Christmas!

This was Natalie's third Christmas but the first time she had any understanding of what was going on. We put up a Christmas tree, hung stockings, did "Elf on the Shelf", learned about the Nativity, saw Santa Clause and dressed in goofy red and green outfits for a whole month. The excitement of the Advent season was really contagious and Natalie was full of enthusiasm. She was a bit shy on Christmas morning, I think she thought there would be a jolly fat elf in her living room waiting for her... but once she saw all the toys and goodies Santa had left she was over the moon. Santa visited her at Grandmom's house, too; it was a day of present opening, toy assembly and eating ourselves silly... we were exhausted by the end of it.

Of course it's important to us that Natalie and Nick learn the true meaning of Christmas, and we tried to gently remind Natalie (Nick really didn't listen very well, ha!) throughout the season. Her school was good about that, too. But I figure she's got seven, maybe eight, solid years of truly believe in the magic of Santa Clause and since she's only got one chance at being a child, why not live it up? Having said that, though, this was a good year for her to become so aware. Since I had just had Nick, Natalie was very interested in "Baby Jesus and Her Mommy" (I'm sure some of the new age feminists I know would love that Natalie thinks Jesus is a girl) and that opened up an avenue for learning about Christ's birth. All in good time, though. Like I said before, she has a lifetime to honor Christ and a few years of childhood, I hope I can make these few special years as perfect as she is.