He's Baaaack...

Ernie, our elf on the shelf, made his return appearance this year on Thanksgiving morning!

We'd been thinking he might show up sometime around Thanksgiving, but the girls were so excited when after about fifteen minutes of watching morning cartoons in the living room, Mallory finally spotted him on top of the TV armoire. I really should have had a camera ready to capture their excitement. You would have thought Santa himself was perched on top of the TV.

Ernie has been showing up in some pretty creative places. In the picture above, he was on the light in the kitchen {Ernie could have dusted for me; he was up there all day!}. I stood underneath him for a good two minutes while at the sink before Mallory turned around to ask me something and spotted him above my head; even I hadn't yet found him up there!

Now, you may wonder if Ernie has had good or bad news to report to Santa these past few days, and I have to tell you it's been a little of both. However, I think we saw somewhat of a turning point the other day when the girls watched the Elf on the Shelf show that we had recorded. As if Ernie wasn't already a real elf, watching the show really seemed to make a strong impression on both Anna Claire and Mallory, and if Chippey can fly back and forth to the North Pole and talk to Santa, then Ernie can to! And we certainly hope Ernie will have only good things to report to Santa between now and Christmas!