Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas!
We wish everybody a magical holiday season!
Love,
The Contreras Family
Erik, Lexie, Halle, Costa and baby

Visit to see Santa

Yesterday we finally headed to the mall to see the BIG guy....yep Santa. I was trying to wait and see if this little buddy would make his big debut and be in the Santa picture this year....monday was my deadline...and no baby yet. We were a little late getting the Santa letters in the mail this year so we brought them with us and dropped them in the magic northpole mailbox they have at Macy's. You know, the one where the letters are instantaniously delivered to Santa, no wait;) Costa was trying to look inside and said..."did he get it yet mom?"..."YEP!" I said... "He should have it in his hands right about now!" Oh, how I love the magic of Christmas through the kids eyes!

Chandler Christmas Tree Lighting

Halle's ballet class was asked to do a little dance at the Chandler Christmas Tree Lighting. The girls were so excited and looked super cute in their Santa hats! Aunt Les, baby Brooks, GG, Poppie, Uncle Jerry and Aunt Linda all came to watch. We were bummed daddy and Costa didn't get to come because Cost wasn't feeling good. But we videotaped it for them to watch. Halle definitely loves to perform in front of a crowd and is looking forward to taking the next ballet session!

Tamale day!

It's that time of year again! Yep...Tamale day. It was fun to have Zip and Les join us! Halle went to school half day and then I went and picked her up at lunch so she could come be our little helper and share in her ethnic holiday. She's such a great tamale wrapper! Costa was excited to help us this year too! It's always fun to catch up with Aunt Sue, Aunt Mabel and Veronica. I love this annual tradition!

Nutcracker 2010

This year marks the second annual Nutcracker tradition for Halle and I. This year we went with GG, Libby, Elianna, Justyce, Aunt Lynz, Grandma Dottie and Uncle Luke. We were happy Libby could join us this year! We decided to get tickets for Chandler Center for the Arts so we could get better seats and be closer to the stage. I think the girls appreciated it much better this year especially because we were closer and they are taking ballet. Afterwards, we went to eat at the new Old Spaghetti Factory in Chandler. Super fun special night for my Halle and I!

Daddy and Costa had a fun boys day at the Cardinals game

New Christmas traditions

This year we started a few new Christmas Traditions in our home...The first being the Advent Wreath. Thanks to Mom, Grandma Dottie, we now have a beautiful Advent Wreath on our table to light every night when we sit down for dinner. Now that the kids are getting a little bit older we're starting to teach them the true meaning of Christmas and what it's all about. It's neat to see them get excited each week we get to light a new candle.

The second tradition is our Elf that made his appearance yesterday on our kitchen shelf. Halle was the first to notice him! Both the kids got SO excited that they now have their very own Elf! They decided to name him John Johnny Christmas Bell...too funny. It will be fun to see where he shows up each morning after returning from the North Pole!

Here he is...John Johnny Christmas Bell

Hallers drew a picture of our Elf "John Johnny" and KK, Reece and Ally's Elf..."Lou"

35 weeks and some maternity photos

I was so excited to do a few maternity shots this time around. I didn't do any with Halle, which I regret and thanks to my sis Lynz I have a few with Costa. It's such a special time and nice to have pictures to look back and remember. This shoot was kinda last minute, but we got some good shots! Costa was with me while Halle was at school so he got to be in one. My friend Pam did a fabulous job and I'm so thankful to her!