[her speedy-evening feast of Princess-shaped pasta. mom & dad had cupcakes from Butter Lane.]

[notice our lovely but as-yet undecorated tree in the back]
. . . . . . . . .

i’m happy to report that i survived the busiest weekend of the season… two 12-hour singing days have left me exhausted but happy.  last year i remember singing full force every day through the 25th (then collapsing into an exhausted mess around 2:30 Christmas Day); this year i’ve got a little slow-down before the real frenzy picks up again, and i’m loving the possibilities.  i wasn’t home when emma watched Rudolph for the first time this week, so i asked her about it the next morning…

me: Em, did you watch Rudolph last night?

em: Not Rude-off, Rude-ON!

me: oh, did you watch Rude-on the Red Nose Reindeer, then?

em: Yeah!!!  i like Rude-ON.

 
and indeed she DOES like Rude-on, and The Polar Express (although i find the animation scary and a wee bit creepy), and opening the little window to retrieve the piece of chocolate from the advent calendar every night, and anything with Santa (who she simply calls “Christmas!”).  she has her very own little tree in her room, and she and daddy picked out our sweet Douglas Fir this afternoon.  control-freak mom (*ahem*) is excited to put the lights on just right tomorrow, and we’ll be decking the hall (and the bedrooms, and the bathrooms, and the kitchen…) all week.  maybe it’s the christmas-birthday-baby in me, but i love this season so very very much, and i am giddy with excitement at sharing it with emma.

[one of my favorite christmas decorations; grandma ruby's ceramic lite-brite tree]

[you can't tell from these pictures, but the nose lights up.  of course.]