Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!

We had such a Wonderful Christmas this year!!! I love that Samantha is at that perfect age to start believing in the magic of Christmas...it is so neat to watch her as a mom.
She got SPOILED and that is a very big understatement!! Santa came during the night and drank all of his milk and ate the cookies Samantha left. We ate one yummy breakfast and then it was time for presents!!!
The boys got Nerf guns in their stockings and had a blast shooting each other. Samantha got so many presents that by the end she was just too tired to open any more (I didn't think a child could ever get tired of opening presents) and after each one she had to show everyone there what she got. Between Santa and both Grandparents she is set for the next five years...that is just wishful thinking on my part. She got a new kitchen and movies and more new baby dolls and stuffed animals and play food and pizza and two hand held game devices and so much more........I am still trying to find places to put things in our house!!
Paul and I were spoiled too!! He got a much needed new shaver and a new police car to add to his collection. Together we got a new set of pots and pans...AWESOME!!! I got all three seasons of the Big Bang Theory on DVD and a Lego Shuttle....I am not a nerd, I promise :)

Some of us in our matching pajamas. Jason and Tarah had to leave before we took pictures and my Dad...well he is a Christmas pajama pooper and just had to get dressed before anyone saw him wearing them.

Samantha couldn't leave the "woofs" out so I let her pick out some treats to give to them for Christmas and she was so excited to give them their Christmas present...I am sure just as excited as they were to eat them up.

We also had Christmas dinner at Moms house and it was so yummy!! We got to have dinner with family and friends and finish Christmas off with a bang!!

I just LOVE Christmas and I hope that everyone had just as Great of a Christmas as we did!!!
I can't wait until next year!!!

Christmas Eve...

We spent Christmas Eve with all of my family at my Aunt Lesa's house...and there are lots of people in my family...but then that is what makes it so much FUN!!!
So much yummy food and way too many presents pouring out of the Christmas tree. Of course, there is always something for everyone!! Samantha got a lot still being the youngest. There was a pizza set and new baby dolls and clothes and a cute little dog on a leash that she insisted on pulling behind her around the whole house. Samantha had fun playing with her cousins this year...she is getting so big!!!
We spent Christmas night at my Mom and Dad's house and so we went there after the family festivities to open our Christmas Eve tradition...new pajamas!!! This year they all matched and had our names on them and were so stinking cute!! After opening pajamas we put out cookies and milk for Santa and get breakfast ready for Christmas morning...

Here is just a taste of my AWESOME family...My Uncle Mark is holding a gingerbread man with a Metalica t-shirt on, his brother Mike (a pilot in the air force) is holding a fighter pilot gingerbread man, my cousin Leah is holding a UFC football player (I am sure he has a name but I have no clue which on it is) and my Grandma is holding a gingerbread woman dressed like Lucy from I Love Lucy....We Love Them!!!

Cookies for Santa!!

Christmas means getting ready for Santa and we couldn't be ready for Santa if we didn't make some cookies to leave for him on Christmas Eve!! Samantha had a great time making these cookies. I had to help her a little but she did a great job rolling our the dough and using the cookie cutters and of course doing her favorite part...putting on the sprinkles. She was very careful about which color to put on each cookie and on about every other one she spilled a mountain of sprinkles on and then became very upset when I shook the excess off....

Ready for the oven!!

Here are her Cookies for Santa and she was so proud of them...we had a few wounded cookies along the way but I think they came out really good and Samantha did them all by herself!!
Samantha wouldn't even let me try one because they are for Santa not for Mommy!!!

Oh the...

...RAIN!!!
It rained her for a week straight!! I am pretty sure that we got every kind of rain possible...light rain...heavy rain...sideways rain...foggy rain...I think I made my point!!
Of course, with a whole week of rain we had to go out in it at some point so we got all bundled up and went out. Samantha just loved getting wet and being able to hold the umbrella all by herself!!
She even got new boots!!!

I think this little cutie needs her own umbrella...a smaller one...this one was a little hard for her to hold especially when it became windy(hence the sideways rain :))!!!

Christmas Parties!!

This Christmas brought Christmas Parties...one at preschool and one with all the MOMS!!

We have so much fun going to preschool once a week and this week was no exception because we got to make special Christmas party hats, the kids learned Christmas songs (let me tell you that it takes a mom to really enjoy about 15 two-year-old kids singing Jingle Bells at the top of their lungs...just imagine it :)), there was lots of yummy food and a book exchange!!!

Samantha and I have been very blessed to find an amazing group of MOMS and their kids to hang out with during the week....both of us have new friends!!! We had this Christmas party in the morning so there was breakfast food galore, all the kids in their pajamas and a visit from Santa!!!

All the kids together with Santa!

Samantha found another Samantha!!!!! Yes, they have the same name and both of them think that it is the greatest thing ever. It did start to get a bit confusing though so I am thinking that if they see much more of each other one of them is going to need a nickname....we will see.
It was really funny after we left too because if we asked our Samantha who she saw that day she would tell us "me"!!! Too Funny!!!

Trip to see Santa!

So I think we tried about three times to get Samantha to sit on Santa's lap and take a picture and to tell him what she wanted for Christmas. They all ended with us walking right out the door because I just couldn't force her so I thought with it being so close to Christmas that I would try just one more time...
Every time I asked if she wanted to see Santa she would say 'no, Santa's mean' and so I told her that if she didn't go and tell him what she wanted for Christmas that he wasn't going to bring her anything, so she finally agreed to let me take her. I think it helped that when we got there she was the only little one there so she got to have Santa all to herself. She sat with Santa, gave him a high five and a hug, took a really cute picture all by herself and told him that all she wanted for Christmas was......................PIZZA!!!

Samantha and Santa
Christmas 2010

Family Pictures 2010

It was that time of year again for Family Pictures!!!
We got all dressed in our matching outfits...insert all the males in the family groaning...and made our way to the mall. This year we got to add one more very special lady to our group named Auntie Tarah! These are not all of them and not even all of the ones I like but I thought this was enough to share with all of you...Enjoy!!

Trio to Chico for Thanksgiving!!

We spent Thanksgiving this year with Paul's family in Chico and had so much fun...one week is never long enough!!
Samantha got to spend some time with her cousin Camryn and these two girls had a lot of fun!! Paul took some amazing pictures of the two of them together and it is amazing how much they have grown...they are both such beautiful girls!! I think Samantha's favorite part of the trip was playing with KC and the 'kitty cats' as she called them. They were all such troopers in letting her pet them and get in their faces...she just couldn't get enough...

Yoda

These girls got spoiled...a table that Grandma ordered came in the mail while we were there and it came wrapped in about 12 feet of bubble wrap so Baba put it all out on the floor and they went running across it!!!

Then it was time for Turkey Dinner and what a feast it was...

...of course you can't have Thanksgiving without a few olives on your fingers!!

Halloween!!

So after three pumpkin patches and two parties...it was finally Halloween!!!

We spent the afternoon at the Beeghly house for yummy albondigas soup and spending time with great friends. After dinner it was time for Trick-or-Treating and this year Samantha had so much fun!! A few houses in I think she finally realized that people were putting candy in her bucket so then when we walked up to each door she had to knock and ring the door bell and she refused to say 'trick-or-treat' so we told her that she had to at least say 'please' and 'thank you' or we would go home. She lasted quite a while and was sad to go back to the house....

Our very own Minnie Mouse for the day complete with ears and high heels!!

Matching with her auntie Stephanie!!