Christmas shopping!

In case I haven't said it recently, I LOVE this time of year!! I love planning for the holidays and bundling up the family to head to the mall. I love sharing a peppermint mocha with my husband as we shop for the perfect gifts. I love seeing the excitement in my babies' eyes when they see twinkling lights and trees in all the stores. I honestly hardly notice the crowds, because spending the time with my husband and family as we shop for our loved ones is just so much fun for me.
This past weekend we got a huge jumpstart on our Christmas shopping. We looked ahead at the calendar and discovered that with our busy work schedules, we have very few days between now and Christmas to do any shopping together. And having the time together is what makes it all worth it. Papaw and Mamaw came up on Saturday, cooked us dinner, and then even volunteered to watch the kiddos (awesome, right??) so Chris and I could make a last minute shopping trip sans Ella and Cade. We headed to Toys R Us and were so excited to find out they were open until 11pm that night. We had so much fun shopping for all the little tikes in our family and actually got so much accomplished. Thanks again, Papaw and Mamaw!! You all are the best!
On Sunday evening, we headed to a different mall that was having a special night of extended shopping hours. More fun for us!! And yay for getting even more shopping done early! Our handsome, little man was all smiles...
Ella even saw Santa and, for the first time in her 4 1/2 years, was excited to sit on his lap and tell him what she wants for Christmas! We were so proud of her! As she was waiting in line, she was very curious about where Santa parked his sleigh at the mall, but afterwards, she said she forgot to ask him. I did overhear her tell him that she would like a trampoline for Christmas and Santa said he would work on it. Cade, on the other hand, wouldn't even dare to look in Santa's direction, much less have anything to do with sitting on his lap! ha! Call us frugal, but we didn't really think a tiny picture on Santa's lap was worth the $20 they were asking (plus we'll get to take free ones later on in the season), but here's a pic of the excited girl while waiting in line...

Ella and Cade lucked out again when we saw a balloon sculptor passing out free balloons. Ella chose a purple poodle for herself and then took the liberty of choosing a monkey for Cade, "because he acts like a monkey sometimes." =) Between the visit with Santa, balloons, a cookie, and a new Christmas ornament, Ella has decided she, too, really likes Christmas shopping!