Oh what a night....and day!

Yesterday was one of those marathon days. But it was a blast for the most part. We started the day on a not so fun note...took the girls to the dr. Elle got a flu shot, which she really didn't like and Ava had a 15 month well check and FOUR shots. In three months she has gained a whooping 14 ounces to make her 19lbs 5 ounces and hasn't gained even a smidge of an inch! She checked out great. She is starting a bit of stranger anxiety. She is fine at church when I put her down...she heads off in whatever direction looks most promising. But, if I am holding her, she is wary of some strangers...not all though? She was giving the dr and nurse sideways glances with the don't get too close look in her eyes. She cried the whole time the dr was just listening to her heart and checking her reflexes and we were holding her through all that! All we could do was try to suppress our laughter because of how hysterical she was over nothing. Then came the shots and thank goodness at least they let me hold her while they did it. They were pretty big needles and she had to get 2 in each leg. My heart was hurting so bad for her.... I really hate that part of having kids, but you just have to remind yourself that it's for the best and they get over it really quickly. Then came the freaky part....the dr. shows me possible symptoms that may appear in the next few days and since this is her 4th round of one of the shots, it could be more serious symptoms like 105 degree fever and extreme swelling for up to 7 days after the shot. Yea, that was really exciting to see.

Anyway, we had family pictures planned for yesterday afternoon so we didn't know if that would work. We just held our breath and kept giving Tylenol and both the girls were great! We took them to the mall, took AMAZING family pictures, and then went to see Santa. Unfortunately Santa and his naughty elves were charging nothing less than $20 to sit on Santa's lap. They wouldn't allow us to take pictures without purchasing a package and let me say, the pictures they were taking were HORRIBLE. So we scratched that plan and headed to Round Rock where we knew they were having a Family Christmas Night downtown in the streets. What was so awesome about this thing was that EVERYTHING WAS FREE! Free balloons, free Santa, free sleigh rides, free hot dogs, hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies, popcorn, apple cider, free candles and of course free entertainment. It was wonderful! The weather wasn't too cold and as long as we kept the snacks coming, the girls didn't care what was going on. Anyway, it was a long and wonderful day and everything couldn't have gone better....well the girls would probably have taken away the shots part, but otherwise wonderful!

Pure bliss! A candy cane and a red balloon is all she needs!

Here's the carriage we rode in...wish it had been snowing!

Elle's favorite...Frosty the Snowman

I absolutely love this picture. It is hilarious! (I've taught Elle well...she kept her composure and continued smiling at the camera even as Ava had a nervous breakdown.)