We had this paper advent calendar growing up that we reused year after year and I always liked getting up in the morning to open up the next day's window. So I told Emily about that and last year she got this awesome felt advent calendar with 24 pockets and each day you take a new felt "ornament" out and put it on the felt tree. And Charlotte comes down stairs and sees the calendar and the first thing she'll say to me is "Daddy it's day 11!" and she'll wait for me or Emily to come over to work the calendar with her. It's a pretty nice way to start the day. Or on mornings we all forget, it's a great way to start our post work/school afternoon together.
She loves the tree. Emily brought the kids' table in their bedroom downstairs and put it next to the Christmas tree. Charlotte is allowed to have her breakfast and snack there, and she'll just sit there looking at her tree and her Christmas stocking, eating. Sometimes Happy joins her, sometimes she wants to sit in her high chair.
She loves Christmas music. We have been listening to KOOL 108's Christmas music so much that Charltotte thinks it's a CD and not a radio station because we have heard each song they play at least
She loves Christmas books. And Charlotte's personal librarian Suze has done a great job of keeping connected to Haps and Charlotte even though she can't be here with us this time. She sent Charlotte some stickers, one sheet which is still untouched and a regular decoration at the dinner table. And Charlotte used the other stickers to make holiday cards for decorations. And then all on her own she made a card for Suze, but wants to me to add a message to Suze from Charlotte before I send it off. We haven't found a good time to that because whenever I ask, Charlotte is busy coloring.
Anyway, two days ago Suze sent some Christmas books for Happy and Charlotte and immediately they were a HUGE hit. Here they are when they first got them. Note the homemade ribbon Charlotte is sporting. She asked Emily to make that for her.
And the last few nights Charlotte has created her own agnostic manger to sleep in. She always gets her stocking, which she treats like a doll, to sleep with, as well as the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas book from Suze (that poem was also a big part of our Christmas as a kid). Then she gets her Rody bouncy horse we bought for her for physical therapy that she never once used in any physical way. Only Rody isn't Rody anymore. He's Rudolph. And when I tuck the girls in I have to give Rudolph a kiss and then Charlotte makes sure he kisses me back. And by that I mean she acts like the green reindeer that looks like a pony is licking me like a dog. "Look Daddy. Rudolph is kissing you like Pancho!"
So Rody didn't make the shot in the picture below, but there is Charlotte is in her manger. Every night she lets the cat and book have half her bed. Note the cat stocking has a matching homespun bow that Emily made at Charlotte's request. Also, Charlotte is trying to make the exact same face that the cat is. She came pretty close. She has a bizarre knack to pretty much match any character's facial expression in a book.
Meanwhile Happy
Well that reminds me. There is one thing she loves about Christmas. Pulling ornaments off the tree. She's trying to train us to deal with it and we're trying to train her to stop doing it.
So far it's a stalemate in that regards.
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