It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Christmas is my favorite holiday. The moment Thanksgiving was over I started celebrating. I really did tell Doug that night, "Happy Christmas! It's the beginning of the Christmas season!" I wish that the in between time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was 2 months, not just one. More time to enjoy the holiday decor, the anticipation, the preparation, etc. I love this time of year!

Yesterday, Koen and Doug went to get the Christmas tree. This was the first year that I didn't go with Doug, but it was sweet that Doug had his little pal along for the ride. They did a great job and picked out a beautiful tree. Here it is pre-decoration.

There were quite a few branches that the Christmas tree people cut off for us, so during the boys' afternoon naptime yesterday Doug and I got creative. We decorated the front porch pillars with the extra boughs and I made a rustic bouquet for the front porch and the kitchen. It smells so good! And I think everything looks very festive too. The boughs actually made it through a windy, stormy night. I was impressed!

Last night we started decorating the tree. Doug absolutely abhors the chore of getting the tree lights figured out. With high hopes, he plugged in the strings of lights. 2 out of 3 strings didn't even light up. He threw in the towel early and walked down the street with Koen to the dollar store to get some new strings. Phil and Mom would not approve for sure, but hey, it kept our household happy! (Phil and Mom were always in charge of the Christmas lights in our house and I remember it taking a long time to get it all situated, but it was taken on as a festive challenge as opposed to the obvious way Doug's feels about the chore in the picture below).
Koen was very excited about decorating the tree. He broke 3 glass bulbs in the process. We kept trying to move them away from the ornament box he was allowed to get ornaments out of, but without even trying to be annoying he kept grabbing for the wrong ones. Anyways, I figure it's mostly our fault and thankfully they weren't important ornaments.

Tavin was in a snuggly mood and basically followed Doug around smashing his head into Doug's leg trying to get him to pick him up the whole time. It was really sweet. Doug ended up just working with Tavin.

The tree desperately needs additional ornament organization after Koen's work and we haven't even gotten all the decorations on yet, but Aunt Abbie and I plan on finishing it tonight after the boys go to bed.

Here are a few cute pictures of Tavin under the tree today in his little Christmas church outfit. Such a cutie! We just had the sweetest snuggle time before his nap. At one point, he came up behind me and gave me his first real hug where he put his arms around my sides and leaned his whole body into me. So precious!

Well, stay tuned for the finished product picture of the tree. Maybe later tonight if all goes well!