great to be able to run around outside. The highlight for us all was feeding the giraffes! It was an amazing experience!

Cookie Decorating

Every year since I was little we have decorated Christmas cookies. This year we switched it up a little and did gingerbread cookies instead of sugar cookies though I think based on their unpopularity in the house, we will be switching back. It was exciting for Penelope to finally be able to participate, although she lost interest in the decorating part and quickly moved on to the sampling part!

Holy Belly Batman

All of a sudden my belly popped! I am 30 weeks today. Pants Gran (Georgia's chosen name for Baby Cobb #3) will be here so soon! We can't wait to meet this baby (and find out if this one is a boy or a girl). So far the current bets in the house are even with Miles and Georgia saying boy and P and I saying girl (but P is probably just repeating me). Time will tell....

Outtakes

Georgia is such a ham. While Penelope napped, we had fun playing with photobooth on my computer.

P also loves to make silly faces....here are a few we captured together on my phone.

Santa Parade Take 3

Another Santa Parade but this one is our favorite. It was chilly but the girls had a great time watching the bands and seeing all their favorite characters. Georgia and P were not fans of the loud firetruck sirens as they went by (hence the grumpy face pictured below). The biggest hit was when Santa personally said "Hi" to Georgia and Penelope over the loudspeaker! Luckily "Santa" is a friend of Grammy Kelsa and Grampa Jack and recognized the girls. I can't even express how much it thrilled Georgia! She is still talking about it!

Ballet Peek Week

It was Peek Week for Georgia's ballet class. Penelope was so excited because they let her participate in the class...and she shockingly followed along for the most part. At the end, they gave all the girls roses...so sweet!

Trimming the Tree

Due to a long trip before Christmas, we decided to put up a fake Christmas Tree this year. I really wasn't up for a dead tree in the background of Christmas morning pictures or the whole fire hazard thing. And because we will be gone, we wanted to get it up as soon as we could. We had a great time trimming the tree and decorating the living room. Georgia really got into it this year, though, unfortunately Penelope found her babies and stroller much more exciting. We are missing a ton of ornaments on the tree, partially due to size but mostly due to "Penelope the Destroyer". We didn't want to have all those ornaments break and we don't trust her...so only soft, non-breakables this year! Maybe in about 4 years we can go back to our normal decorating style after all the children are 3 or older!

Santa Parade Take 2

Our second Santa Parade was in our own town. Unfortunately, it started earlier than advertised so we didn't get to see Santa get off the boat but we did catch him coming up the street lead by a band.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving Dinner...if you don't count Penelope having explosive diarrhea that went up her back and required a full outfit change (mid-dinner) and Georgia throwing up because I made her TRY one bite of the squash. Actually, it was a delicious dinner but the days of relaxing during or after dinner are gone for a while. We burnt off some of the feast with a few rounds of Guitar Hero (the band version), cousin photo shoots, and multiple runs around the house to locate Penelope (who loves to run off and hide...awesome). We refueled with my Pumpkin Cheesecake with Nutella-Chocolate Ganache and other assorted desserts. Yum, yum, super yum.