{Three little elves}

Nothing is harder than photographing your own children. They don't listen to you as well because they know what limits to push. Here is what I came up with for my boys this year...

Nothing is harder than photographing your own children (at least in my opinion). They don't listen to you like other children. Because they know the limits to push. So here's what we ended up with for my boys this year . . .

{Elf on the Shelf} : Just for fun

For those of us who grew up in Wisconsin, Dec. 6 was always a very exciting morning, ranking right up there with Easter. It is St. Nicolas Day! Meaning . . . that while we slept, St. Nick crept into our house, much like those infamous other favorites, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, to fill our Christmas stockings with treats, fruit, money, and small gifts.

Well this year, St. Nick also brought us a new friend.

I'd like to introduce you to Webster the Elf.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the Elf on the Shelf, here's how it works . . .

An adorable little elf shows up at your home sometime after Thanksgiving, in our case, St. Nick Day. He's magical. Only moving at night while you sleep. He flies back to the North Pole every night to report to Santa all the NAUGHTY and NICE things you are up to. And then, before you wake, he returns, causes some mischief but is still as can be as soon as you wake up. You can talk to him, tell him a secret or a message you want him to give to Santa, but it is against Elf Rules for him to speak back. You also cannot touch him or move him or his magic may be lost. So, however you find him each morning is how he must stay until he flies back to the North Pole that night. He will stay with you until Christmas Eve, when his work is done. Then he returns to Santa until the following year.

So Webster arrived last night with all the stocking stuffers and already was up to some mischief, steeling one of my son's oranges out of his stocking.

So I thought it'd be fun to take a picture of Webster each day to see what kind of trouble he gets into each night. I'm looking forward to yet another family tradition with my sons that hopefully will last for years to come.