First Christmas

Emerson has had a very busy holiday season. We spent Christmas Eve opening gifts at Grammy and Grandpa's house before going to church. It definitely was a fun Christmas with Emerson, Ben and Mackenzie. It's amazing how much two more little ones can add to the excitement of Christmas!

On Christmas, after opening gifts at home, we spent the day with family and friends. Emerson had a lot of fun playing with her cousins Ellie and Katie and her best friend, Kate. It was a very merry first Christmas!

A Southern Christmas (and birthday!)

We were fortunate to spend the weekend before Christmas down in Louisiana with Emerson's grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Our first day there was nearly 80 degrees! It made great weather for the family party where over 100 relatives showed up to Emmy's grandparents house.

Emerson had so much fun playing with her cousins, Kaleb and Nya. Finally, they are starting to interact and play together. GG and Granddad bought Emmy a roller coaster for Christmas and all the kids loved that - even the grown ones!

Emerson also had her first birthday celebration complete with decorations and cake. It was a great party, but surprisingly, Em was afraid to dive into the cake. She enjoyed the icing but couldn't be convinced to grab the cake. I'm sure that will change with time!

O' Christmas Tree...

We went to the country to cut down our Christmas tree. It was a cold day, so Em was very bundled. She picked out the perfect tree and has been very good about leaving the decorations alone.

Emerson also met Santa for the first time last week. She didn't cry, but wasn't too excited about sitting on his lap. We had dinner at the mall afterwards, where she relaxed with a little snack.

First Thanksgiving

Emerson had her first Thanksgiving dinner and loved it all, especially the sweet potatoes! Just watching her walk all over and seeing her smile makes me realize how much we have to be thankful for this year.

We also took her 11 month pictures. If you look closely, you can see her two little teeth. I can't believe her next set of pictures, she'll already be a year. Time sure has gone by quickly, but it's been more fun than I could have ever imagined.