Our visit with Santa this year

Classic.

Nothing in the world like it

The excitement of a three year old at Christmas that is. Here's Marion when she realized she got what she wanted from Santa- a magic princess dress. (crazy excitement at the beginning of the video)

9 months (and one day).

Yesterday was Betti's nine month birthday. And, well, we got some snow.



Just a little bit.

Brian was also supposed to fly in to BWI via London yesterday as well. Due to a late take off in Zurich, a snow storm in London, and the blizzard on the east coast, he spent the night in Boston and is currently on a train to Baltimore. We're hoping his luggage makes an appearance soon.

So I'm a little late with Betti's 9 month post. :)

The munchkin continues to move! move! move! She loves to dance, cruise, crawl, and basically get in to everything. Since we arrived in Baltimore, I've noticed she takes a little longer to warm up to people than Marion. Marion is and always has been a people person. No separation anxiety for her, she wanted to be with people from the get go. Betti needs a little time to warm up but it all smiles when she gets used to you.

And then it is fun all around!

Christmas fun with Marion

Marion took Baby Jesus. We have yet to locate him.

Grammie then allowed Marion to decorate the tree. She came up with this all her own.

Daddy was not amused.

I'll let you know when we find Baby Jesus.

Happy Holidays!

Good news Americans

I discovered that both Target and Wegmans sell the Lindt Excellence collection!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I did a little dance in the chocolate aisle when I saw them there.

And then I was crushed to see that Wegmans was sold out of the Fleur de Sel chocolate and Target didn't even stock that flavor!!!

I'm considering writing the Target corporation to ask them what their problem is.

In the meantime I'll just have to wait for Brian to arrive on Saturday with early Christmas chocolate.

A big difference

The other day Marion and I were out running errands. Marion was overcome with holiday spirit (or bored out of her mind while we waited in line, however you look at it) and began to sing. She sang "Santa Claus is coming to town" and "Somewhere over the Rainbow" which was then followed by loud "Happy Holidays!" directed at fellow shoppers.

In Switzerland we would have gotten a ton of nasty, disapproving looks.

In our local jewelry store and Target Marion received thanks from people for brightening their days, smiles, and some spontaneous singing partners.

I barely noticed the crowds as a result. :)

In the US

What a whirlwind month this has been! I survived the flight over here. Did I mention I was flying by myself? We managed to leave a trail of Marion's urine and Betti's poop on our plane but we survived. The people around us were pretty good too- all in all not a bad flight. Minus the bodily fluid accidents of course.

We've been here for a week so far and have squeezed in a lot. Right now I'm going through some culture shock again. The US is huge, spread out, and has a ton of choices. I'm not used to it yet but I'm sure I will get comfortable just as we are scheduled to fly back to Switzerland.

As usual, I have a ton of posts in draft form and will try to get the posted before we fly back to Switzerland! Hope everyone is enjoying their December so far!