Ian was soooo excited about the Christmas tree this year. Just going out and purchasing it had him jumping out of his skin in excitement. 🙂
When the time rolled around Saturday for us to start decorating it, Ian really, really, really wanted to help. For those that have spent much time around 3 year olds and/or Christmas trees, there are very few things that you can hand off to a small child and hope that it will make it safely on the tree.
Mike enlisted Ian’s assistance in checking the lights for burnt out bulbs. After that, Ian (and Daddy) helped hold the strand of lights as I put them on the tree. He lost interest after a while which enabled me to get the bulk of the ornaments on the tree without worrying about Ian messing with the glass balls.
I made the mistake of asking Ian if he wanted to hang the John Deere tractor ornament we bought which turned into a fiasco. Ian doesn’t want to accept that its an ornament and prefers to think of it as “his big tractor”. LOL Its been on and off the tree more times than I can count. Usually it hangs from the tree whenever Matthew tries to get at it. 😉
After we compromised on the fate of the tractor ornament, Ian was a big help when putting bows on the branches. 😉
Ian decorating:
We did the bulk of the decorating while Matthew was down for his morning nap. What a surprise he had when he came downstairs!
Matthew checking out the lights before going down for his nap:
Video of Matthew checking out the tree. He kept waving “bye”. Not sure why. Also, just so you know, the microwave was beeping in the background. Every single time I watch the video, I think something is beeping in the house. LOL
The tree is in a new spot this year. The furniture wouldn’t fit in any other layout now that the tv has been moved to the “wood” paneling wall. 🙂 It is probably a good thing that the tree is inaccessible on 2 sides…its almost a defensive position to keep little baby hands off. 🙂 Or, at least we hope. 🙂
We decided to seize the day on Wednesday and go out to get our Christmas tree. It was raining but the place we go to is completely covered. Plus, it was 50 degrees out. The weather forecasters were predicting about 4-10 inches of snow were headed our way over the next few days as well as some much colder temperatures. We figured rain and 50s were much better than several inches of snow and 30s!
It ended up being a great idea. We were the only customers there and it was a quick trip. I think it took longer for us to get the kids out of their seats and back in their seats than it did for us to find a tree and pay. The employees seemed pretty bored and were SUPER helpful. One man said he remembered us from last year….how about that?!?
Despite Mike’s horror and complete and utter humiliation, I decided to try out Matthew on his leash:
(Do you know how hard it is to get a picture in focus w/ your child on a leash attached to your wrist?!?!)
I always said I wasn’t going to leash my children but Matthew is a runner and he’s damn hard to keep up with. At nearly 30 lbs, he’s REALLY hard to hold onto if he’s wiggling away. The leash was my compromise (and one that Mike still isn’t willing to make! LOL). Overall, I wasn’t too happy with the way the leash worked but maybe it takes time to get used to? Matthew would pull all the way to the end and then half the time, fall down on the ground when he reached the end of the rope. Notice the wet bum in the picture above? I think we have some more learning to do. Or maybe we need to do some leash training? 😉
On the ground and inspecting garbage. But holding still. Hallelujah! LOL
My 3 best boys:
Our tree…Ian kept spinning it on the rope. LOL
None of these pictures is in focus, entirely. Between the rain, the kids taking off and the employees being so helpful, I never really had a chance to get my camera settings adjusted to get in focus shots. Oh well. LOL
Mike and I always get really excited to see what Ian brings home from preschool…it gives us some insight on what he’s learning and sometimes he’ll share a story or song when he sees the projects.
Ian came home from school on Thursday with a few fliers and craft projects in his backpack. They recently did a craft, in honor of Thanksgiving, about what they’re thankful for.
Ian is apparently thankful for his puppy, Snoopy:
(scan of original craft)
The only problem is, we don’t HAVE a puppy. And certainly not a puppy named Snoopy.
We had ourselves a nice long laugh about that. Makes you wonder what on Earth he’s saying at school, doesn’t it? LOL
Ian was pretty hesitant about Santa in 2007. 🙂
December 2007