Jingle Bells

Marianne is still singing "Jingle Bells", so I can post a few Christmas pictures, right?

Here's a picture of Marianne enjoying her aunts and uncles at the Yoder Family Christmas. Her very own cozy coupe!

Future Lady Blue Devil? (At this point, the basketball goal hasn't gotten any action except from Daddy...but you never know)

Yay! We got to see Brandy and Colin (one of three boys on the "pre-approved" list) at the Christmas Eve service. What a cutie!

Marianne cheezin' for the camera with Daddy.

We had such a fun time this holiday season, with gifts and yummy food galore. The best part, of course, was spending time with our families and watching Marianne enjoy the festivities, the food, the folks, and of course all the Christmas music.

Christmas 2008 wouldn't be complete without a mention of "The Christmas Toy", aka "Tiger". This made-for-TV Jim Hensen production was first aired in the mid-80s, and I grew up watching it every year. This is the first year it came out on DVD (retire the old VHS copy filled with 1980s Christmas commercials!) and PaPa got us a copy. In true toddler fashion, it immediately became Marianne's favorite show and she begged us to watch it all day long. Begged, pleaded, cried, and stomped her feet. Trying to keep our TV time to a minimum, I decided that we'd watch it once a day, in the evening after supper. She quickly learned that she could watch "Tiger" anytime at PaPa and GaGa's house, and even started calling PaPa "Tiger".

We went cold turkey on "The Christmas Toy" on January 6, and Marianne still asks to watch it but seems to understand when I tell her that Tiger is with Santa. I can't wait to break it out the day after Thanksgiving and see if she remembers it!

Now go ahead and google "The Christmas Toy"...you know you want to!