Trimming the Tree

Yesterday we put our tree up. Big ceremonious event. Joe and I pondered in the living room for a good 20 minutes, trying to decide where to put it this year. We go through this every year. Kai watched us and kept saying, "What you doing?". Our final decision involved moving most of our living room furniture around to accommodate our green friend. Part of the problem is that we bought our tree 5 years ago, when we lived in a different (bigger) house, with a different (bigger) living room. Don't worry, our tree is not a bundle of dried twigs 5 years later...it's still green and beautiful.

Tonight we pulled out the boxes of Christmas stuff out and decorated our tree. I know some people have a very put together, matchy- matchy tree. I know some people have a different themed tree every year. Not us. We have a very homey tree. All (or most) of our ornaments have been gifts from friends and family. The only ones that match are because they're part of an ornament series. We have fake glass balls that are 11 years old and seem to make it through every holiday season. Best $5 we ever spent. I wouldn't have our tree any other way.

To me, our tree ornaments are like a history of our life together. One from the first Christmas we were married, one from the first Christmas after buying a house, one from the first Christmas with our little man. Part of the ornament fun is seeing everything that's been packed away for a year. I will inevitably forget about a few key ornaments, and be pleasantly surprised when I find them.

Last year, Kai didn't "help" us decorate the tree. Tonight he did.

I loved telling him about all the ornaments, who they were from or what had happened the year we got them.

He loved crawling under the tree and pretending to be a present.

(And at the risk of sounding like a total sap... he is the best present ever!)