Merry Christmas 2014!

Two very excited little girls on Christmas morning 2014

Presents and big smiles

These cuties just squeaked by onto Santa's nice list...whew

Sweet sisters in their pretty Christmas dresses

Miss Alina trying to guess what's inside

Gift opening galore

Christmas morning 2014 finally arrived! The girls not so patiently counted down until the big day and were thrilled to find that mom, dad, the grandparents, aunts & uncles AND Santa came through in the best way possible to bring all the gifts that their little hearts desired. They were all smiles throughout the morning and discovered that Santa is really hip to the Frozen craze. It's not like he has much choice, and he's smart enough to know that millions of little girls can't be wrong! He brought the girls the sparkling princesses that they had been longing for and of course some other fun surprises.

The girls loved opening all their gifts and then getting to go to the grandparents houses and open even more. The question now is, what do we do with all this stuff!?! Toy boxes are filling up, closets overflowing, books shelves packed to the brim. Even after donating old toys and relocating others to the grandparents we are still maxed out. It's amazing just how much our house has transformed in the thirteen years we've lived here. There have been so many great memories and this Christmas is yet another to add to that ever growing list. I always say how much I want to move, but I know when that day comes it will be bittersweet and we will miss what we had here, what we created, and where we were that one Christmas back in 2014.

Alina had the happiest smile all morning; Santa delivered!

Mommy with the two sweetest gifts of all

Daddy's girls

Christmas at Nana & Papa's and fun with the cousins

Little snake charmers

Christmas 2014 at Grandma & Grandpa's

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Little cuties ready for Christmas Eve gift opening

Gifts galore! Mom, Dad and Santa came through all right

All the gifts neatly wrapped under the tree

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care

Christmas cards and adorable kids; perfection

Kiddo Christmas Party Fun

Alina's preschool Christmas party; Santa & smiles

She made the cutest little cowgirl ever

Elise's Kindergarten holiday party, the kids had a blast
 

The party fun continued when the cousins came to play!

Disneyland Holiday Magic 2014

Disneyland holiday lights and magic 2014

The five of us outside Hyperion Theater

We just got back from an amazing Disneyland holiday trip! It was one week of fun and adventure.  The girls both begged to go back again after their very memorable first trip back in December 2012. Part of the reason we really decided to make it happen is due to how much Alina loves and adores Mickey and Minnie Mouse right now. She gets this special twinkle in her eye every time she sees them and we knew we wouldn't want her to miss out on the amazement that Disneyland brings to a sweet three-year-old. Elise was three the first time we took her and she loved every minute of it. 

Both girls did great on this trip! Alina was starstruck by the characters and being 40 inches, she was able to go on most the rides with us including the fun Radiator Springs Racers. Elise remembered so much from our first Disneyland trip, so she was definitely leading the way to the rides she liked and excitedly running up to meet characters. Grandma came with us too. She hasn't been for quite a few years, so it was fun for her to get to experience the park with her granddaughters. Having been there a couple years before, this trip felt more relaxed as we were able to focus less on checking rides off the list and more on the areas the kids wanted to explore. We saw a lot more shows this time, tried some new restaurants and experienced some areas of the park that we hadn't seen before. It was a very fun and much needed vacation. I took tons of photos, so stay tuned for some more in depth posts after the New Year.

The girls loved meeting Minnie Mouse

By the twinkling Sleeping Beauty Castle

'Tis the Season

Proud girl and her holiday table arrangement

Bright red and sparkly poinsettia; girl approved!

The holiday season is upon us yet again, and every year it seems to arrive quicker than the one before. As a kid, December was obviously the longest month of the entire year. The anticipation building up to Christmas was overwhelming and I think that we all went a little crazy waiting. Two days into December and the girls are certainly feeling that vibe. The Countdown is on, and we all enjoyed decorating the inside and outside of our house for Christmas.  Dad deserves another gold star for a job well done on our Christmas lights. The kids 100% approved (and helped!) and Alina especially loves the Mickey & Minnie centerpiece. They each made sure to peek outside before bedtime at the sparkling display.

Elise picked out this lovely holiday bouquet

Dad's Christmas lights, the girls are big fans

Fall Family Photos 2014

Thankful for our sweet family of four

Fall family photoshoot 2014, so many favorites

Mommy & Alina - say cheese...how cute is she!?

