A Life in Ornaments: Kate

Yesterday, I shared Matt's life in ornaments, and the day before, mine. Now it's Kate's turn--all two years of that life!

I was 36 weeks pregnant at Christmas 2008, and one of my oldest childhood friends searched high and low for a "parents to be" ornament for us. She found this sweet little bear, and I marked the details on its feet. You can barely see it in this photo, but instead of a metal hook to hang it, I used some yarn from the baby blanket I was crocheting for Kate. I never finished it because a) I ran out of yarn and couldn't find a matching skein and b) because I got a bazillion blankets as shower gifts and didn't really feel she needed another!

Christmas 2009 was Kate's first Christmas, and at 11 months, she was arguably much more fun than Matt was at his first Christmas (barely 1 month old) or me (at six months old). We rightly suspected that we wouldn't get too many "baby's first Christmas" ornaments because people outside our family would think "now, is this her first or her second? Hmm..." So, we just got one from each set of grandparents, which is just perfect!

Wanting to get ornaments for Kate that reflect what was special about her year, I got her this sweet giraffe to honor her many "raffis."

And of course, I had to get an Elmo ornament. Abby would have been even better, but the lavender gift under Elmo's left foot is labeled "to Abby," so I guess that works! She loves it, and it definitely commemorates her Elmo-obsession that is such a part of our lives right now.

Can you believe this weekend is the last one before Christmas? I'll be doing a little baking, wrapping my last couple gifts, and just enjoying the season. I still get excited like a little kid about Christmas--mainly because I look forward to seeing Kate enjoy herself as only a little kid can.

What Christmas preparations are you doing this weekend?