Elf on the Shelf
I posted about this the other day (click here to read it if you missed it), so I won't say too much more about this. However, I notice that little Alfie is getting more and more adventurous with his hiding places...
Nativity Scene
Bright and early on the Friday after Thanksgiving, one of the first things I do is clean off our mantel and set up my beloved nativity scene. I want to enjoy it for as many days out of the year as I can and have even added a few pieces to it here and there (thank you to gift-givers that know how much I love this!).
This year, we also added a new nativity scene:
It's a "Little People" nativity that is kid-friendly. My mother-in-law has a kid-friend nativity that all the grandchildren love to play with (or chew on, in Connor's case) so she got this nativity for us to keep at our house. On any given day, Baby Jesus is the star in whatever imaginary scenario that Hannah is playing at that time, usually with Connor ready to stomp over the whole scene. I can't wait to put this nativity out year after year. (Thanks, Sue!)
Our Christmas Tree
As you know, we normally go to our favorite tree farm in Wisconsin and cut down a fresh Frasier Fir the day after Thanksgiving. This year, Caleb had tonsillitis on this day (long story---perhaps I'll post about it later) and we were getting ready for an early Christmas celebration with my aunt's family, so getting the tree on the day we normally do wasn't going to happen. By Sunday of that weekend, Caleb still had a fever and even more ailments (due to his antibiotic) but he was BEGGING us to get a tree. Finally, Chris and I broke down and drove over to our local grocery store where a tree farm had set up a stand in the parking lot. Literally, two minutes later, we drove away with the fattest, most expensive, and quickest tree we've ever gotten. Here's a blurry picture of it, but you get the idea...
My sister took one look at the tree and asked, "Are you missing a lot of ornaments?" Well, yes and no. This year, we put on less ornaments, mostly because the older two kiddos were the ones doing the decorating. All of the ornaments ended up on the bottom half of the tree so I had to do a little bit of "rearranging" when they went to bed that night. Also, several ornaments make daily trips OFF the tree. No, not because of the baby, (but that is naturally the first conclusion), but because the kids love their ornaments so much that they just HAVE to carry them around the house all the time. This year, for some reason, I've decided that is totally fine with me. Two broken ornaments later (and one gift that was smashed open by Hannah falling on it), I'm still okay with them messing with the tree as much as they want. Ironically, Connor couldn't care less about the tree. He rarely makes his way into the sunroom, which has been very helpful for us. When Hannah was his age, we had to get a six-sided gate to put around the tree because she just wouldn't leave it alone. This year, the gate is sitting around our fireplace and the tree sits un-gated, which is lovely.
Two things to notice about the above picture:
1. There is GREEN GRASS in the yard. Yes, this picture was taken today and no, we will not have snow by Christmas. I guess that's okay considering how crazy the snow was last year at this time!!
2. On the very side of the picture, you can see that the gifts are stacked up against the wall and not under the tree. Again, that's to give my children ample space to fiddle with their ornaments. After the time Hannah accidentally fell on and therefore, opened, a gift, I am not taking any chances!!
SANTA
Of course, we went to Macy's downtown to visit Santa, as we do every year. Their walk-through display was the same ("A Day in the Life of an Elf") with a few minor changes to the scenery. Santa was wonderful, as usual, and to my surprise, we had one child who was scared of him!
A sign I read before we sat on Santa's lap told me that "8 out of 10 children between the ages of 1 and 4 are afraid of Santa". Then, it listed ways to make the quick Santa visit pleasant for all and how to get a great picture. The pacifier was my attempt to keep Connor from crying but that did not last long. This picture was too funny not to purchase: the two older kids smiling so perfectly and Connor bawling his head off. I can't wait to see if he's still afraid of Santa next year!
Just remember, folks:
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