The Elf on the Shelf: Year 2

{The Return of Coconut E. Butterfly}

{Hi Ho, Silver, Awaaaaaay!}

{Elf behind bars?}

{Peek-a-boo Elf}

{"E" is for Elf}

{Jingle Bell Rock}

{Elf-zilla! Elf-zilla is attacking!}

{Our elf is called "Coco" for short. Get it, cocoa? I'm so punny.}

{Don't we look cozy?}

{In retrospect, giving him the instruments may not have been my best decision. The kids were very noisy on that particular morning.}

{Coco catches up on his "beauty sleep."}

{Hanging in the toy catch-all -- because the tub was probably too wet.}

{Mind if I join you? Mama forgot to hide me last night so I need a quick hiding spot!}

{I wonder how he got all the way up there? Helped by Daddy, perhaps?}

{Here he is another morning after I had forgotten to move him and had to think quickly.}

{Yes, we still have one, and the kids know what it's for.}

{Coco gets creative with the coffee filters...}

{Oh, Christmas Tree...}

{Hanging out on Mia's bedpost...}

{Now, he's in her stocking.}

{Coco wants to go to school, too!}

{Mission Elf-Possible. Can you hear the theme music now?}

{Nestled all snug in the doll's bed}

These were not quite all of the Elf on the Shelf photos for 2012. I'm not sure if I can retrieve the rest. Sadly, my camera died. I was able to use our original digital camera (circa 2003) for a couple of days before it, too, bit the dust for good. So, now, I have no evidence that Coco spent some time gracing the shelves in Logan's room (in an effort to be fairer since Logan became almost as enthusiastic about searching for Coco as his sister has been).

Of course, this also means that I don't have a picture to show of Coco's grand finale. Remember last year when he made the "flour angel" on the counter. Well, this year on December 23rd, he spelled out a on the counter, encouraging the kids to "BE GOOD" with the help of some gum drops and mini marshmallows. The mini marshmallows were used after I ran out of gum drops, but gum drops worked better. They didn't get shriveled, which meant I could put them back in the bag to be eaten later.

I was wondering if it would get hard not to repeat hiding places the second year, but it was fine. The kids, being older, were able to find him in more challenging locations, which meant I could put him in any room in the house and they would keep looking until he was found. The frustrating thing was looking for more ideas online and only finding photos of naughty elves doing things that are completely inappropriate for viewing by young eyes. I'm sure you have seen a few so you know what I mean. To all the people out there who complain that they don't have time for Elf on the Shelf, I ask how is it that you have time to make him do such disgusting things? Anyway, we love our family tradition, so I guess it doesn't matter what other people think.