Day 8: Decorate the (Real) Christmas Tree

Dave finally showed up on Tuesday, and after a long nap (for him) and shorter naps (the girls), we headed to Home Depot to pick out this year's specimen. (It's not nearly as picturesque as when I grew up in Connecticut and we cut it down on a farm, but I'll take what I can get. This is Texas and not New England, after all.) A motley crew, aren't we? Poor Dave looks so tired, and Emma looks a bit disheveled after gymnastics and a nap. Maddie, as always, is happy just to be included. We took it home, and it was Dave's job to put up the lights. It was a tradition in his family that his dad put up the lights, and every year around this time I profusely thank my mother-in-law for instilling in him this most annyoying of tasks. After the lights were completed, Emma and I took over ornament placing. If Emma was enthusiastic to decorate this poor little tree, you should have seen her for the real thing! She spontaneously burst into song with each ornament. "I am Like a Star" for a star, and of course "Frosty" when she came across a snowman. We managed to get a repeat performance on video for your viewing pleasure:

The finished tree is appropriately ghetto. You can't tell from the pictures, but there are two differently colored strands of lights on the tree (note for next year: buy white lights!), the ornaments are the somewhat haphazard result of a toddler's placement, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Nothing matches and it would be terrible in a holiday display, but each ornament tells a story from our life. Come on over and I'll share them with you!