The tree is (finally?) up

Every year, Ryan has to fight me to keep me from putting up decorations and the tree before November 12th. In fact, I normally want to start decorating November 1st... but I hold off until after Remembrance Day. This year, I don't know if it's the nausea or the horrendous weather we've been dealt with, but this year it's December 2 and we just put our tree up... and I still don't feel like "Christmas."

This is our last Christmas with just Aryn. Mind you, with the world supposedly ending in a couple of weeks, we may not even get our last Christmas with just Aryn. I hope the world holds off on its demise.

Tonight we put up the tree. Our stockings were put up the other day, with other random Christmas decor that I realize I have way too much of. It's been too cold to decorate the outside so everything is still nicely in its "outdoor box" sitting by the front door, just waiting for a break from the snow and cold. It was supposed to come yesterday... but instead, it snowed blizzard-like for 2 straight days. Thanks, David Spence. (For those of you who aren't local, David Spence is the local meteorologist... who is rarely ever right.)

So we decorated the tree today. Aryn only broke one decoration, and I'm very happy about that. Thankfully, it was one of her decorations and it was ugly. So it wasn't a hard pill to swallow.

Aryn woke up from her nap and saw the tree standing there in our living room and exclaimed, "Mommy! Woah! Mommy!" And then immediately made Ryan come help her look at it closer. This is what Christmas is about.

We discovered that, at 2 years old, Aryn kind of sucks at putting up decorations. 15 decorations were on the same branch, one on top of another. By the time we noticed, the branch was pretty much touching the floor. She did not want me "fixing" or "helping" her to move said decorations to other branches... so I bribed her with a cream cheese cupcake that Auntie Aleesha made and fixed the tree.

Mama likes a nice tree, kid.

Aryn even put up the star... I only have "before" photos because I had to come to their aide and take the star away. Toddlers and star tops do not mix.

This is Aryn looking at a Bauer ornament. She sure loves that jerk dog.

So the tree is up, the stockings are hung, the decorations litter the house, and hopefully soon our outdoors will also look like a magical bright-over-done-coloured Griswald house. Here's to hoping.

Here's to a fantastic Christmas season... and here's to the world not ending! Can I hear a "woot woot!"?