It is so wonderfully different this year!

For starters...look at Addie standing all by herself and reaching so high to try her best to put an ornament on the tree!Then there is Julien who can almost reach higher than me this year!Finally...the beautiful sight of my baby girl learning what we were doing. She doesn't quite understand the whole concept, but this year is different.

Addie knows that we put all this stuff onto or into the tree, what she doesn't understand is there are items we don't put onto or into the tree and we definitely don't pick and choose which ornaments to take off at random times throughout the day and evening.

We also do not hoard ornament's under our arms to carry through the house showing anybody who will look.

Oh no, these are things we shouldn't do...but yet seem to be happening.

Julien, Chris and I are just so thrilled to see the look of amazement and excitement on Addie's face, that we just don't care how many pine cones she steals from the fireplace to put into the tree or the fact that our tree is now drooping from Addie playing with the ornaments.

This is the first year that she even seems to take notice that we have a Christmas Tree and we're not going to waste time on the small things that don't matter.

We are going to enjoy the innocence that we get to see through the eyes of our very special baby!

For all of you that bring out your corduroy Polo's, wool socks, put on merry Christmas melodies, start a fire in the fireplace and inhale the smell of fresh apple cider as it wafts through the house while you and your family glide oh so joyously around the entryway trimming the tree...God love you.

We do good to even be properly dressed, while stepping over Rubbermaid containers to wipe a runaway Monkey's nose, throwing broken ornaments into empty boxes and asking who the lucky soul is that is going to be stuck with making lunch.

Oh, the holidays...aren't they wonderfully delightful?