"Like a kid at Christmas"

I don't think I ever really understood that phrase until this year.  Madison is at such a great age.  She gets it!!
She's so excited about Christmas!  She's really excited to see family and spend time with them (we live over an hour away from my side) and don't see Ryan's extended family all that often either... so she's really excited about that part.  She knows that it is Jesus' birthday but of course, people don't ask if she's excited for that part, they ask if she's excited for Santa... which she is... of course she is.

We've been singing so many Christmas songs together and her memory blows me away... I figured that she'd learn "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" but today we were in Target finishing up some last minute shopping when I hear her singing, "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart... and the very next day, you gave it away... this year.... la la la tears... I'll give it to someone special"... pretty darn good, I think!!!

Its just so funny, last year (and the year before, obviously) we could buy her presents when she was with us... she'd actually play with them in the cart and then forget about them... but not this year.  You can't get anything by her!!  However, she does understand secrets...We told her that the only secrets she can keep from Mommy and Daddy are presents... and Ryan took her shopping for all gifts this year and she keeps telling me, "Mumma, no peeking, and its a secret, so you wont know until Christmas"...

I love it.  I love her excitement and innocence.  I love that she only asked Santa for M&M's when she met him... I forgot to blog about that experience. 

We went to the Swansea Mall (which is a pretty po-dunk mall, but I figured it wouldn't be crowded and I was just wasting time while Ryan was helping his dad rake leaves a few weeks ago)... so up until now, she hasn't wanted to speak to santa or anything... We saw him and she said, "Mumma, can I go say hi to Santa?"
"Sure Maddie... lets go."
So we walk up there (I wasn't sure they'd let you just go say hi without a picture, but they did)..
Here's how the conversation went:

"Hi Little girl, what's your name"
"Madison."
"Oh that's a nice name. What would you like for Christmas?"
"M&M's please"
"Just M&M's?  You don't want a doll or a dress or nothing?" -yes, he said it just like that... I really think they pulled this man off the streets for the sole reason that he had a real beard... he was very trashy (with a yellow beard from smoking I'm sure and grammar that was embarrassing...)
"Nope, Just M&M's"
"Oh, ok.  Do you want to sit on my lap?"
without missing a beat and with a very dirty look, "WHY?"
"I don't know, to tell me what you want for Christmas"
"I just told you, just M&M's"
"Ok, well, I think you've been a good girl, so I think I could do M&M's this year"
"Ok Santa, thank you"

And that was it.

I can not wait to see her face on Christmas Morning... I can't wait to share the traditions that Ryan and I have already started with her... I feel like its her first Christmas... it's not, but its the first one that I think she'll remember... and the first that she really can express her excitement.

I'll do my best to take pictures but our camera stinks and we're not very good at remembering to take them!!!

Oh, I also forgot to mention that this house about a mile an a half from us does this awesome display of lights and we just heard about it... We went tonight and it was fantastic!!  You pay a donation to walk around and the guy donates all the donations to charity... what a great idea!!  There's actually a website about it and I think its great what they're doing!  Maddie just loved it!  We got her dressed up in pajamas and boots with her hat, coat and mittens and didn't tell her where we were going, just said we were going on an adventure... she loved it!! :)

http://www.bridgewaterfestivaloflights.com/