Surprise!!

Birthdays right after Christmas are always a little hard to get geared up for.  Just when I'm ready to come off the holiday high BAM practically everyone close to me has a January birthday!!  

My sweet little Emerson is part of the "club" and I always want her birthday to feel special even if it is right after Christmas.  Recently she was describing a party to me and said, "You know mom...when everyone jumps out and yells SURPRISE!!!"  Boom.  It hit me.  Let's throw this kid a surprise party.  It was pretty easy actually because I was able to do a lot right under her nose...

She didn't suspect a thing! And come party day Nate kept her away from the house for a few hours while I worked a little party magic and voila!!  When she left it looked like this...

And when she pulled back up it looked like this!

Some of our sweet friends helped us pull it off and for a few minutes she wasn't quite sure what to think...

 

 

It was honestly so much fun!  Emme is obsessed with all things Little Mermaid lately so I ran with that theme...

An afternoon full of face painting, cake eating, pinata busting and friends was the perfect way to celebrate four sweet years with this ray of sunshine...

Thank you to all of our peeps who helped make this day special and who joined us in celebrating Emme.  She is one of kind and brings joy to every corner of our lives.  I can't imagine this world without her sparkly self in it...

I love you Emerson Kate!!

Had a Holly Jolly Christmas

Ahhhhh Christmas.  I love it.  It's like everything suddenly decides to be cooler and happier and more fun the second December arrives.  And then as quickly as it came it disappears into tubs and boxes and my heart until next year.  But for one last hoorah (and for the love of bloggings sake) here are a few of my favorite memories from the past few weeks...

We kicked off December with Carter's first Soccer Tournament...

It just so happened to be during one of the coldest weekends San Antonio had see in a while so we bundled up, drank hot chocolate, and sat in the car :)

Probably not a coincidence that Emerson (and I) wound up very sick immediately following our cold weather weekend (Carter was just having a sympathy popsicle)...

Luckily a few days of rest and some meds were just what the Doctor ordered and I was able to head to Florida to meet Nate for a couple of days...

I survived his Company Christmas Party (it was actually lovely) and decided I really like Ft. Lauderdale!  I see mixing a little business with pleasure and another visit for the whole fam in our near future...

We headed home...

And were met with a big surprise...

SHORT hair!!  These little cuties talked Roxi into chopping their locks.  I didn't mind!  They look adorable!  So cute in fact we decided who better to show off your hair to than Santa!  We headed off for the annual visit, but were met with a loooooong line.  Nate killed a little time with the girls...

What a dad...

After thoroughly exercising their patience it was finally time!  List in hand...

They hung out with the jolly old elf for a few minutes (no tears)....

It was a success! 

Santa visit...check!  Next up a little caroling with the Brownies...

Mom makes an appearance on Great Day SA...

And Emerson's Christmas program.  She was the cutest little sheep I ever did see...

Christmas buddies...

Later that day the girls and I baked up a little Christmas cheer and made the rounds to wish some of our favorite people a Merry Christmas!

It's easy to forget but giving is where all the fun is at...

And celebrating the birth of Jesus who gave it all is one of my favorite Christmas moments.  The girls dressed up in their "Sunday Best"...

Our candlelight service at church was full of joy, love and little chaos but I tuck away that moment when my girls faces light up...

It's nice to remember what it's all about...

Family tops our list and there was plenty of chances to celebrate.  We started off with a visit to Fredericksburg.  Game playing, ice skating and love...

Back home we gathered again with family, thanks to a special delivery from a good looking elf everyone fit around my new dining room table for Christmas Eve dinner...

The girls sprinkled reindeer food in the yard...

And finally the moment Emme had been waiting for...We let her open a few presents...

And what do you know, Santa came...

He delivered happiness, cheer and left big smiles on these adorable faces...

And Carter is addicted to (and really good at) Legos!  I'm so impressed...

Annnnd she painted this self portrait of Roxi for Christmas, I'm kind of in love with it...

The girls were left with a little Christmas money burning a hole in their pockets so we took them shopping...

Princesses...

And more legos :)

It was a lovely Christmas... 

Followed by a lovely New Year...

We had our third annual family date night for New Year's Eve...

Followed by a parent date night...

Looking back and saying goodbye to a pretty great
2013...

 

And looking ahead to what I'm believing will be a year to remember, I'm counting on you to be one of the best yet 2014.  We're off to a good start...

Happy New Year!!