November 14th started us off with my little Bro's birthday. We celebrated at my Mom's and had a wonderful time.
Then came Penny's first Thanksgiving and my FAVORITE holiday. We went to my bro and sis in laws house and had a wonderful evening. Lots of food and great family time.
The day after Thanksgiving my mom and I have made it at tradition to do some Black Friday shopping. Now stores are open Thanksgiving evening which I think is CRAZY. So by the time we ventured out around 530am Friday morning we missed the crowds and had a lovely time. This was Penelope's first adventure with our shenanigans and she hung in like a champ!! Until we got home of course. Then she passed out while snuggling with mommy :)
Up next was my sis in law Ilene's birthday on November 30th. We again had a wonderful dinner at my Mom's where the three girls stole the show as usual.
Then came the first of December and we headed down to Carlsbad for an "After Thanksgiving Brunch" with the Klingensmith clan. Again more food and wonderful family time.
And then we had some fun with hanging up the Christmas lights. Well I cannot take the credit at all on this one. My wonderful husband and brother did an excellent job hanging up the lights and the girls enjoyed playing with the light up trees on the lawn.
Most recently we went to visit Santa. Corey and I weren't sure how this was going to go. We figured maybe we could get a smile as Penny is usually pretty good with new people but let me tell you, Santa was another story. Maybe it was the pressure of meeting the man who is supposedly watching your every move all year long or maybe it was the beard and red suit. Whatever the reason was she cried pretty much immediately. Then we had a moment where she was looking at him and checking out the beard and I thought well maybe this is going to turn around and then we got this shot.
Needless to say Corey and I thought this was just so adorably hilarious and all the little "helpers" at Santa's photo station told us we were on the naughty list for subjecting our child to such torture :) Cant wait for all the years to come :) And don't worry the crying stopped as soon as we left. She was back to her normal self smiling and waving at everyone in the mall.
This time of year is a great time to reflect on all we are thankful for and I am so thankful for my wonderful family near and far. I couldn't be more lucky to have such a wonderful support system and loving group of people in my life. I feel truly thankful for all of you. And especially my wonderful husband who from day one has supported me in every way and who continues to encourage me to grow as a person and to live the life that makes me happy. Corey is a wonderful example to our daughter and I couldn't think of anyone else that I would want by my side raising our beautiful baby girl.
