Santa's Little Helpers

I took the girls to a playdate at the mall yesterday. It was supposed to be a time for the girls to play, the moms to shop, and maybe even a photo with Santa. Well, I didn't do any shopping or get a photo with Santa but the girls had a great time at the play area. They even enjoyed their first taste of fresh-squeezed lemonade! Morgan was so sad that he had to work and couldn't come out to play with us. Since I was too cheap to buy the photos with Santa (very pricey!) I decided to come home and take our own pictures. There were just too many cute ones to choose from. Enjoy!

Jolly!

Cool things to play with.

This thing spins!

Grace tries to climb out of the canoe.

Faith in the driver's seat.

Grace rides shotgun.

Grace thinks if she pushes, it'll go.

Santa waves hello.

Yummy, lemonade!

Faith wants to try, too.

Our little helpers.

Love.

Joy!

Peace.

Whoa!

Whoa!

Hugs!

Little elves.

Passports Please

Notice their shirts are drenched in sucker drool.

I took the girls to our local AAA office on Monday to get their passport and citizenship photos taken. We hope to be able to take a family vacation sometime next year so we wanted to get moving on their passports as soon as possible. Unfortunately, since the girls were too short to sit in the chair, they had to stand on it to get an adequate picture. I don't know what I was thinking, not taking them in the stroller. I just let them walk in because I thought we would simply take the picture and soon be done. It took the woman a long time to make sure she got a clear picture of each of the girls. Plus, getting a 20 month-old who is hungry and antsy to stand still is no easy feat! After many attempts, the nice woman asked if she could give them a sucker. I said, "For this, sure!" We managed to get both of their pictures taken but since we had to wait for the prints, the girls were allowed to have their suckers. Well, if you've ever been inside a AAA office, each employee usually has their own cubicle space. With suckers in their mouth, sticky fingers and drool everywhere, the girls proceeded to visit each person in their cubicle. They even touched the personal things they had on their walls! Ay-yay-yay! All I have to say is it's good thing they're cute! A couple of other things I learned that day... candy does really spoil your lunch and oxy-clean works wonders! Thank God that passports are good for 10 years!

Happy Birthday, Morgan!

45 never looked so good!

Family night out to celebrate!

Grace having a ball.

Me and my man.

Grace eating sushi.

Making new friends.

2 year-old Lauren comes over to see what they're eating.

Faith says, "Sure, we'll share some of our cheerios.

Here, I'll feed you."

Faith loved the toy soldiers.

Faith shows Grace what she found.

Grace wasn't too sure about him.

Daddy and his girls.

Blessed.

Today was a very special day! We celebrated the world's best hubby and daddy! For all the hard work he puts in as our provider, husband, best friend and daddy, we thought he might like to take a break from it all... atleast for a few hours. We booked a massage for him to enjoy at the spa, where he got to just chill out and unwind. Then we all went out to our favorite resort for sushi. The place was bustling with holiday guests and festive Christmas decorations. We had so much fun! Although we appreciate the couple of offers we had to babysit the girls while we went out, we really wanted this to be a family celebration and experience. The girls are at that age where we can pretty much take them anywhere. Plus, they always make our experiences new and fun. They loved running around, meeting new friends, eating sushi and checking out all the beautiful decorations. Happy birthday, Babe! May you always know how much you are loved, cherished, appreciated and admired, not only today but everyday.

Happy Thanksgiving

The table is set.

Uncle Rich and Faith at the neighborhood park.

Auntie Emily helps the girls down the slide.

Daddy plays with Grace's cheeks.

The newlyweds.

Grandpa reads Grace her bible.

Me and mom.

Mom and Gomo enjoy the weather outside.

Me and my grandma.

Time to give thanks and eat.

The other side of the table.

Grace plays with Uncle Rich's place setting.

Grandpa and the girls sit by the pool after dinner.

Uncle Rich strikes again with whipped cream!

Faith poses with her bling bling.

The girls wrap-up a fun day.

I happily hosted my first Thanksgiving in our home for my family. Everyone pitched in and the meal turned out great! As my brother pointed out, the only picture I forgot to take was of the turkey!

We have so much to be thankful for, this year and every year.

We hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed holiday with your loved ones!

'Tis the season

Faith says, "Wow!"

Grace says, "It sure is tall."

"Look, Grace. I can see myself in this shiny ball."

Grace finds a snowflake.

And an icicle.

Faith just found her picture.

It doesn't seem that long ago that we were getting settled into our new home, decorating our tree and waiting for "the call" to bring our girls home. I can't believe one year has come and gone already.

This will be our first Christmas as a family with kids and we have to admit, we are really excited! So much so that we decided to put up our tree early! Typically in the past, I think the earliest we've ever put up a tree is the week after Thanksgiving. Not this year! My original plan was to get the tree up the day after Thanksgiving.

That way, we'd have more time to enjoy the Christmas season!

Since Morgan's birthday falls on that day this year and my whole family will be coming here to celebrate Thanksgiving with us, I thought, why not make it festive?! There are no rules against putting up a tree before Thanksgiving?! :) Plus, we knew that this week would be busy with work and preparing for the holiday. So on Sunday afternoon, while the girls napped, Morgan and I put on some Christmas music and went to work. The camera captured the first time the girls saw the lighted tree. They liked all the decorations and can even say, "Christmas tree" and "Ho, Ho, Ho!"