Trimming the Tree

For a moment, we considered not getting a Christmas tree this year. We don't have our entertainment center anymore (Thanks to getting an awesome hand-me-down TV from my grandparents!) so we didn't have a good place to put a tree where the kids couldn't get it. But I couldn't stand the idea of not having one to get to decorate with Austin. (Besides, we missed one year like 5 years ago because we were lazy and still can't live down that we didn't get a tree every year!)

We got a cute little 3.5 footer and put it on an end table in the corner. That kept it out of McKenna's hands mouth, but there's only so much we could do about the 2 year old with selective hearing, other than decorate it with mostly non-breakable ornaments.

It's a good thing too cuz it fell over at least every other day. Sometimes with someone's help, but sometimes just on its own. The downside of having a small tree is it has a small trunk too and there just isn't much for the stand to hold onto.

In the end, it worked out well - it made it all the way to Christmas without a single casualty and Austin had a great time decorating it with me, looking at all the ornaments each day and working on his "one finger rule" touching.



Some of my favorite ornaments

Austin's "First Christmas" ornament


This was given to me by a dear friend in an ornament exchange. I love it!


Austin's ornament from last year. We picked it cuz he was obsessed with phones that year!


And still is - see?


McKenna got a Precious Moment's First Christmas ornament and Austin got a Woody & Buzz ornament this year but I forgot to take pictures of them. Hopefully I remember next year. Austin was HORRIBLY disappointed (read - cried hysterically) when he realized he didn't get to play with it - that is was only for looking and one finger touching.

A long time ago, my parents started a tradition of collecting ornaments on family vacations and we've tried to keep that going. Although I didn't get one on our honeymoon (cuz I didn't think of it until after we got home!), we have one from each of our other big vacations.

We got this in 2009 in Michigan, while visiting Brian's brother and sister-in-law. He's in the coast guard.


And we got this one in Catalina last summer. I heart this ornament because it could have been modeled after a picture of Austin playing in the sand.