Holding Hands for Santa

We went to visit Santa again!  This time we went to Bass Pro Shop with our playgroup which was pretty fun and FREE too!  Sophia was excited to see her friend Lyndon and reached out to hold his hand.  So sweet. 

 Isabella was excited to see her friend Santa and ran up to him with open arms and hopped right up in his lap.  She told Santa she wanted a box for Christmas and that her little sister wanted a baby box (meaning a small box).  Sophia was not too thrilled to see Santa and hugged onto me as we approached the jolly old man.  Thankfully, her sweet big sister reached over to provide Sophia some comfort by holding her hand.

Bass Pro Shop had a few fun things for the kids to do and we roamed around for a while having fun.  Isabella & Sophia tried fudge for the 1st time and it was a hit!

"You will shoot your eye out"

Riding like a little lady

Cruisin'

Sophia found a chair just her size!

Checking out the train table

Isabella the Engineer

Mommy's little elves

I love seeing the magic of the holiday through my daughters eyes.  Christmas is my favorite holiday and it warms my heart to see my girls getting into the fun!

Special Morning

In the morning we love to wave goodbye to Will as he is driving away. In fact, it is such a ritual that every time Sophia goes near a window in our home she waves and says "Da Da". Today Isabella said "Daddy goes to work everyday" and I asked Isabella what does Mommy do... she replied " Takes me to the store!"

Waking up today was extra special since it was snowing! Isabella was so excited and could not wait to play in the snow. Sophia was not a big fan of the snow but she did enjoy watching Isabella run around.

"The snow tastes good!"

Traditions

I love Christmas and the fun traditions that go along with it.  Decorating a gingerbread house and making cookies are Christmas traditions we enjoy as a family.

  Isabella enjoyed putting the candy on the gingerbread house, however Sophia had other plans for the candy.  Sophia ate each piece that Isabella placed on the roof.  

Let the fun begin!

 As if our weekend was not sweet enough, we baked 8 dozen ginger cookies.  My little elves keep me company in the kitchen.  Isabella enjoyed rolling the cookies in sugar.  Sometimes she would pretend the cookie was a treasure hiding in the sugar. 



Over the river and through the woods....

....to grandmother's house we go....

Last week we made a trip to Maryland to see lots of family.  Our 1st stop was to my grandparents house.  The girls were comfortable right away and Isabella had a blast playing on Gram's electric chair (on the stairs).  She even learned how to operate it on her own and thought it was really fun!

Isabella & Uncle Terrence

Isabella and her great grandmother Gram

Sophia and her great grandfather Pap

The girls with Gram, Pap & Grammie

A tired Sophia with Aunt Gillian



After visiting with my Mom for a while we headed over to my dads to see even more family!  We were in town for my cousins retirement party which was the next day.  Isabella had fun with her (2nd)cousins, even Sophia joined in on the fun!

Isabella having fun in pj's with Chloe & Lane





Isabella & Sophia's 1st train ride!

Having fun at the Navy Archives

Scootie is crawling!



The ceremony



Taken right before Miss S passed out during the ceremony

Congrats Rob for 20 years in the Navy!

Santa Through the Years

Santa through the years

2008

 A red eyed, teary Isabella at 10 months old

2009

Isabella eager to get away from Santa at 21 months old

and

Sophia calm as a cucumber at 6 weeks old

2010

A sassy Isabella at 2 1/2 who closed her eyes in almost every shot except this one where she is striking the look

and

Sophia at 13 months old is sad in Santa's arms.

Breakfast with Santa

Last weekend we kicked off the Christmas Season with the perfect day!  Saturday we had breakfast with Santa and decorated our Christmas tree. It was a chilly day so we enjoyed a nice fire and loads of Christmas carols.  Isabella was great at decorating the tree and hung most of the ornaments on the lower level of the tree.  She is also a huge fan of our Nutcrackers and Buyers Choice dolls - playing with them like her dolls.  Thus a few things have been broken in the sake of play.  Tis' the season!  To end our festive day it started snowing!  Yes, here in Richmond we had a nice dusting of snow on the ground.  Happy Holidays! 

Tree Decorating Time!

May all your days be merry & bright.

Randomness

Here are a few random photos of the girls.  The first photo I find particularly funny.   Isabella naps about 50% of the time these days.  Sometimes she stays in her room to have quiet time and read books if she is not tired.  I never know what I will find when I open the door.  Recently, I walked in the room and found Isabella passed out along a slew of books and dolls.  All that playing tuckered her out.

Every morning the girls have milk together in our bed after they wake up.  Some days they even snuggle together on the same pillow.  Adorable!

 The girls have a lot of fun playing together but sharing is starting to become an issue.  Isabella and Sophia always want the same toy at the same time or the same chair at the same time.

 Thankfully, the play kitchen has plenty of room for the girls to both play at the same time!