O Christmas Tree

I haven't taken any pictures yet of the decorated Christmas tree, probably because I'm still not happy about the way the decorating night turned out.  First, we were decorating it Sunday, and ran out of lights halfway through lighting the tree.  So we had to stop and wait until Monday when we could go buy more lights.

Monday night for Family Home Evening, we decided that it was time for tree decorating round two.  I'd had such nice pictures in my head of our little family decorating the tree together. NOPE. More like: toddler repeatedly plugs and unplugs the Christmas lights, after multiple time-outs and many fits. Wants NOTHING to do with the ornaments, and then decides to start throwing them. Thank goodness at that point all we had out were the plastic bulbs. SO glad I made the switch from glass to plastic last year!


A total Fukushima meltdown ensued, so we decided to desist on the family decorating, and I ended up decorating it by myself Tuesday night. After years and years of fond memories decorating the tree with my my parents and siblings, it felt very lonely and un-Chrsitmas-like. :( Apparently toddlers and Christmas tree decorating just don't mix. Maybe over-stimulation? Whatever it is, I now have new expectations until my kid is a little older.


Surprisingly, Cooper has been really good about not pulling too many things off the tree.  I purposely hung all the fragile ornaments in the top section, out of his reach, so the only ornaments left for him are those few that play music that I've told him he can touch, and a few bells, which he likes to pull off and shake while singing "Jingle Bells."  It's so cute that I just can't resist telling him not to play with the bells.  So at least while the initial decorating didn't go so well, we haven't had to re-decorate at all.


Cooper is loving all the Christmas decorations around the house.  Today after work, and before I went to pick him up from school, I spent 15 minutes putting up the garland and lights over the front door, and around the mailbox.  When he got home, he noticed them, and immediately rushed over to touch them, and OF COURSE try to unplug the lights.  The kid is obsessed with anything dangerous.


It's fun having him old enough to understand a little about Christmas.  I've been telling him the story of the birth of Jesus, using his Fisher Price nativity set, and have found him re-enacting it later himself.  He is nearly an expert on Santa now, at least as expert as a 2-yr old can be.  Christmas with kids just can't be compared to anything else.  It's so fun!