Magical....

I can't tell you how much fun we are having in our house this holiday season!!!  While I'm not 100% sure that the girls fully understand the concept of Christmas, it absolutely melts my heart watching them trying to comprehend it all.  Here are just a few thing that I need to document:

• I've tried to incorporate the birth of Jesus story into our holiday traditions.  While playing Santa is super fun, I also want my girls to understand the "real" reason for the season.  We have two nativity scenes in our home.  One is "supposed" to be off limits to tiny hands, and one is the little people toy nativity scene.  The girls love to sing "Happy to you" (their version of Happy Birthday) to baby Jesus.  They know that Baby Jesus has a birthday soon.  They also know that there is usually cake involved when we celebrate a birthday.  Addison has requested a "shock-lat" (chocolate) cake.  The Baby Jesus figurine has also been MIA in our house on numerous occasions.  Last night I found him in the freezer. 

• The girls LOVE Christmas lights and decorations.  The first house you see when you enter our neighborhood has a few of those large blow up decorations.  One of them is a polar bear with Santa sitting on it and the other is a penguin with a Christmas tree.  The other night we took the girls to get hair cuts.  For whatever reason the penguin wasn't on.  I thought Alexis was going to freak out.  She kept saying "penguin broken".  Luckily when we came home the penguin was inflated and all was right with the world. 

• I made Christmas cookies Monday evening.  I always try to let the girls "help".  This usually ends up causing me more work in the end, but I love getting the girls involved.  I look at it as a teaching opportunity.  We always count everything.  Two eggs, 3 cups......the girls love this!  Every night since then, Alexis has declared that we need to "cook more cookies". 

• The girls like to point out everything Christmas related.  For example:  If they see a snowman, they point and say "Mommy, look a snowman".  Same thing for Angels, Snowflakes, Santa, Christmas trees and a million other holiday related items.  Last weekend after reading bedtime stories, Addison declares that she sees and angel in her room.  I asked her where?  She pointed to a little angel ornament that is setting on a shelf in their room.  This particular angel ornament was left at the girls bedside while they were in the NICU.  It has been on the shelf since they came home.  Terry told Addison that we got that angel when she was a baby.  He also told the girls that the angel is on that shelf to remind us of how lucky we are, because they were so tiny when they were babies.  Not only did hearing that conversation bring tears to my eyes.....but every night since then, one of the girls will point to the angel and say "Angel, tiny babies".  I'm tearing up just typing this.

I'm sure I will have a several more of these little holiday things that I want to document over the next week or so.  Here are a few pictures of the girls from our recent trip to see Santa.....  Happy Holidays to you all!!!