'Tis the Season

Call me crazy, but I'm not crazy about Thanksgiving. Of course I love the family time, delicious food, and the extra long weekend off from work, but Christmas - glorious Christmas - is what I yearn for every year. To say that I love this time of year would be a complete understatement.

On the day after Thanksgiving, we kicked off the Christmas season with some shopping. I'm not really a Black Friday shopper but we did end up getting a couple of deals. Mainly, K and I headed into town to pick up some items we needed (fun stuff like paper towels and cotton balls).

Our trip to Target turned into the coolest trip to Target I've ever taken when we ran into Rico ('Manny from Modern Family) and Raini Rodriguez. Kathryn was weirded out why her mother would put two strangers in front of her and take a picture, but they couldn't have been sweeter!

As we were checking out at Target, Kathryn asked me what I was putting on the conveyor belt. I told her that we were buying paper towels. She then turned to the cashier and told her "those are paper towels for my daddy's boogies". In related news, Kathryn makes my days a lot more interesting.

The day after Thanksgiving also means hauling the decorations out of the closets. I just loved Kathryn's excitement the entire time we decorated. She was awe the magic that only Christmas can deliver.

Admiring her work

For a few years I've wanted to buy an Elf on a Shelf and finally did this year. It couldn't have been a more perfect time to buy 'her'. If you're not familiar with this fun tradition, it's a neat way to countdown to Christmas (and excellent reminder for kiddos to behave because Santa's Elf is watching). 

As the story goes, the Elf arrives each morning in a different spot to watch over the children in house and then reports back to Santa each night. You can tell the Elf secrets (let her know what you want for Christmas) but to preserve the magic of the Elf, you can't touch her (we have a 'her' but you can also get a 'him'). I can't even count the amount of times that Kathryn has turned to the Elf and said "she's watching me. I'm being a good girl".

The rest of our weekend was low-key. We took walks, played, cleaned, snuggled (this is Kathryn's new thing - she must be snuggled until she falls asleep for naps and bedtime), and I watched more of K's personality unfold.

She tells me this is her 'dig site'.

We knew that Kathryn has a sensitive side, but in the last few days I've seen her show even more sensitivity. If I have to raise my voice and say 'no' to her, major feelings are hurt. "My tears are falling down" is often what happens and once they're wiped away, all is well. So sweet and sad at the same time.

There were more smiles than tears this weekend, though. 

Kathryn loves to pretend she's the mommy to her baby. She knocks on the front door, I invite her into the house, she takes care of her baby and tells me she has to go to work and run errands. When I asked her where she works, her response? "I help people with their taxes". WHAT?!?

While she was drawing a picture, I kindly asked her where one of the market caps were. Her response? "Just relax, Momma. Don't be crazy." We've entered into a whole new stage.

Christmas (and apparently adulthood for Kathryn) here we come!