I have barely any of my christmas shopping done so far this year, but I'm actually enjoying the season, which is a bit of a rarity for me. Usually I'm a total stress-ball about this time of year, having to deal with a zillion different people for whom I need to get gifts, as well as the usual stresses of who is going where on what day--the perils of having scattered family all over the place.

But this year is fun, and I totally blame it on Anna. She's utterly delighted at the entire concept. She announces with great regularity that she LOVES Santa, and LOVES Christmas, and LOVES Rudolph. She gets upset if the lights on the tree are not lit, and has already laid so much guilt on me for the fact that we have no lights outside our house that I know that before Christmas Eve, I'll be out on a ladder nailing lights onto our house to appease her. She sings Christmas carols constantly while in her car seat, but it's just so darn cute when she oes so it's impossible to get sick of it. Especially since she tends to be a bit liberal with the actual wording:

Rudoff red nose raindeah, has a shiny nose! And if you saw him! You would say we're closed!


I'm counting down the days to Christmas as eagerly as any kid, just because I can't wait to see how she reacts to Christmas morning.