December 1st

One of our traditions is to decorate for Christmas the weekend after American Thanksgiving. So, after going across the border and hitting up all the black Friday deals we got to work on decorating. We put up what we could which included these lights and garland that Brayden loved seeing. We also had a artificial tree which is in our basement but we really had to wait until today in order to finish. We were waiting for a real tree at Costco. Finally they arrived today so we decided to finish. Here is a look. 

Brayden loving the lights. Fortunately he hasn't bothered with them much. 

The picture is a bit dark, but here is the fresh tree we got from Costco. I love it! It is our first grown up tree. The one in the basement is the kids' tree full of our cheap handmade ornaments that Philip and I painted when we first got married. It is mixed with handmade ornaments from Summer as well as an ornament that we get each year to remember our son Scott. I forgot to take a picture of it. 

I love the red sparkly hydrangea flowers I found. Thanks Joann Fabrics for the awesome sales. 

 We hit up a Christmas party for kids that Philip was invited to. It was a lot of fun. Brayden tried out Bowling for the first time. Five pin bowling is great for kids because the balls are small. I am horrible at it though. I am use to the heavy balls with holes for my fingers.

Summer had a lot of fun. She is working on getting the ball to go a little faster. 

 Of course we have to start December off with a visit from Santa. I didn't realize it until I looked at this picture but my little Summer is not so little anymore. I can't believe how tall she is getting. She had fun sitting on Santa's lap and of course receiving a gift. Santa was very generous.

This is how Brayden felt about the whole sitting on Santa's lap thing. He obviously didn't like it. As soon as I picked him up he stopped crying and waved goodbye to Santa.

 He was not shy about peaking into the gift he was given. He was so excited to push some buttons on the truck. Thanks Santa you made a little boy and girl very happy today.

 Last but not least we can't forget the advents. Philip brought two of these Lindt advents home from work yesterday. One for Summer, and one for me. Summer didn't wait long to open her first window. She came in my room at about 7:30am with a big smile on her face. She is definitely Mary Harvey's granddaughter. I opened my window up and gave the chocolate to Brayden which he loved.

When I saw this Lego calendar at Costco a month ago I had to get one. Philip loves Lego so I thought he would really like it. That he did. He and Summer both put this little guy together this morning. 

So, I hope your December is filled with a lot of Christmas cheer. Remember that Christ is a key word in Christmas. What a wonderful time to reflect on his birth and also his life. I am looking forward to teaching Summer more about it this year as she will understand more and actually remember more details. Merry Christmas everyone.