Over the weekend we headed to a pop-up Christmas tree farm, set up just a few miles from our home. I love the garden lights and pennant flags they hang above, the wood chips scattered on the floor of the Earth, the smell of fresh pine. It makes living in the city feel less city and a bit more country. We will be visiting our families in Michigan over the holidays. We won’t be in Los Angeles on Christmas morning, but we still wanted to get a tree for our kids to decorate.
Waking up in the morning and turning on the Christmas tree lights is one of my favorites parts of this time of year :) And probably just like you, our tree is beautifully lopsided with allllllll the felt ornaments. This year we have two sets of tiny hands helping me re-arrange the ornaments! And also just like you, they come by hourly to inspect their work ;)
It’s crazy to think back to an entire year ago. Natalie was just over a month old, Maxwell was learning what it meant to be a big brother, and Zack and I were deep in the “we are parents of two little babes!” fog. We’ve all come so far in an entire year, that’s for sure!
It’s good for me to remember that how my children feel about Christmas and the month of December and decorating our tree and baking together is exactly how I felt as a child: pure excitement. As a parent, it’s easy for this time of year to feel like “extra” with all the additional activities going on. But as a child, I never felt that. This is a special time of year, and that realization is something to reflect on when the crazy tries to settle in. Our children are happy, safe and living in a home that’s bursting with love. And that is my desire for them as their parent.
PS. visiting the tree farm wouldn’t be the same without a quick game of family TAG! :) Zack is so fun.
Last year our tree was barricaded with a basket and exersaucer. This year it is {surprisingly} fully decorated with even presents underneath! Last year our crawler just couldn’t get enough of it. This year, he’s 20-months old and after a little pep talk on the first day that we don’t touch the “balls”, he has been content to stand with his toes on the tips of the tree skirt pointing out all the lights. We’ll see what next year brings when baby #2 is involved!
I can imagine Max taking a leadership role over the new baby and “do not touch the tree”, and Natalie off somewhere playing with books, completely un-phased by it all ;D
we used to go get a fresh tree, but when I got older we got a fake one. I’m looking forward to doing this with my future kids. I used to love baking with my mom and grandma-I can’t wait to do that!
looks like you all had a blast!
Allison
Oh Maggie – that last black and white photo of Zack, Natalie and Maxwell playing tag, with Maxwell’s blurry form running by? That photo stopped me in my tracks and took my breath away!