Ava went back to school today after our vacation and her Thanksgiving break. (I will do a post on Disney, hopefully...eventually. It would be pointless without pictures.) I reminded Ava last night that she had to go to school in the morning. Rhys said, "No! I will miss her!" Needless to say, he got used to having full access to Ava and we needed to plan a busy morning.
So we started to prep for Christmas. We had to move the dog cage around, vacuum and mop. I did an initial cleaning with the vacuum and Rhys then took over. He really was into helping. We got the tree out and set it up. He had fun fanning out the branches. I hated the old bitter yuck spray we had put on the tree in years past getting in my mouth. Our pre-lit tree has dead lights. It is now just a cluttery looking dark tree. Ava requested multi-color lights this year, so I had gotten some on this giant wheel looking thing. Rhys focused enough to stand on the other side of the tree and pass the lights back to me. It was actually impressive that at this point in time, he had paid attention for over an hour.
We then got crazy and got the ladder out and hung some lights up outside. Never in my life have I done this. It wasn't that hard at all. They might blow off with the first breeze, but oh well. He even hammered in a nail and I almost dropped a hammer on my head. It was a very efficient project.
After Ava got home, we made some snow man door hanger decorations and I spent the afternoon ignoring pleas to start putting on decorations. We waited for Justin to get home to do that. Ava was so excited to see ornaments that she recognized and remembered. She also liked seeing all the ones she has made. Rhys was bummed that he didn't have any that he had made or gotten from events. He did like playing with all the movable ornaments and singing his own version of Jingle Bells every time one had a bell of sorts on it. I am so looking forward to Christmas this year. I don't think it is going to be fancy or elaborate. I just think both of them are the right age to make it so fun.
