Elfin'

Today Cason and I got out of bed while Paige was still sleeping. Tyra had sent them each a message from Santa. It was a cute video of him talking to them, and he even calls them by name, so Cason LOVED it. He was STARING at the screen and then looking up to see if I was amazed too.

Within 2 seconds of Paige waking up I told her she had a message from Santa. Her eyes got HUGE and she went running down the hall to find it. She was AMAZED when it came on and he said "Hello Paige."
That was pretty much the same expression Cason had the whole time he watched it, but with him in my lap I couldn't reach the camera without disturbing him. Anyway, as Santa went on, Paiges started to just get excited, but was trying not to smile at first.
But pretty soon she was just plain happy.
She was responding to everything Santa said. Then she wanted to show him our Christmas card, and THEN she wanted to put on her red Christmas dress with matching headband and purse, to show him. She loved it. So much so that she wanted to watch it over and over all day long.

I remembered Elf Yourself, so we made a video there of course, and both the babies were CRACKING UP watching themselves dance. I mean Cason was throwing his head back and laughing. For any of you who'd like to watch us bust a move, HAVE AT IT.

Then Paige begged me to make a ton of different versions, with different combinations of family members. Dan, Veronica, and Lily. Paige, Cason, Lily, Alex, and Faith. All my siblings, Granny Bob with the grandkids. It felt like we made a hundred versions today. Cason laughed along for a while, then he just got crazy and danced for a while, then he got bored with us. So he walked around wearing his new gloves. He didn't take them off for hours, he loves them so.
I forgot another Up moment with my kids. There's a sweet scene in Up with Carl and Ellie reading next to eachother in their chairs. They're reading quietly, and without saying anything they reach out to hold hands. It's one of those parts I thought was so subtle that Paige wouldn't even notice it. But the other night she was getting books off the bookshelf and passing them out to each of us. She got one for herself and one for me, and told me she was Ellie. I didn't really get it, but I just said "Oh, you are? Okay." She pretended to read for a minute and then said "You're Carl." I just said "Okay" again. I sat with my book, and then suddenly I felt her little hand grab on to mine. I looked up and she wasn't looking at me, just "reading" still. I realized she was renacting that scene from Up.