Christmas at Home

The Monday before Christmas Day, the three of us celebrated our own pre-Christmas morning.....

Sofia recently has a love for trains so we bought this small Thomas/track in case the excitement doesn't last long.

Minnie and a tricycle also waited for her arrival......

This is Hide-and-Seek Jojo.... I was REALLY excited for this one!  It counts to 10 while she hides and will find her because of the "magic" carrot she holds..... however... I was SO SO SO disappointed when it didn't work as well as I wanted it to.  :o(

One of my favs..... Nani recorded her voice on a read-along recordable book.....

Singing along with Nani on one of the songs :o)

Fun Dr. Seuss book from Grammie :o).........

Sweet puppy....

Another fav!!!!...... Mrs. Nikki made these handmade personalized books with pictures of the kids with their friends along with poems and personal notes to them about how special they are to her!!! 

Sing- a-long bear..........

..... and after opening gifts.... Daddy's flashlight was the best to play with!

Overall, we had fun but I think it was a bit overwhelming..... she gave Steven her blanket and climbed up into his lap.....

Merry Christmas... more to come!

Growing So Fast....

Relaxing....

...as they watch Yo Gabba Gabba ....You can almost feel their excitement through the camera lens  :o)
 

Family Time

A couple of weeks ago we drove to East Texas to spend some time with our family before we headed out for our Christmas vacation.  I love to see how Sofia enjoys herself with her cousins - they have so much fun together! 

Grammie, Sofia and Jude

Our family photo in our pj's  :o)

Everytime Jude was near Sofia, she felt it was her obligation to hold, kiss and hug on him every 2 seconds!

This is my favorite picture.... Steven, Kellea and Amy with their sweet kiddos......

With Santa....

 

 

We had great fun spending time together and to seal the deal to a great weekend, this was our sunset driving home on Saturday.......

Santa!

Well, its that fun time of year to predict and capture on the memorable keepsake photo how well our children will do sitting on Santa's lap  :o) 


Ever since sightings of Santa began this season, we would take Sofia and give him a "High -5" or a wave whether it was a poster picture or an inflatable with the intent of lessening the scare before the time came for the actual "meeting".  So, that day was today....Sofia didn't cry nor did she smile, but we loved the result of her 2nd annual photo taken with Santa.  :O)

.... and...... just because I LOVE to bring back flashback photos!......

Christmas 2009......

The Singing Christmas Tree

Today we started what is hopefully a tradition for our family during the Christmas season - a Singing Christmas Tree performance at Southcliff Baptist Church.  This visit was dear to me because when I moved to Fort Worth, I was a member of this choir and always enjoyed being part of these performances.  The Singing Christmas Tree has been a tradition of this church for the past 20+ years and it always amazed me how many people returned year after year to see it.  The lights, orchestra, phenomenal vocalists, drama and childrens choir are outstanding and add more Christmas joy to this great season as they emphasize the importance and true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

The theme this year "Voices of Christmas" brought culture from different parts of the world.  This bagpipe musician, Matt, was kind enough to take a picture with Sofia :o)

And to finish the great day..... our first fire in our fireplace for the season! 

For more info on The Singing Christmas Tree free performances....click here

Have fun!

Early Christmas Gift

Steven totally surprised me today with an early Christmas gift!

I love his surprises :)

Carousel

Fun ride on the carousel :o)