This is going to be educational Thursday today. We were outside and I told Munchkin that cows did not have upper teeth. She didn’t believe me. So we went out to the pasture and up came our longhorn buddy. I told him that I wanted to show her that he didn’t have any upper teeth. Well he obliged with a smile. Cross my heart he did! I promise you! Yes huh! OK, ok. I probably wouldn’t believe that he did either without photographic evidence. So here you go people.

CHEESE!

See! No top teeth. If you didn’t know, I’m glad I could be of service. If you knew, just smile along with him.

We can’t go out to the ranch and NOT have a ranch post.

So we arrived yesterday, but it was too cold to go outside and enjoy doing anything. After opening presents, I spent most of the night setting up Munchkin’s new iPod from her Pa-Pa and Gi-Gi. I got most of what she wanted on it. Now she just needs to learn how it functions. And, yes, I did disable iTunes, and adding and deleting apps so she has to come to a parent to change anything.

This morning we awoke to the sun and stayed indoors to avoid the cold until the sun warmed up the ground and air all around. We browsed the Internet, munched on some snacks, read some interesting materials, and checked out our Apple products. Then I decided it was time to go out and grab some pictures as we do every time we visit.

Munchkin wanted to come out with me, so we just walked around snapping pictures and visiting with the animals. They love her, and she loves them. She bundled up, but I think it was more for avoiding Mom’s camera than trying to keep warm because it wasn’t uber cold.

We started with the cows and goats. Two of the goats are very much pregnant. Hopefully, there will be little goaty hooves trotting around soon. The goats and cows licked us a few times, but when they discovered we had not come to feed them, they lost interest in us.

We decided to head on over and give a hello to the horses. Of course, our main man Romeo was the first to see if we had anything for him. (yes, that’s the way Romeo’s ear rolls. It’s part of his swagger tat he uses to attract Senorita Pippi.

Munchkin loves the horses. She gave her horse, Stormy, his kisses for today.

And she couldn’t forget Miss Dolly (who loves kisses, but still isn’t broke).

Coco was busy being a Little Miss Meany who wanted all the attention, so she didn’t get any kisses. After kisses and attention, we walked around some more and got some more pictures.

Then Pa-Pa said it was time to feed the animules, so he and Munchkin headed off to the barn. Someone is a little vertically challenged, and had issues with getting the feed, but she made the best of it.

She actually did the work, too. Didn’t let Pa-Pa do it all himself.

She even drove like a pro and hopped out when she was needed.

She’s getting to be a real ranch hand. I told Pa-Pa that soon he won’t have to help. He’ll just have to tell her when it’s time to feed them.

I first had a session with this little man and his momma a year ago.

Back then he was a bundle of energy. And this year was no different. Due to the wonderful Texas weather changing very 30 seconds, we had to stay indoors, which is not my favorite place, but we made it work. I arrived after only getting slightly lost (stupid toll road). Lil’ Man started out just wanting to see all my gear. He was enjoying moving my tripod up and down, and seeing the umbrella that I used. I made a deal with him right off the bat that if he let me take his picture, afterward, I would let him take some pictures. That seemed to be a good deal which worked for all of 5 seconds. LOL. Then momma stepped in with Smarties. (Note to self: keep a roll or two of Smarties in the camera bag from now on. It’s always good to have material to use for bribery on hand.)

Just look at how big he’s gotten in a year’s time. (Look out ladies. He’s working on that killer smile.)

He is a sweet, loving boy who loves his momma, his grandparents, and dinosaurs. During our session, he had to show me the sound that a Tyrannosaurus makes. Loud, scary, big roar!

He also showed me that he had an umbrella like I did. Even thought his umbrella was more interesting since mine was only white. He told me about all the animals on it. Not only was this a fun shoot, but very educational.

And, yes, I kept my promise and he got to take a few pictures himself. Mostly of the carpet and of blurry feet, but it was fun. I’m not done editing, but I thought I would give Momma a sneak peek. How can you go through these and not want to share?!?!? I can hardly wait to get the gallery up. Definitely can’t wait until the next time we get to have a session and maybe then the weather will cooperate!

So this year was the first year we adopted our Elf on the Shelf to help maintain our best behavior this Christmas. Munchkin named him Elliott. Boy, is Elliott a handful, and this is only his second day in the house.

When Munchkin got home from school, she found a box from the North Pole on the front step.

But, wait! The box was opened! Had our dear new friend been abducted? Were we not going to see our elf? Would Santa never know of Munchkin’s behavior? NOOOOOOOOO.

We searched high and low, and high and low, and high…

Oh, Hi, Elliott. (Notice that he has a picture so that he knows which child is in his new family. We do have several kids from the neighborhood who visit regularly, so he’s got to make sure he gets them right.Some of the other children have elves of their own, so maybe Elliott can find a friend in the neighborhood, too.)

So last night Elliott traveled back to the North Pole to update Santa and came back. He didn’t hesitate to begin elfish antics. Munchkin woke up to this -

Not wanting to damage anything before her friends could see what Elliott was up to, this is how she exited her room.

Are we sure it was the work of our sweet, new family member, Elliott? Well, you view the evidence and make your own judgement. In the bathroom, we found this -

And looking up, we saw this -

BUSTED!!!!!! Throughout the day, I guess Elliott didn’t want to hang there, so he took up the toilet paper, and made himself comfy until when he has to jaunt back off to the North Pole to update Santa later tonight.

I wonder what other hi-jinx Elliott will perform during his stay with us this holiday season. Have you adopted your own elf this year? If so, I’d love to hear about your adventures. If you have a blog, please post a link in the comments, or just simply share your story.