Decking the Halls

I must admit, I pictured decorating the house for Christmas going a little differently this year. I'm not entirely sure what, exactly, I had imagined, but I was certainly a little naive about the experience with a toddler.

The truth is, one-year-olds don't care much about holiday tradition or sentiment. Not to mention having a short attention span and the ability to move constantly...and with startling speed.

Decking the halls is usually a bit more relaxing and sentimental than it was this year. Still, we made some precious memories. Sweet Emerson helped her daddy put a couple of ornaments on the tree (and then took a few off, as well, but that's neither here nor there), and we decorated Emerson's small tree in the playroom with ornaments she was given for her first Christmas last year.

I hope to post more soon, and backtrack a bit to document all the fun we've had in the past couple of months. But, I don't want to forget these little details of the past week, as we've enjoyed being cozy at home as the first (big!) snow fell outside.

• Unpacking the Christmas ornaments, enjoying the memories from the newest ones (from our Colorado vacation this summer) and tearing up as I unwrapped last year's "Baby's First Christmas" ornament, and the ball with the tiny pink-painted footprint we made with our baby girl.
• Emerson standing at the window with excited exclamations about the "no" (snow) outside. 
• Listening to Amy Grant's "Tennessee Christmas" and remembering listening to the cassette tape with that song as I fell asleep as a little girl...and then seeing my own daughter happily dancing down the hall as she heard the song herself.
• Peeking around the corner of the living room to see Emerson curiously fidgeting with the ornaments at the bottom of the tree. (The non-breakable ones, that is. The fragile ornaments are at the top, making the entire thing a bit top-heavy. If the thing falls over, it probably won't even be Emerson's fault.)

We have much to look forward to in the next couple of weeks as we continue to celebrate our Savior's birth, enjoying the magic of Christmas with newfound wonder as we experience it this year through the eyes of a child...ours. What joy!