December

December was great. We started it off right with a trip to Salt Lake to see the Nutcracker with all the Johnson women. It was probably me and Mim's first real mommy-daughter date that was designated as such.

{All the daughters}

{My big girl}

{Intermission}

It was so fun; I can't wait to go next year. Mim talked about how she was going to go to the ballet to everyone for a full week before. Seriously. Cashiers, people in line at the grocery store, her grandparents and all her aunts and uncles, all her little friends...they all heard about how she was going to the ballet and she was going to wear her new Christmas dress that is PINK! She almost always yelled that part. I gave her those little sparkle ("farkle") shoes the day of the ballet and it put her over the top. Anyway, we went and it was just about the right length for her. She got bored during the first half, but I'm pretty sure everyone does, not just 3 year olds. During the part with the Russian dancers she was bobbing up and down and back and forth in her seat and grinning. Watching her do that was probably my favorite part.

Another new tradition for us this year was the elf on the shelf. Mim couldn't wait to find him first thing in the morning and once when he was in the same place twice she told us that he liked that spot a lot and that's why he was there again. She also asked him to move the next night. I love Scout. It was like magic. All we had to do when she was being the slightest bit naughty was remind her that Scout was listening/watching and she was right back in line. Fantastic.
To make sure we didn't focus too much on her negative behavior, we also had her report good things she did throughout the day, like "Oh, Mim! You finished all your dinner and have been so polite! Go tell Scout so he can tell Santa how awesome you are!"

 Our elf wasn't very naughty. We decided to hold off on that for a few years and wait until Mim would think they were really hilarious. I was also a little worried about confusing her- I mean, why really would one of Santa's elves be naughty? Anyway, he brought Mim and Eleanor little ornaments a few times.

I wasted no time this year and got the tree up the day after Thanksgiving and while it was there we always read Christmas bedtime stories in front of it. And Mim also started ending her prayers by saying "Christmas" instead of "Amen." Just remembering that makes me chuckle.

 Eleanor helped decorate for Christmas, too.

 Taking presents to my grandparents was fun; I'm so glad my girls will know their great-grandparents. (I totally forgot to get a picture of them with my Gramma Harper-boo to me.)

 Oh, this next one makes me laugh. It's the girls in their Christmas dresses the Sunday before Christmas. Eleanor was due for a nap, but I wanted a picture before I changed her. She was angry, Mim was sticky and messy and no one was smiling. This is really the best picture I got by far. Yep.