Merry Christmas!!

Christmas this year was wonderful!! I have always loved this time of year, but unfortunately, it does lose some of its magic as you get older. I try so hard every year to hang onto that magic and joy and not get stressed...this year I did it!! I think it's having children in the house again. It was their first one, so I got to introduce them to everything. We got to sing them Christmas carols, show them their tree all decorated and twinklie, give them some new toys to play with, bake cookies, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, teach them the real reason we celebrate Christmas!!

I just really enjoyed being grateful for them and Eric this year. And while thinking about them, I also realized again how blessed I am to have my parents and siblings, my wonderful mother and father-in-law, and the coolest sisters and brothers-in-laws too!! I am just really thankful for all my family, near and far!!

Here are the girls when we first arrived in Dallas. They were still a bit sleepy and we had just taken their winter hats off, so their hair was all over the place. :) I love how pink their cheeks are when they first wake up.

There is Lilly's sweet sleepy face...

My little brother lovin' on Lexi!

The girls checkin' out their new toy...such a cool toy!

Lilly wanted to take Dad's dog Tucker home for Christmas. Right after this picture was taken, Tucker kissed her on the nose and she smiled really big.

Lexi contemplating her new name puzzle!! The girls sat up in their bumbos while we helped them open presents. They tore at the paper fairly well on a lot of things, then Daddy and I unwrapped the rest for them.

Uncle Nate playing with Lilly while Eric and Lexi look on.

One of the cool things that the girls got in their stockings were these sippy cups. Now the girls are eating cereal 3 times a day, but they have never had anything to drink out of a cup yet. So I was super curious to see what they would do. I put a tiny bit of milk in them and offered them to the girls. Lilly chewed on hers like it was too weird and then let Eric take it away. She will get the hang of it...Lexi, however, immediately started drinking it up. Then she took ahold of the handles and continued to drink. Eric took these pictures. You can tell that Lexi is more into than Lilly.

Lilly finally held her own but never stopped making this funny face...

So Christmas may be over for this year, but the Sanfords are still all aglow with joy and happiness and are looking forward to a new year of exciting adventures!!! The girls have a lot more "firsts" to come!! They'll turn 1 before I know it!!