Santa, Cupcakes, and Puppies, Oh My!

This was Valerie's thrid visit to Santa, and though she was a little wary at first, she calmed down right away and was wishing Santa and his elves a Merry Christmas in no time.
She's quickly figuring out the part about asking for presents. Now, we just have to get her to understand the naughty vs. nice part... She was exceptionally naughty after her visit to St. Nick. She ran down almost the whole length of the mall while I walked as fast as I could behind her in my no-way-I-can-run-in-these shoes.

She brought home the CUTEST cupcake from daycare the other day. Isn't it adorable? She couldn't wait to stick her fingers in the chocolate frosting and lick them off.

And, finally, introducing the newest member to our family, Geronimo (we call him Moe). He's been a great puppy so far. Valerie loves having a new friend, and we love having Moe around to help tire her out as he chases her around the house, across the yard, and through the doggy door (she refuses to use the people door now). My brother and his wife and our friends in Nampa also got puppies from the same litter. You should see them all playing together!