Our family is definitely ready for Christmas! I knew the time would go by fast, but really, Christmas is only 9 days away?
Brooke is so excited by all of the decorations, and, in spite of our initial fears, has been a perfect angel with our Christmas tree once we set the basic ground rules! There's absolutely no touching the tree, ("we look at the tree. Isn't it pretty?") no playing with ornaments unless Mommy gives one to her to see for a few moments, etc. There are several character ornaments which she loves to give kisses. (Then again, she gives EVERYTHING kisses.) She is thrilled with the Christmas lights--so much so that we decided to leave our tree on pretty much all weekend. :) Thank goodness for energy-efficient LED lights!
Santa drove by our house on Saturday night. :) I can't even tell you how exciting it is that it happens in our neighborhood, because it was a major event that we used to look forward to when my brother and I were little! Growing up, our fire department drove one of their firetrucks through the neighborhood, decked out in Christmas lights, blasting Christmas music, and with Santa, Rudolph and Frosty the snowman characters on top, waving to us. We found out that our fire department would be driving through our neighborhood at 6:25 on the dot this past Saturday, so we got all bundled up, and headed outside. It was a little different than my childhood memories--they used FOUR firetrucks, with Santa on the last truck, and no Rudolph or Frosty--but you should've seen how excited Brooke was! We got it on video. :)
Christmas really IS better with Brooke here. I didn't know that was possible, as much as I love Christmas, but it's a night and day difference.
We're practically done with Christmas shopping--just have my brother-in-law left, but I'm leaving his gift up to Ryan. :) We didn't spend a lot on Brooke this year, as she really doesn't NEED a lot yet. She'll be 16 months old ON Christmas day, and right now she's most fascinated with stuffed animals and the most mundane household items. We're getting such a kick out of her. ;-) There are some bigger things that would be nice to have for her, like a toboggan sled, or a pull wagon meant for little ones. However, those things are just not necessities!
I get nearly two weeks off from work for Christmas, (Christmas Eve through New Year's Day) nearly all of which will be PAID for, which is really amazing considering I'm a part-timer. I'm certainly earning my time off, though, as we've had major meetings going on since the beginning of last week, for which I'm solely playing hostess, requesting and organizing all of our data, and lots of other boring duties which no one is really interested in but which is keeping me insanely busy. I can't remember the last time I've been this busy. Oh yeah! When I was a full-time, stay-at-home Mom. ;-) Oh, I miss it.
Well, I have some pics to share!
Our girl ADORES her baby doll
*sigh* She doesn't look like a baby anymore, does she?
