Pretty lights on the tree . . . I'm watchin' 'em shine . . .*

. . .  literally.  The tree's finally up and fully decorated.  My first presents are wrapped, cookies (well, truffles this year, but close enough) are in production, and I'm soaking in the year's most fabulous week . . . it kicked off with my birthday (31) yesterday and will remain magical until Christmas :)

We celebrated my birthday with a tript to the mall and a visit to Santa . . . I actually really like the mall at Christmas, and it turns out that Maya was in love with Santa . . .take a look:

Hold on a second---Santa shrunk Maya!  (Actually, that's 2008, she was 6 months old)

Santa, you are fascinating.  (2009)

Santa, I love you and I'm slightly afraid of you at the same time.

Lest you wonder if she was really a fan, take a look at what happened when it was time to leave Santa's lap:

(Her shirt says "I Believe in Santa")

*More pictures of our trip are going up on the blog's Facebook page---remember, you can see it by clicking on the little badge on the right, even if you're not on FB.  If you are on FB, you should totally "like" us, because we're totally likeable :)