Rockin' around the tree in oh-five

Last year we didn't get a Christmas tree. Isaac was a psycho-fast crawler and we had a hard enough time the year before that trying to keep cat-brother from littering the floor with shards of glass ornaments he had batted off the tree -- we figured together, the two of them were a recipe for disaster (or at least for hospital visits). This year, as far as Isaac goes, the curiosity and mobility are much advanced, but we decided having a tree now would be good for all of us to help spread the Christmas cheer (and to train us for the inevitable tree encounters that will occur when we visit the grandparents for the holidays).

We bought our tree at a small lot run by and benefiting a local boy scout troop. The scouts and their leaders were so nice and helpful, and one of them even volunteered to snap this picture of us in front of our chosen tree.



We ran to KMart for a tree skirt and some candy, because Dada and I needed chocolate fuel to help us be extra merry. We ended up buying a big canister of Martha-Stewart-approved red jingle bells, which were nice and unbreakable; we also let Isaac choose an ornament (an airplane) for himself, something that should make a nice tradition to continue in the coming years. At home, I busied myself stringing the bells up with gold ribbon (more toddler-safe than rusty metal hooks, yes?) while the boys decorated the tree together. A picture-perfect Christmas so far, don't you think?