Christmas Village

We had been waiting for a whole year and it was finally here....CHRISTMAS VILLAGE!!!  My mom, my sister, and I have a little pre-Christmas tradition.  Every year we go to the civic center in Birmingham for the most glorious of all Christmas shows.  We make a day of it (sometimes 2); a girls day...mother-daughter day.  It's great girl time and we have a blast shopping til we drop.  If you've never been, I highly recommend it.  3 years ago I bought most of my Christmas presents here.  There are over 700 vendors in the two-story exhibit ball.  Like I said...GLORIOUS!

 *All of the following are cell phone photos...sorry some are blurry!

Last year, Annah and I were pregnant.  This year, we had a couple of extras in tow.  (Trace got to crash our girls day!)  Mom got them matching outfits so we had to have their pictures made with Santa.  Trace was cool with it, but Aubrey apparently takes after her brother!  Aubrey was a bad influence because Trace was totally all smiles until Aubrey started crying.  Then he thought he should be upset too.  Oh well, lil girl...maybe next year.

 These two were such little troopers.  Trace spent his day waving at everyone.  Aubrey spent most of hers asleep in the ergo baby carrier.  When they were both in the stroller, they just had to be touching each other.  (I love that they love each other!)

 We took a lunch break....time for a photo op.  

 This one did NOT want to take a nap.  He "accidentally" fell asleep once for like 5 minutes...sitting STRAIGHT UP.  He woke up when we tried to move him.  

 At the end of the day we were EXHAUSTED!  We took a Sissy picture (with our tag alongs) in the sleigh, that I was pretty sure we almost broke!  And just like that Chriatmas Village 2013 is in the books.  See ya next year!