Christmas was a little more magical this year thanks to having little Emerson in our life. He loved looking at the tree and staring at the ornaments and lights. He enjoyed playing with this Little People Nativity set and he liked dancing to the music.
Christmas was extra special this year because my brother, his family and sister came in from out of state so that we could celebrate together for the first time since 1998. They flew in on the 22nd and went to stay at my mom and Mark's house. We headed up to Lyons on the 23rd for two and half days of family fun. By this point Mom, Mark, Matt, Windy, Kolby, Kaya, Katrina and Brigid were there. On Wednesday we made cinnamon and applesauce ornaments. Well, we watched Windy and Kolby make the ornaments. They turned out really cute and smelled like Christmas! We had a great dinner and played some games together afterward.
Christmas Eve morning found Matt and Kolby trying to sled but that didn't go so well. The snow was too fluffy and wouldn't pack down. Oh well, maybe next time. Shortly after this excursion Markus, Cerissa and Brodie arrived. We had lunch and hung out for a little bit and then when the kiddos went down for a nap (yes, all 4 of them at once!) we started The Build. What were we building? Gingerbread houses of course. My mom and made the pieces a few days in advance so they just needed to be assembled. Matt, Markus and Robert started assembling a house each and then Katrina started her own humble abode. The gingerbread was quite heavy and each person had their own technique for getting theirs to stay together. It was hilarious to watch! Thank God the kids were asleep as there was so cursing. By the time the little ones were awake the houses were together and we were able to decorate. I took over decoration of the Sudar casa while Kolby and Brodie helped my brothers. (By this point Katrina's house looked like the hurricane of the same name had hit it. Poor Kat!) The end result? Well, I'd say we "won"...not that I'm competitive...and possibly because we didn't have a toddler "helping." It was so much fun and definitely a special memory.
Christmas Eve Night we had a lovely prime rib dinner and then exchanged gifts. Katrina's gift to all of us were these adorable Santa hats that we all wore the rest of the night. Oh, and mom and Mark loved the picnic table that Robert built for them. Afterward we played games and headed to bed for Santa to come. Christmas morning we woke up, had breakfast and headed out for Christmas' 2 and 3.
It was so special to have all the Stevensons together. Seeing the cousins all in the same room was so cute. And even though there was some chaos with 10 adults, 4 kids under 2 1/2 and 3 dogs it was awesome!
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