Our OWN Christmas Tree!

Colin and Gillian really like Christmas trees. They liked Grammy's "Harvest" tree in her dining room at Thanksgiving; they've admired the trees at Costco and WalMart. And Colin says HI to the tree outside the shopping center every time we drive by. I don't think it ever occurred to them, though, that they could have a tree IN THEIR OWN HOME.

The past two years, we were just not up to putting up a full sized tree in our house. The first year due to sheer exhaustion, and last year? Well, I'm not sure what our excuse was. So, this year, it was a full sized, real tree or BUST. Well, ok, a 6 foot, skinny tree or bust. Friday morning we headed out, stopped a couple of places, but finally found the perfect specimen. Daddy wanted a different tree, but Colin and Gillian (and Mommy) picked this one:




The tree gets bundled up, put on top of the car (causing GREAT excitement) and we drive it to our OWN HOME! Then it's lunch and nap for the kiddos. Daddy gets the tree up, and I put lights, tinsel, and ornaments on it (breakable up top, durable on the bottom!). This is Colin seeing the tree for the first time after nap:

As soon as I turned off the camera, he said, "I love you Christmas Tree!" So sweet!!! I really think this was like magic for them. They went to bed in our normal, humdrum house and when they woke up....MAGIC! We had a wonderful, lit-up, pretty Christmas tree in our house!!!

As you could see, Gillian is much slower to wake up after nap and wasn't super duper excited the moment she got out of bed (she takes after Daddy that way, Colin is much more like Mommy in that respect). After she woke up and had some cheese and crackers, she was in more of a mood to comment on her OWN TREE:


They have both been very, very good in regards to the tree. We set it up in the dining room so we could still gate it if we needed to (not that the Fisher Price explosion in the living room would have allowed room for the tree anyway). But, we haven't had to resort to gating yet! They have asked to touch one ornament, one with a bell on it. Gillian really likes Jingle Bells and like to accompany herself with the ornament. We can live with that arrangement.

Oh, and the cats have really pretty much ignored the tree. In the past, Weasel would park her furry butt under the tree and sleep there until New Years, but not this year. Michael thinks the dining room floor is too cold for her. Schmo sniffs the tree and sits under it for a minute after breakfast, then leaves. But, he's old, fat, and cranky, so that's to be expected.

All in all, a very satisfying Christmas experience! Can't wait for the Big Guy later this week! It's going to be so fun!