Twas the Night Before Christmas

I literally have a ton of holiday books (yep, the ex-reading teacher strikes again) and I read just about every single one of them in the past month. Molly's really liked the Velveteen Rabbit, Santa's Sleigh and Reindeer Games, but her all time favorite, without a doubt, was The Night Before Christmas.
l
How do I know this? Because I read it sooooo many times that I can recite the entire thing from memory. Every single word. Even the part about the dry leaves in the hurricane meeting with an obstacle and mounting to the sky. Yea, every single word.

In all honesty, I think Molly really liked the illustrations in the James Marshall version of The Night Before Christmas more so than the words. We've looked at, talked about and acted out each illustration more times than I can count. According to Molly, our little family was even represented in the book. She named the bulldogs (who appear on almost every page) Mommy, Daddy and Molly.

Anyhoo,when it came time to pick a book to read under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, of course you know the selection. This was perfectly fine with me. I love the classics. Gee, I might actually get a Norman Rockwell moment after all!

After the story, it was time to put the cookies out for Santa. Ahhh, the cookies. Still gets my blood pressure up a little bit when I think about the decorating experience (see previous post). But despite the memories, the cookies were plated up and ready for Santa.

Molly kept telling me all week, "Santa loves cookies and I love cookies." Apparently she feels a certain bond with Santa over this shared taste for treats.

And we can't forget the milk.....

Once everything was set, Molly sat down at the fireplace. She just sat there. When I asked her what she was doing, she replied, "Waiting for Santa, Mommy."
I thought that we had covered this about a billion times: YOU HAVE TO BE ASLEEP BEFORE SANTA WILL COME!

Ah well, you can't blame a girl for trying! Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!

If you are coming to the blog looking for pictures of Molly opening gifts on Christmas morning, hang in there. They're coming soon, I promise!