Saturday, December 29, 2012

Up goes the tree.

I like to get the Christmas tree out the weekend after Thanksgiving so we can enjoy it for a full month -- and I like to get it taken down right after Christmas.  We bought a pre-lit artificial tree a few years ago and have had nothing but trouble with the lights - lesson learned, don't buy pre-lit!  But we keep adding more light strings to it each year and make it work!  We put the tree up one night and then a few days later actually got the ornaments on after we bought another string of lites.  The boys were super excited to put the tree up and loved looking at all of the ornaments.  They also loved wearing the Christmas hats and playing with the stockings.  Including the super HUMONGOUS stocking that Isaiah got this year.  (He had an assignment to bring 1 thing every day of the first week of December for the 5 senses and Christmas - we went to the dollar store and he picked out a huge stocking as something you see at Christmas -- along with a door handle decoration with a bell for hear, a Christmas scented candle for smell, a nutcracker with a fuzzy beard for tough and a huge candy cane for taste).  
 My mom created the tradition of getting a Hallmark ornament each year - I remember picking ornaments out as a kid and looking at them each year.  I decided to continue the tradition and each of my boys have picked out (or I've picked for them) an ornament.  (Mark and I have each also picked out an ornament every year since we've been married).  We usually stop at Hallmark whenever we are at the mall starting in July to look at them and think about which one we might pick out.  It's always such a tough decision -- both this year and last year it took Isaiah numerous stops and then about 45 minutes at the store making a final decision :)  This year he tried to talk me into buying him more than one -- nope, not gonna happen!  As expensive as this tradition can be, I was lucky enough to get $5 off facebook coupons for all 5 of us this year which made me super excited about the price (making most of them just about $7).  

Here are pictures of the 5 that came home with us....Can you guess who picked which one???
Obviously the "Look Who's One!" went to Titus.  I figured it was appropriate for him since he turned 1 just 2 weeks before Christmas.  Also probably pretty obvious is the "Our Family" is mine :) but I did put our picture in it, just didn't take a picture before it's been boxed up.  Mark picked the radio one which is a countdown to Christmas with a silly radio clip with jokes for each day of December up to Christmas day.  Levi picked out the Prep and Landing guys which are his all time favorite Christmas cartoon and may just be his all time favorite show.  We still have it on the DVR and he requests to watch it often :)  And Isaiah finally picked out the Back to the Future car - he has never seen the movies and has no clue what the car is all about, but he loved that it was a fancy looking car.  He had actually picked out the Green Bay Packer football player after about 30 minutes of looking only to find that they were sold out of it so the car was technically second choice, but he loved it all Christmas time long anyway.  

What a fun start to the Christmas season!

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