Deck the Halls. . . Toddler Style

So many things come as a surprise to new parents. Most of them are really no-brainers, but really--who spends their time "waiting for baby" contemplating the fact that an all liquid diet is obviously going to equate to all liquid-filled diaper changes. Mothers-to-be are occupied by other important duities, such as the task of laying out all the little clothes, and then folding them and organizing them, then laying them all back out again. . .

So the holidays roll around an we anticipate the joy of sharing our longstanding traditions with our little ones. Then comes trouble. They pull all the ornaments off the tree. They eat and shred the wrapping paper off all the wrapped presents. They pull down and suck on little strands of colored lights. And where in the house could you possibly put the beautiful porcelain nativity scene passed down from your grandmother? Well, no where, not for about 8 more years, that is.

So what's a mom to do? Jeremy's parents were kind enough to send the boys an early christmas present this year. We spent black friday cleaning up the house, putting up the christmas decorations, and opening this special gift from the grandparents.


It's Fisher Price Little People. And yes, it's a "Little" bit cheesy. But when I think about the fact that this is a Christmas decoration that the boys can "touch," not just "look," and when I think about how useful this will be for teaching family home evening lessons about the birth of the savior, the star, angels, and wise men bearing gifts, and when I think of how this toy will be a tradition that the boys love and look forward to unpacking every year. . . it makes me very happy.

See the little City of David in the background? That's my favorite part.

(Baby J's favorite thing is whatever is on top of the stable, even if it's a cow or wise man.)