The Rooftop Gang

Mommy and Daddy did some Christmas shopping today, and we got a lot done in our various directions. Madison tagged along for the ride, and everyone bundled up for the coldest day in a long time. The temperature outside is seventeen, but the wind makes it feel closer to zero. Daddy, Mommy and Madison were completely covered up with layers and whatnot, but it didn't seem to matter: it was still cold and we found ourselves running for cover from vehicle to store to wherever we could find that was warm!

When we got home, we continued working on our Christmas cards and wrapping gifts. Above, you can see the photo with Santa that we did last year, putting it with each card. We've got some photos with this year's cards, but you'll have to wait for that! This Santa was at the Mall of Georgia. This was the photo that Daddy took - not the one the photographer took. Here below is the one the one the photographer took:

We were the only ones there, and yet the photographers were in a hurry to move us along. Santa was a nice guy, but his elves were apparently not that interested in getting a good picture. We're glad we brought our camera along, because Daddy managed a decent photo when Santa had a few moments with Madison, which was when the elves got busy developing the photo. That's the photo at the top. Santa wanted Madison to give him a high-five, and Daddy snapped a fun photo of the two of them together. I inserted the gift box to make it look like Santa was giving her a gift. That's the photo we wound up using, and not the official photo from the photographers, which looked more like a wanted poster:

We never did anything with the wanted poster, but we did make a neat card last year. We took quite a few photos of Madison dressed in her tutu, waving a wand about like a fairy. We had several great pictures, and chose one to use and create the image below, which most people got at the beginning of December last year:

Madison was a sugar plum fairy, and we think this photo turned out rather nicely. She looks so sweet in her little tutu, and we couldn't wait to take her to the Nutcracker this year. Notice Gingy in the picture, a subtle nod to the Christmas card we sent the year before. Where the first card we sent had an Anne Geddess feel, this one had a different sort of magic to it. Madison's smiles in both images are infectous!

Of course, there's also the Godzilla card we send to the exclusives - that is, those that "get it." Here below is one last photo for this blog entry, a picture of the front of the card we sent last time where Godzilla is snuggled in his bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in his head...

Merry Christmas!