Letters Between Two Sisters

Dear Lorinda,

I'm so glad that you were able to have such a fun and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. There is nothing better than being able to spend the holiday doing things you love with the people you love. You can take comfort in the fact that Christmas is nearly here and then you will be able to do that again soon. Although that thought may also cause unneeded stress. So perhaps it is better that you don't think about how nearby Christmas really is.

I used to have the same belief as Gary about when Christmas decorations are allowed to go up. However, since we travel for Christmas, I've decided we need to put them up just a tad bit earlier so we can still enjoy them just as much. Therefore, we got the house decorated on Saturday. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to put up the Christmas tree this year. Little JT has quick and grabby hands, and is all too good at ignoring the word "No!" I knew he'd be mesmerized by the tree and wouldn't be able to resist checking it out. But, with a little bit of thought, I was able to figure out a barricaded place for the tree. We put it up while JT was napping and when he woke up he couldn't stop looking at it, and no doubt tried to see if he could get to it. He loves looking at it, and it has been the topic of many of his conversations. Although I can't understand what he's saying, he no doubt loves it. And I love it too. Along with all of the other decorations. I just absolutely love decorating for Christmas!

I think I'm nearly done shopping for little JT. I got him some baby crayons. I'm not sure how that will work out with him, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Then Monday while I was at the craft store, they had a huge bin of really big stuffed animals. I don't know why, but JT LOVES stuffed animals. Well, he loves anything that looks fuzzy. Whether it is a blanket, a stuffed animal, a real animal, my eyebrows. He's just a fan. At any rate, I walked passed this huge bin of big stuffed animals, and before I even noticed them, JT was making his "I gotta get my hands on that!" noise. I don't like to feed his stuffed animal addiction, but they were on sale for $11.99 and he just loved them, so I couldn't resist. He was loving on it the rest of the time he was in the store. (Let's be honest, there was just no way to keep a stuffed animal the size of him away from him) After that we went to another store where I got him a laptop. Well, a baby laptop. I knew it would be the perfect gift for him, and he played with it the rest of the time I was in the store. I know, I know, he's already seen and played with his Christmas presents. But by the time Christmas comes, he won't remember. And there was just no way to hide it from him. So I think I'm done. I will probably buy him a couple of books. And I think Santa might get him a slide, but I'm not sure. So that is a very long answer to your "Have you shopped for little JT yet?"

My next book club meeting is in one week and I'm no where near being finished with the book. So I'm off to read and figure out the mystery of who stole "The Moonstone".

XO
Ani