Christmas Times A Coming

I LOVE CHRISTMAS...however as of late I find myself having a hard time getting into the spirit. But, now that we decorated the house some, I have that wonderful warm feeling again. We put the tree up on the 29th but didn't get to decorate it because Adam had to sleep for work. I surely wasn't about to take on the task with a 2 year old and a 10 month old by myself!

Yay! A tree Mama.

So, yesterday we brought up four boxes of ornaments and Arabella was in awe. She couldn't help but try to pull EVERYTHING out. So we got into a groove of sorts. I sat on the floor unwrapping ornaments, hanging them on her tiny finger that she had pointed for me to do so, and she walked them to the tree. She picked where she wanted them and Daddy helped hang them for the most part. There were a couple of ornaments she managed to hang herself.



Before



Evan was in the play yard the whole time. Just hanging out and complaining that he wasn't able to get in on the action. By the time we were done, it was bed time for the kids. Today Arabella tried to play with some of the ornaments but it seems she's more interested in grabbing the light bulbs. Not sure why? 



Evan wasn't fond of our new family traditions. He'd rather we just let him get into everything.



This year I plan on starting a family tradition with our Christmas pickle. My mom gave it to me several years ago and I think Arabella might be big enough to start this tradition. From what I've been told, the idea is to make the children stop and take time to look at the tree and all of the ornaments rather than jumping in head first and tearing into the presents. It's also a way to remember that Christmas is not about the gifts, but the birth of Jesus Christ. We had several traditions growing up and I'm really looking forward to starting some of our own.

To start a tradition that will surely last,

Here's the story about the pickle of glass.

The night before Christmas it's hung on the tree

While everyone's sleeping, it's done secretly.

And on Christmas morning when you arise,

The first one to find it will get a surprise.

A family tradition for all to share

You'll look for the pickle year after year

Arabella's first Christmas ornament.