We made it through another year, well almost! 2011 has gone by faster than any other year, I can think of. I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us. We made it to Santa again this year. I finally got my act together and got us there sooner than we usually go. If you don't wait until the last week of Christmas, the lines aren't bad and it can actually be an enjoyable experience! ( Note to self ) Our Santa picture was one of my favorites yet. Our new addition this year made it even better. It's like she's always been here.

Every year Christmas just gets better! We get to relive our childhood through the excitement of our girls. I'm so excited each year to see their reactions that I have hard time sleeping just like a little kid, this year was no exception. We were out super late (11:30) so we had to hurry home so that Santa could bring presents. The big hit this year was the baby alives. It's probably because we have a new baby and they get to do all the things to their babies they can't do to ours. Like change them and feed them gross looking food. I have to say these are the least favorite of mine. They are messy! They have gone through all of their diapers on the second day. If they keep up at this pace, I will have to buy doll diapers weekly when I buy real ones or the dolls may disappear. (just kidding, kind of ) I always forget how many people end up getting gifts for our girls so when it is all over they have way too much. I need to make notes regarding gifts that I can refer to next year when I go crazy again. It seems like I always forget, although we did do better this year with them on cutting back. Looking forward to see what next year has in store for us. Little Annie will be a year older and it will be so fun to watch her open her gifts.

This is what Christmas looks like at our house. This year I added a few projects to the decor. I made the trees below, which believe or not they took hours! I made an advent calendar with stockings for our stairs. ( with a lot of help from my sisters) We had an activity or item in each one so the girls would pull the card to see what we got to do that day. They loved it and it was a great addition to our stairs, but then I had to decorate all my banisters. And this year we finally got lights put up on the outside. I went out today and hit the stores for all the discounted Christmas decor so I can't wait to add some of my new stuff next year!

I have so much catching up to do! Annistyn turned 6 months old on the 8th. I can't believe how fast this has gone by. She is finally growing but she is still little for her age. She is the spitting image of Rylee as a baby. She is wearing Rylee's dress from her first Christmas in these pics. She weighs 14.7 lbs and is 27 inches long. She is only in the 25th percentile for weight but 90th for her height. She is long and lean. She is such a sweet little girl and loves her sisters. She is finally getting some hair. She is starting to sit up, she's not a pro but will be there soon. She is in a phase of growling and does this often, it is very cute. She does this the most right after her bath, which she also loves. I doubt she will be crawling by 8 months, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.