Sunday, December 6, 2009

Beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

Saturday morning, Ari was up early, as usual, but we put on the TV and lounged around in bed a little longer. This has become our Saturday morning routine, and I love it.

After we dragged ourselves out of bed, Tony ran off to do some errands, and after I got myself and Ari ready, I did some errands of my own. Just one, really--Kohl's. Ari got some money from her Pappy (Tony's dad) for Christmas, and she's in desperate need of some 4T clothes (since her shirts and pants are suddenly becoming too short on her). Armed with coupons, we headed off to Kohl's.

When all was said and done, I got her 3 pairs of pants (adjustable waist, FTW), 3 shirts, and a pajama set... and I even snagged a pair of jeans for myself. Everything I grabbed was on sale, and several of the items rang up cheaper than they were marked. I had $10 Kohl's cash from a previous purchase, a $10 coupon I'd gotten in the mail, and a 15% off coupon. I didn't figure I'd be able to use all 3 at once, but the cashier said she'd try... and every single one went through. My grand total was $40.23. I was totally psyched. (I saved $117, according to the receipt.) Even better... I grabbed the jeans without trying them on (Ari was getting a smidge antsy at this point), which I never do... but I tried them on when I got home, and they fit fantastically.

Tony left around 3 with his crew of guys, ready to spend the afternoon tailgating before the 8 pm college football game they had tickets for. The cold drizzle of rain had become more steady by the time they left, and it turned to snow not long after. Figures it's been oddly mild most of the fall, and we get our first snow of the season on the day they plan to spend 8+ hours outside. They were all still excited about going, and I was more than happy to spend the rest of the day indoors, being lazy with Ari. We watched "Monsters vs. Aliens" (cute movie) and played around. After she went to bed, I continued my laziness and watched a couple movies. Hey, it's not often I get the remote all to myself.

This afternoon, we finally set up our tree. Tony got it from my parents' house a few days ago, but with crazy schedules and such, we didn't have a time when all 3 of us were home together until today. Ari was so into it this year, which was so sweet--ever since Tony brought the Christmas stuff home, she's been asking when we're going to set up the tree. And yes, I have pictures.

Showing off her new Little Einsteins ornament. We've started a tradition where we buy her an ornament each year, something symbolic, and the idea is that when she's all grown-up, she'll take all these ornaments with her to put on her own tree. Her first Christmas was a no-brainer--we got a "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornament. The past 2 years we've gotten a Belle ornament and a Nemo ornament. But this year was the first year she actually picked one out on her own--and we weren't surprised when she chose Little Einsteins.



She was also very excited about the star for the top of the tree. (Note that she still has the Little Einsteins ornament in her hand. She didn't really seem to understand that it was a decoration, not a toy. I'm surprised she didn't break it before we got it on the tree.)



Helping Daddy put the star on top...



Of course, the Little Einsteins ornament was the first one to go on the tree... and then she had to take a moment to admire it.



My mom gave me a few ornaments that used to be on our tree when I was a little kid, so I had to get pictures of them. I mean, they're practically antiques now, right?



This gingerbread house was one of my favorites as a kid, and I always insisted on being the one to hang it. I let Ari do the honors this year. (OK, fine, I might have helped a little.)



I like the thoughtful look on her face in this shot...



She was so careful with the ornaments...



...even though she was super-excited.



And, in case you haven't gotten enough of her, here's a short video of her decorating the tree. This was the only ornament that got dropped the whole time--and of course, I caught it on film. Oh, and don't mind my voice--I'm still fighting off this cold that seems fully focused on my throat and on making me sound stupid. Well, stupider than usual.

Ariana 12-6-09 from Sariana on Vimeo.

2 comments:

Mary said...

hey, pretty good deals from Kohl's--awesome possum :)

We used to laze around in bed on Saturdays and watch TV with Matthew, but our little old TV that we got for free broke, and we haven't replaced it yet.

Matthew was around for some of our Christmas decorating, but he got into things more than actually helping.

I like how you guys had Ari pick out her own ornament. And I love her pigtails. Do you remember when my hair was that curly, only dark and not blond? Not that Ari looks like me or anything, but the hair did for a moment.

Here's to feeling better! Matthew's still hanging onto his cough from when he was sick.

Moz + Pam said...

Love your rotating Christmas tree! Can't wait to see it on your birthday! We'll be getting our tree up late this year! We've been away so much. We usually get it up the day after Thanksgiving.