We decided to set up the Christmas Tree a little early this year since the next three weekends are pretty much booked solid for us and I believe in getting the most out of Christmas decorating! Since Kate's birthday is in January, she's gotten to enjoy helping us decorate the tree every Christmas since she was born. The pics above are a brief snapshot of my favorite two special tree decorating moments: Kate putting the angel on top of the tree with Cody and her hanging her special baby's first Christmas ornament.
One of the funniest things Kate's been doing all weekend is mispronouncing the word Christmas Tree. For some reason she's been saying "Christmas Tree-t" with unbelievably hilarious consistency. I've tried several times to slowly and carefully enunciate "Christmas Treeeee", and each time she says back to me with equal emphasis "Christmas Treeeeee...t"! She puts so many Eees in there that each time I think she's got it and then, just as she's about to run out of breath, she puts that last little t on the end. So after trying to direct her to say it correctly unsuccessfully, I've decided to just let her say it however she wants - it will be a sweet memory for momma!
We've noticed Kate's memory has gotten quite a bit sharper lately - she clearly remembers things from last spring/summer and shocks us frequently with what she'll say about something that happened several months back - but we discovered this weekend that it's likely her earliest real memories right now start around Easter this past year. She knew the Christmas tree was a big deal when we got it out and started setting it all up, but she started looking for her "basket" and kept asking where her eggs were. I told her Christmas wasn't about eggs and tried to explain that Easter will come later, but she
insisted that she still needed a basket with some eggs!
Kate definitely enjoyed Christmas last year more than her first, but I think this will be her first Christmas that will make a lasting impression on her and that's so exciting!! And because of that fact I want to try hard to create moments to consciously build memories with her and establish more family Christmas traditions than just putting the angel on top of the tree with Daddy and helping hang ornaments. But what sorts of activities can you do with a toddler that will still be meaningful and significant when that toddler is a school age child or even a teenager? I going to really have to think about that over the next couple weeks.
What are some of Christmas season traditions at your house?
We decided to set up the Christmas Tree a little early this year since the next three weekends are pretty much booked solid for us and I believe in getting the most out of Christmas decorating! Since Kate's birthday is in January, she's gotten to enjoy helping us decorate the tree every Christmas since she was born. The pics above are a brief snapshot of my favorite two special tree decorating moments: Kate putting the angel on top of the tree with Cody and her hanging her special baby's first Christmas ornament.
Kate's Aunt Kiersten has been a very special person in her life since she was a baby. Kate had the chance to spend two days a week with Kiersten last year since she was her one year old preschool teacher - and all that quality time definitely resulted in a very close bond. Whenever they're together, Kiersten always lets Kate play with her cell phone, remotes, her jewelry, and pretty much whatever else she wants. And Kate's still talking about getting to dress up and be Kiersten's flower girl in her wedding this summer!