Tis the Season

Today was special for us. Mad Dog has off and we were able to spend a "quiet" day together as a family. We planned today to be our Tree day. We had purchased our Christmas Tree Thursday night from a small lot not  far from our apartment.

Lex of course was extremely excited about the whole process and wanted to decorate it as soon as it was up. We had to explain to him that the tree had to rest and that we would let it sleep until the weekend. This off course prompted a bunch of attempts to "wake the tree". Lex standing in our living room, calling up the tree "Wake up Tree!" All dun night nights!" It didn't work and the calls would continue of the next few days.

Mad Dog and I put up the lights with a little help from Lex. Then we moved onto the ornaments. This is always a nervous process with the kids. First Gabrielle and now Lex, and next year Loki. The ornaments we have are mainly from Mad Dog's and my childhood. some being our first ornaments and made of glass, others being sentimental and homemade. Explaining this to a very excited 2 1/2 year old is difficult. Last year we lost one of Mad Dog's early ornaments, pieces are still in the box. I don't have the heart to get rid of it. I think I'm going to add the glass shards to a new empty glass ornament to keep some of the memories.

Each year the kids get a new ornament to add to their collection, that they will be able to take with them when they leave us to start their own family. A tradition my family had. To be honest they usually get more than one ornament, between Nana Sandy and I. This year they each (Lex and Loki) got their next Hallmark Keepsake Ornament. Because they are the same for each year, I mark the back with their name and year. They also each (all three) their initial in the form of a decorated cookie. With Lex and Loki both getting L's because my Mother thought Lex might get confused with the A (though she calls him Alexander more than Lex). We hung ornaments trying to avoid any heartbreak. Something we managed with the except of one break of a non-important generic glass ball.

The tree was topped with our topper. Most people have stars or angels, but we have a Flying Christmas Monkey, Chistery (one of the flying monkeys from Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked). He has been a tradition since our first Christmas in Chicopee. He was made from a little stuffed Monkey Gabrielle had, who I stitched black vinyl wings to and then was donned with a pipe cleaner halo.

The tree is up, and the few extra decorations are up or in the processes of being placed (namely our Lego Holiday Train). The morning has been full of tears and screams. Mad Dog and I are down to our last nerves, but isn't that exactly what the Holidays are all about?