Sydney got a sock monkey made from a couple pairs of fuzzy socks I found. Luckily she didn't notice that I hadn't finished the ears.

Tommy surprized Haley and me with a sock monkey for dogs, where you put an empty water bottle inside to make fun noises and texture when they play with it. I enjoyed it almost as much as Haley!

a couple years ago, Tommy found me a Rizzo the Rat stuffed animal from my favorite Christmas movie, "A Muppets Christmas Carol". But it came with Rizzo's normal modern play clothes. So this year he (with the help of crafty Malinda) made him an outfit just like his character in the movie!

Santa got me a new lens for my camera (85 mm) and it's already made a world of difference in my pictures! Here are a few pictures I took really quick in our front yard after opening it up, none of them touched up or anything! (above is my sis, Valerie, who I dragged outside to pose for me)

Tommy and I are spending 2 weeks with my family in Thousand Oaks, CA and are enjoying a warm Christmas with every single sibling and grandkid! Seven kids, seven grandkids, and four spouses make a very full house! Tommy and I are sleeping in the garage, a couple are on couches, and some were even camping out in a tent in the backyard! Here are some snapshots from Christmas morning: 

Every morning the babies wake up between 6 and 7, but for some reason on Christmas morning everyone slept in until after 8! (If you look closely to the top of the tree you'll see one of the presents for me from Tommy...Rizzo the Rat)

My camera's back from the shop (finally!) so Sydney's back in action as my #1 model.

she can't actually sit up by herself yet, but with the help of her wombat friend, she can make it for a few seconds

Between waking up from the baby and having to let the dog out to pee, I'm up several times a night. But I get some nice, quiet moments during these times that make it worth it.