"Mommy, I love you... but not so much, just a little bit" Ella had said this to me a few time in the week before our trip to Arizona. I usually just said "Thank you Ella, I love you too." knowing it isn't said to be mean but just in the innocent honesty of a preschooler. But one day I dug deeper "So Ella, if you only love mommy a little bit, who do you love so much?" she thought briefly and said "Mimi" I asked her how she knew that she loved Mimi so much and me a little bit and she told me "When I seem Mimi my heart says 'lubdub,lubdub,lubdub' (fast) but when I see mommy my heart just says 'lub....dub....lub...dub' (slow) that's how I know I love you,..but just a little bit" I was so impressed with her body awareness! And, also reminded of a quote by Robert Pirsic “You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it's going to rise tomorrow..." I guess being a mom is kind of like being the sun, we are the center of our child's universe but don't elicit a whole lot of daily excitement.
Mimi and Pubah talked to Santa and he told them that Ella had asked for a baby doll, here she is opening baby "ella."
Mimi and Pubah had this cool bike for Ella to play with too
This picture is a big deal to anyone who knows how much Ella feared bears "peeking in her windows" all summer. Apparently this stemmed from a dream she had had. We tried explanations, "bear repellent" (air freshener), and finally began telling her stories about a nice bear named "Softer" who goes on adventures with Bobo. Ella decided that the bear she saw peeking in her window was Softer just looking for Bobo (Summit). And as this picture shows she has gotten over her fear of bears, Thank God!
This is a picture from Jerome, a really cool old mining town turned artist's community.
Greg and I left Ella with her grandparents for a night and headed to Sedona. This is a beautiful church built into the red rocks.
We got up early, got some coffee and watched as the sun started hitting the rocks.
We went hiking in Red Rocks State Park, It was beautiful!
You can see the path we took on the left side of this picture.
We also visited old Native American dwellings built right into the limestone.
We went to a huge Gingerbread display at the local Casino.
After viewing the display Pubah won $98 on the penny slots!
My favorite gingerbread houses were the ones done in Southwestern style.
On Christmas eve Ella gave out the ornaments she'd made. She was very cute, getting so excited as she gave out her gifts and then she sat on each persons lap as they were opened. 
Mimi and Pubah gave Ella her gifts on Christmas Eve 
Then Ella left the traditional cookies and cold beverage for Santa, she also sprinkled reindeer food on the front lawn. 
Christmas morning with a toddler is so much fun! 
Two days before Christmas Mimi asked Ella what she wanted Santa to bring her for Christmas. She said "Angel wings." This was a news to me. We've been focusing on giving rather than getting and I don't think I ever had asked her what she wanted. Luckily I actually had a set of angel wings tucked aside in my Ella prize box. Santa came through. 
Costumes are so much fun! 
A new ornament 
Ella had a blast jumping back and forth over her new jump rope (it just wiggled on the floor)
