Christmas prep

We've been preparing for Christmas by putting up the decorations, listening to Christmas music, and hitting up Santa's Village with the neighbors.  And my personal favorite so far has been welcoming back good behavior with the arrival of Franklin, our Elf on the Shelf.

He's back!  He pulled up last weekend.  The kids loved it.

Incase you haven't heard of Elf on the Shelf concept, here's how it works: Franklin, our elf, was sent by Santa to observe behavior - good and bad - throughout the month of the December and report back to Santa each night.  Each morning when he gets back to our house, he hides in a different place.  The kids wake up and rush to find Franklin.  It's cute. 

And Nora has now taken it to a new level.  She's so interested in showing Franklin her good behavior that she relocates so he can see her.

Franklin is up in Gus's curtains (way up there). 

She wanted to show him that she can use the potty, even brush her teeth on her own.  Pretty funny.

Santa's Village was chilly, but a good time.

 Nora was not sure about Santa.

Gus had his list memorized and rattled it off in record time when asked by Santa, "what would you like for Christmas?"

Nora helped alot with the stockings during the decorating process.