Christmas at GiGi and Great Harry's

One of the biggest blessings that Jimmy, Sofia, and I have here in Dallas is our extended family. When we decided to move here after we got married, I knew that having my grandparents and Aunt and Uncle here would make it alot easier to adjust, but I never realized what a huge difference it would make in our lives. They do so much for us, and I am not sure how we would function here without them. The best part of having family here is how much they love Sofia. It means so much to me to have people here who want Sofia to be happy and who are willing to babysit her, who invite us over to dinner and spend the whole evening holding her, who delight in her happiness and who spend lots of time loving on her. We miss my mom and dad and Jimmy's mom so much, and I wish that Sofia was getting to know her grandparents more, but I am so thankful that she is getting to know her Gigi and Great Harry and Aunt Jan and Uncle Randy.

Last night we had our first Christmas celebration and it was a blast. Sofia was so little last year that we didn't do much for Christmas, so this was her first real taste of the season. We went to Gigi and Great Harry's house in the afternoon and spent lots of time outside. It was a beautiful day, so we were able to just play and play in the yard. Sofia loved playing with GiGi's big blue ball, watching the puppies run around, looking at Great Harry's reindeer in the front lawn and getting LOTS of attention from everyone. After a yummy dinner, we put on Elmo's Christmas Countdown for Sofia to watch while everyone opened presents. The hight light of my night was the gift that Aunt Jan and Uncle Randy gave to Sofia. Every year on Christmas Eve Harry would read The Night Before Christmas to my brothers and me. My mom even has a picture of him reading to us all in our Christmas P.J.'s. Jan found a recordable version of the book and recorded Harry reading the book to Sofia. It was such a moving present and something that I am so happy I will have for my children to listen to every Christmas Eve!

W e had to do an outfit change because Sofia kept getting into all of the mud and water bowls and other yucky outdoor things.

Watching Elmo with GiGi and Great Harry.

Ready to go home with her new dolly from GiGi and Great Harry.

Festive Fun

Here are some shots of what we have been doing on our VACATION!

We helped GiGi and Great Harry with the hay on their farm

We went to Santa's Village in Richardson. It was OUT OF CONTROL. I am not sure that Sofia knew what to make of all of those people.

Sofia helped me bake some Christmas cookies. She LOVED the green sprinkles.

We went to hear Santa Claus read a story at Northpark. There were sooo many kids there. After the story Sofia had some fun playing on the planters and looking at the turtles and ducks.

Here are some pictures of the Christmas decorations that my mom sent me. We didn't get a tree this year because we knew that Sofia would have pulled it down in like .02 seconds. My mom was sweet enough to send us some fun blue and green ornaments that we could decorate the house with instead of a tree.

We also have not purchased a stocking for Sofia yet....it is her second Christmas and we are still rejecting her. Nice.

It's nice to be home :)

On Vacation!!!!

We are so excited for Christmas in a few days! Well, I am excited, Sofia has no idea and Jimmy is just putting up with me at best. The best part of all is that I get TWO WEEKS to spend time with my little girl. We have big plans....library, Elmo, Santa at Northpark, the lake, walks to the park....basically everything I wish that I could do with her on a daily basis!

Here are some fun pics of took of Sofia this weekend. I was trying to get a good shot for our Christmas card, but she did not want to keep her hat on or look at the camera. She is way to busy for me and my camera....

P.S. Side not on Sofia's new Vans....I always read this blog Lullaby Lubbock and dream that I had the style and creativity of these ladies. They are always doing the funnest things with their kids and embarking on new crafty adventures. Their babies have rockin Vans, and Jimmy has been trying to talk me into buying Vans for Sofia since birth basically. I found a website www.6pm.com that sells discontinued styles of Vans for like 60% off....and I was hooked. Be expecting a pair in every color soon.

Hope that you all have a Holly, Jolly, Christmas!