Packing It Up

Years ago during one of  my hair cut appointments, my stylist shared with me that she and her husband bought a Christmas ornament each year for each of their children to represent something significant about the year, or just to help them remember what it was that they loved most during that age and stage of life.

I had never heard of this before and immediately knew that I wanted to do this for my children.

Since that point, I realized that this is actually a fairly common tradition for families.

Who knew? 

I was in the dark.

This has been one of the most fun parts of Christmas every year. We love coming up with the ideas, shopping, and wrapping up a new ornament for each of the boys.  They are getting old enough now that they can typically guess within a few tries what it is that they will open. 

Now that Christmas has come and gone, we are getting ready to take it all down and pack it up for another year.  

We are taking one more trip down memory lane before we wrap it up.

The old son...

2002

Baby's First Christmas

A two month old doesn't get all that excited about Christmas.

2003 

He loved, loved, loved trains.

2004 

First tractor rides with daddy and grandpa during harvest, working the fields, and planting wheat.

 

2005
All things Bob the Builder (and Scoop, Muck, and Dizzy...and Lofty, too...)

 

2006

First plane ride - Baby brother's adoption

(The ornament looks much cooler without the names blacked out.) :)

2007

"I Am Speed"- I am pretty sure we watched the movie at least 150 times.

 

2008
Kindergarten! 

 

 2009

The year he started piano.

 2010

Mario fascination

 

2011
His favorite ornament - the year he got his dirt bike.

 

2012
You might be a redneck if...
you hang this tacky ornament on the tree.
Love the actual camper....the ornament, not so much.

The young son...

2006
Baby's First Christmas
The first Christmas is a whole lot more fun at 10 months!

2007
"Ride the tractor, Daddy!"

2008

Thomas fascination

2009
This child could never have too many dinosaurs.

2010
And bugs, bugs, bugs...we could get him this ornament every year.

 2011

First year of school (and a love for Curious George)!

 

2012

You are not cool until you have two of these hanging on your Christmas tree.

And 2013...

No picture.

I know I took one.

I can't find the SD card.

Ugh.

A trap set for the old one (first year of drums), and a piano for the young one (first year of piano).

Maybe I'll find the card by next year...if not, we'll just restage it.  No one will be the wiser!