Getting ready for Christmas!!

We are so excited at our house about Christmas this year! Actually, I don't know who is more excited, me or Madeleine! :) I can't wait for Christmas morning to see her face & I know that her joy will spread to Harrison and he'll be all smiles as well. I think this is when Christmas gets really fun again -- when you have children around to be part of it. I love to hear madeleine talk about santa and get excited about getting and giving presents! I love that she wakes up every morning asking if it's christmas yet. I love that she's helping me wrap her presents to others and is very concerned that santa bring something for harrison, too.

Madeleine started asking to put up the tree on Friday so Saturday we put up our christmas tree -- and in record time, too! We have a wonderful pre-lit tree (I love this, since the lights were always my job!) so all we really have to do is fluff and decorate! Madeleine wanted to help with the ornaments, so I made 2 piles -- the breakable (for me) and the plastic (for her). It took her about 3 minutes to put hers on the tree then she started in on mine! :) I was racing to get mine up and hanging them as fast as I could. It took all of 20 minutes for us to finish! I usually like to do this slowly since each ornament is special and has memories with it. This year, it was fun explaining them to her as we unpacked them, she was especially taken with a little glass angel that my mom bought me when I wasn't much older than Madeleine. It's one of my first christmas memories -- going to a christmas open house at a store with my mom and getting to pick out that little ornament and this year Madeleine hung it on the tree. It made me realize that she'll probably have some memories of this christmas that will be with her forever. So, I'm determined to make this year amazing!

Monday morning when she woke up the first thing she said to me was, "mommy, I really really want it to be christmas." How sweet. She also keeps asking for me to tell her the "Santa Story" which is how Santa brings the toys down the chimney, etc. She LOVES the tree and it MUST be lit up as soon as we walk in the door! I noticed this morning that some ornaments were moved around -- guess who! My little elf! Ha!

Here are some pictures of our tree and my little helper. And, yes, she's not wearing any pants -- at least she's got on a shirt! :)