Laughing out loud: Our Christmas Season 2013

I've been so looking forward to experiencing Christmas with Emerson this year. She is just old enough to get it. I love to see her excitement with new things so watching her experience the magic of Christmas was going to take the cake.

And it didn't disappoint. Pretty sure this girl was on a high from December 1st until now.

The official holiday season started off with us getting a ice/snow storm which trapped us as home for just about a week. We used this time wisely decorating the house and making "all things Christmas"

Making Salt Dough ornaments for our tree and as gifts.

aprons are overrated :))

After drying for a day the following day was paint and SPARKLES.. and boy does this child like sparkles.

Now on to roasting nuts for gifts to all our neighbors.

The official countdown

Until this year Emerson never really showed much interest in Santa. And I never pushed her to sit in his lap until she was ready. We were at the mall one day and she went crazy when she saw him and asked if she could talk to him too. So that was my cue. A couple of days later we made the attempt.. and it was a success. The two chatted it up like old friends. Only problem was that when asked what she wanted all she continued to mention is all the toys and babies that she currently has. So pretty sure she still doesn't understand the whole Santa Claus thing. :)

visiting with Santa can sure be exhausting.

Crazy little Elves

All ready for our school Christmas party

The morning before we packed up to leave for Texas we had Miss Rhylan over for a little play date and gift exchange. These girls just make me smile. The have their normal 2 year old struggles but overall they adore each other and it shows.

We opted to hit the road early and head to Texas two days early to avoid some nasty weather headed to NW Arkansas.. So glad we did because the roads got pretty yucky and it would have made me a nervous momma driving in the nasty stuff. Because we had some extra time on our hands I found that I was able to go visit some old friends and do some catching up. It also allowed us to hang out on the farm of my family in Denison. This below picture means way more to me that just about anyone else but I just had to post it. This is in the bathroom of my grandmothers house. The same room that my step-sister and I played when we were little girls. And we would sit in that exact same chair and play dress up looking in that exact same mirror. So it was so fun to see that Emerson found the same enjoyment.

Checking out all the deer on the property in her "goggles"

Once we returned to Dallas we connected with the rest of the family. We ventured out to go see Christmas lights and they were gorgeous. A sweet little area just about 10 minutes from the house. The kids loved having all the room to run and play and see all the pretty lights. The pictures are pretty but just doesn't do it justice as it was in person.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this kid?

Sweet girls enjoying some reading on the Ipad

Another day of creating. The kids made a gingerbread Santa train and of course had to make cookies to give to Santa.

Christmas Eve we got dolled up and went to Christmas Eve services.

The below picture has become a tradition in the Crenshaw family. The kids get to open one present which is always their Christmas jammies. And then they put on their Santa hats and jump in front of the Christmas tree. I giggle to think about how this picture will look in another 10-15 years.

A little pizza for Christmas Eve.

Uncle Jimmy is always popular with the kids

too bad we didn't have any presents this year...:)

Spreading out the reindeer food

Christmas morning didn't really start off the way I planned in my head. Emerson was asked to wake up by the other kids way earlier than she was ready.. so she was a tad bit cranky. Then she walks into the room to see what Santa left her and she starts crying once she sees the purple bike he left. You see.. my Emerson has this little issue with anything new. She likes the things she likes and doesn't really adapt to change well. So when she saw the bike she just thought about her pink tri-cycle and didn't understand why it wasn't there. After a little time and allowing her to wake up and get moving she started warming up to the idea of all the craziness.

aww. that's more like it

she took her time and savored every present like it was her last. I'm pretty sure that will change sooner than later.

Looks like someone is headed to Mardi Gras

my little entertainer

stopping for some snuggles with her Zuzu

Aunt Courtney

Round 2 after more family arrive

A pink umbrella to match her pink beads.. one happy girl

These kids love to dress up.!!!

whew... its all over. Time to chill

The big boys.. Blake and Austin

The ONE and ONLY vegetable my child will eat.

Its a full house.

The following day we decided to take the kids to the movies. We "thought" we would have trouble getting seats together since we had 9 of us ... so we rushed to arrive early. Yep.. as you can see we were wrong. Actually only a few more families even showed up after we did so basically had the place to ourselves..