They're getting ready for Christmas!

This has been a continual phrase around here for the last two months. Well, maybe actually 3, since Julia noticed back before Halloween that stores were already getting ready for Christmas. It was a lot of fun this year to get ready for Christmas with Julia. She was much more into decorating, wrapping presents, etc. even if she didn't quite understand the whole Santa thing. Some of my favourite memories from the past month:

-Sharing Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer with her....my favourite Christmas movie that we let her watch in 20 minute installments over a week. Now everytime she wants to watch TV, she says "Let's watch Rudolph!" I can already see that my no TV rule is going to be tested.

-Making fudge and cookies with Julia. She loaded up the sprinkles on our cookies...it turned into a shake off the extras from the cookie sheet before the oven, evenly distribute the sprinkles to other cookeis, and call for parental reinforcements to sort out the sprinkles kind of evening. But the cookies taste good.


- reading "The Night Before Christmas", then having to reassure her that I would not let the reindeer into her room to lick her face on Christmas Eve.

- Watching her open gifts and hearing her say: "You gave me a new babydoll!"

- Julia was the delivery elf at several family gatherings this year, which was made all the sweeter by her telling the recipient was was in the box/bag. It was really cute, although she was a little confused by our laughter each time it happened.

- Taking her to 34th Street in Baltimore to look at the lights; one of my favourite things about this season is the light displays and this neighborhood went all out. It was beautiful, people were friendly, and the weather was just cold enough. We have been teaching her to hiss at blue lights (thank you, Uncle Chip!) and have also decided that all of the inflatable Christmas lawn displays have ended up in the greater Philadelphia metro area.

Wishing everyone a blessed and simple new year!