Cleaning House

I love the last week of the year.

I get hit with an insane burst of energy.  

After living in a house filled with Christmas decorations for a month and a half, I'm always ready to pack it up, declutter, and clean house.

We've spent the week packing up Christmas and throwing away all the extra that we accumulate throughout the year.

I love cleaning house.

And I love clean babies.

I'm lame and don't really have a Christmas post.

We did the whole putting presents out at night and surprising the kids in the morning thing this year.  

Of course we did it four days before the rest of the Country so that Andrew could be here.

It was insanely fun and I'm sold on doing it that way from now on.

We don't do Santa and have always told Josie the gifts are from us and that Santa is a character like Dora, but this year she wasn't buying it.

She was convinced Santa was coming.  

I was a bit nervous and even considered throwing the old man's name on a gift or two so she wouldn't be disappointed, but before I shut her light off on our Christmas Eve she winked at me and said, "goodnight Santa!"

Little Stinker.

I'm cleaning house here at Journey To Josie too.

As much as I've loved documenting Josie's journey, it isn't just her's anymore.

The new design will be more appropriate to our whole journey and I can't wait to go live with it.

Last year I threw a major fit at Pottery Barn.

I love their stockings, but they all depicted little white girls with blonde hair.

Not one brown princess to be found.

I even wrote letters.

Yup, it was serious.

So I am taking full credit for this year's stocking designs...

I was too cheap to pay full price for one so Andrew and I drove up a couple days after Christmas to snag one for next year.

Josie loved it.

Now I need them to roll out a brown boy design.

Better write another letter ;)

These two have suddenly become best friends.

I hoped the day would come and it magically did the week we got home from Minnesota.

Josie comes up with all sorts of crazy games for them to play and Gabe is happy to do whatever she tells him to.

Listening to them laughing together is the sweetest sound in the World.

Josie is a great big sister.

And that about catches us up.

I hope you all had a magical Christmas and are excited about the new year!

I can't wait to see what 2012 holds for our family!