Kaylani's "First" Christmas

Officially this will be Kaylani's third Christmas, but it feels like HER first, even though it's not OUR first. Subtle difference in language, but big difference in events leading up to Christmas.

Christmas shopping for us started about a month ago. Okay, all lying aside, it really started about a week ago (but we had ideas and intentions of starting a month ago). The past 2 years with Kaylani, we bought her small gifts that we knew she would play with then or at some point. And we let her open them, touch them, and pose for pictures with them. But this year feels different. This year, we think she's really going to enjoy Christmas. So far, everything she's done confirms that.

For example, while trick or treating at Peddlers Village the day before Halloween, she saw a Santa doll and said "Santa says 'Ho Ho Ho'". And right before we went to cut down our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Kaylani kept telling me to "get out of the living room so Christmas could come in," which was because I was telling her the tree was going to go in the corner. And when we took her to get her picture taken with Santa, or when we saw him at Houlihan's during lunch, she told him she wanted a "big oso (bear)."

And the top moment that Mommy saw (Papa missed) was when Santa came around the neighborhood ona fire truck, and personally came to our door because he was Kaylani standing there. Her face when that happened was PRICELESS, and even brought Mommy to tears. To this day, she still says Santa gave her a candy cane (which he did), and also that Santa will bring her gifts.

All of that just makes us want to make the holiday season more and more special for her. We keep buying small gifts here and there because we know she'll love it, or more stocking stuffers because they're "perfect", or more decorations (like a Santa cookie plate) so we can really start our own tradition. Because we've got some traditions already (like Christmas Eve night at Yin Yin/Yea Yea's house with the family), we're gonna have Christmas come a little early. When Kaylani wakes up tomorrow, we'll do our own little Christmas morning before heading over. And if I had to guess right now, I think her face is going to be priceless when she sees all her gifts under the tree and the cookies eaten. She'll be so excited that she probably won't even notice that the couch smells a little bit like milk since Papa sat on the milk she left out for Santa and spilled it all over. And because of that, I can't wait. Merry Christmas!