So this is Christmas

We have a little Christmas-countdown chalkboard that we've had out since Thanksgiving, counting down the days until Christmas. I keep it on the piano. Generally, I try to update it each evening after the kids go to bed, so it will be correct for the next day.

This morning, Noah woke up first, as per usual, and came into our room asking if he could cuddle with me for a little while. He climbed into bed, and as we were snuggling, I asked him if he knew how many days it was until Christmas.

He thought for a second, then said, "...two?"

I shook my head.

He perked up a little bit, and guessed, "One??!?" with excitement sneaking into his voice.

When I nodded, he shot up in bed and exclaimed, "I'll go check!" and raced out the door and down the stairs.

It dawned on me that he was going down to check that countdown chalkboard. It also dawned on me that I had neglected to change it the night before.

Moments later, Noah came back up the stairs. He climbed into bed, and, with just a trace of detectable disappointment, said, "Nope. It's not one day 'til Christmas yet. It's still two days 'til Christmas."

That blasted chalkboard. In this house, it's like the divine authority on the arrival of Christmas. Nevermind that the calendar says its the 24th of December, nevermind that the stores are having Christmas Eve sales. The chalkboard says two days 'til Christmas.

Thankfully, Travis soon woke up and remedied the situation for us:

By the way, it was his idea to x out the "s" in "days". He couldn't stand that the sign be grammatically incorrect by declaring "1 days 'til Christmas". Yep, another grammar snob in the house. That's my boy.

Today, we traveled to the in-laws. And what would Christmas be without some good old golf-cart sledding?

The big kids even got in on the fun. That's Aunt Jody with Nate, trying to overtake Noah in the sledding race.

And finally, I leave you with a couple pictures of our Santa set-up. Of course we set out cookies and milk, and some apples for the reindeer. This year, Travis wanted to leave Santa a note.

"Dear Santa, Under our tree is full so please leave some of our presents by our shoes. We are leaving apple slices for your reindeer. I hope they like them. Love, Travis."