Alina posing with her parasol by the pretty fall trees

Such a fun day. The girls loved posing it up

My favorite of our two little beauties; our world!

Last week we had the pleasure of taking some new fall family photos. The picturesque trees and fall leaves, at the nearby park by our house, made for a resplendent backdrop. Thanks so much to my amazingly generous and talented friend/photographer, Christy Leopold, for capturing these beautiful family photos for us. She's taken some of my favorite and most cherished photos of the girls over the years and really outdoes herself with each new session. The girls love being around Christy and it shows in the photos. They were so happy and playful and really just embracing each moment as it unfolded. It took me by surprise how much Alina was into posing this time. I think she's finally reached the age where she is embracing the camera. Elise looks like such a young lady now, especially with her fashionable little outfit choices and poses. It's hard to keep up with how quick these two grow, which makes me even more thankful to have these beautiful memories.

So many smiles and giggles, the kind of photo shoot we love

Alina with her parasol, she's such a sweetheart always

Playing in the fall leaves makes for fun photos

Sometimes the perfect moment is captured summing
up the happiness, joy and energy of two little girls

Love is a beautiful feeling, thankful for all he has given us

Cute Little Thanksgiving Pilgrim

Cute little Pilgrim Elise at her Thanksgiving Feast 2014

Elise had her Kindergarten Thanksgiving feast and short musical performance last week. It was super cute. The kids dressed up as Pilgrims and Native Americans and sat down at shared tables to eat a feast of popcorn, apple slices and other goodies. Her class dressed as Pilgrims and since I volunteer two Fridays a month to work in her class, I had the pleasure of helping the kids make their hats and woven paper placemats. I will tell you that teaching kids how to weave is no small feat whatsoever. It was a lot of work, but fun all at the same time. I was definitely sweating by the end of the day, but it was 100% worth it to see all these cuties dressed up and celebrating before the holiday break. Elise basically made the perfect little Pilgrim. She looked the part with her blonde hair and braids, and as for that serious expression, well, she was just counting down the time until Thanksgiving break began. Yep, it starts this early!

Play Time & Sunsets

Scooter fun out in our court, love those smiles

Play time with their best neighborhood buddies

Elise's chalk art Olaf

She also did this adorable Elsa chalk drawing

She posed by her art, but I zoomed in on that sweet smile!

Beautiful pink and purple sunset

So lovely, all four of us just sat back and watched the sky

Perfect end to a relaxing weekend

Happy Halloween 2014!

Halloween cuties ready for a night of fun!

Trick-or-Treat fun with their neighborhood friends

Pretty princess Elsa and sweet little Minnie Mouse

Elsa, Olaf and Minnie Mouse Jack-O-Lanterns

We had a very Happy Halloween 2014! It should come as no surprise that the girls choose their absolute favorite Disney characters to dress up as this Halloween; Princess Elsa and Minnie Mouse. They were so excited to wear their costumes to school on Halloween morning, then dress up in them once again for trick-or-treating later that evening. Elsa had already worn her Elsa costume once for her summer birthday party, so this was her second time rockin' the very pretty ice princess look. The best part is that her hair is so platinum blond she didn't even need a wig to complete the costume. Alina made the cutest little Minnie Mouse! She picked out the prettiest red Minnie Mouse dress and it fit her perfectly. Her sweet little personality complimented her costume choice even further. 

The girls had lots of fun trick-or-treating with their little neighborhood friends. This was actually the first Halloween that we stayed in our own neighborhood to trick-or-treat. After a few hours of trick-or-treat fun, their feet were tired and they were ready to head home with their bounty of candy. 2014 was certainly the year of Frozen costumes! I saw so many kids dressed as Elsa, Anna and Olaf this year that I lost count. In the spirit of Frozen & Disney, we carved Elsa, Olaf and Minnie Mouse jack-o-lanterns this year. The girls loved how they turned out. They are even more excited for our December Disneyland trip now and I'm sure will be rockin' those Disney costumes again very soon. Happy Halloween 2014!

The interior setting for a frightfully fun Halloween night

The girls made sure Mr. Skeleton got in on the fun

Trick-or-treat adventures around the neighborhood

She hung up her halo for the night!