It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

So just like a lot of things, everyone says that the holidays start to have an entirely other meaning when children come along.  Elliot isn't even old enough to know the difference, but I am finding myself all caught up in the season in a way I never have been.

Sunday seemed the perfect day to get our tree; the first weekend at home in a while.  Pat was quite the trooper-- he hit 5 places, with 2 being sold out and the others not living up to his standards before he had a tree that was acceptable.  We decided against trucking Elliot along for the novelty.  (As you can see here, I was trying to get him to focus on the amazement of the tree, and he hardly noticed it was there...)

My job then was decorating.  As always, I'm on my second strand and the first one goes half way out.  "Don't throw it out, I'll mess with it," Pat promises.  Even without that strand, we weren't nearly done.  10pm, I run to our trusty 24-hour Walgreens.  Sold out.  Onward to Target.  Sold out.  I grab the last box of dangling icicle lights and head home, after circling the Christmas aisles about 3 times in disbelief (we're not THAT late, are we?!).  All excited to complete the job, determined to not go to bed with the mess still out, I go to plug in the new lights... and the plugs are not compatible.  I start a dramatic diatribe, poking fun at myself, when we solve the solution by digging out a big green extension cord to run from the center of the tree for the new lights.  Voila.  And, by the way, icicle lights are lovely to cover a dense tree.  Try it!

Had to get that extra stocking this year.

On Saturday, I did a workshop for teachers at the Chicago Teachers Center.  Pat manned the boy.  I called to see how he was doing on my drive home, "Oh, he's asleep in the Jumperoo."  Awww, this is becoming a habit apparently.  "Yea, he's been asleep for an hour or so..."  Oh.  I usually take him out once he conks, thinking he's not comfy or shouldn't sleep that way or something.  I took a breath and let go, then finding out that there had already been one round of Pat trying to remove the sleeping baby only to have him perk right back up, so he decided against this move when the situation arose again.  Ok.  I guess it doesn't look that uncomfortable.