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As soon as we got our Christmas tree, the girls started asking when we could decorate it. Fortunately, the wait was not long (2 days).

In the beginning, the girls told Jen they could handle the big tree, and she could stick to the little tiny one.

Fortunately, the tree is wide enough to get close to the love seat. It can be a helpful tool in reaching a bit higher.

To reach even higher, you can stand on the love seat arm, though you need a hand to steady you.

And then sometimes you need even more height and have to pull out the ladder.

The girls in this family need as much help reaching up high as they can. And with this big tree, I ended up on the ladder a lot as well.

One nice thing about a tree this big - you don’t have to pick and choose ornaments to go on. There’s room for them all.

Here’s what it looks like all lit up.

Here’s the tree with a bit of the rest of the room for size comparison. I think this is the biggest tree we’ve ever had in terms of girth. I cut a good bit off the bottom and a bit off the top so it would fit under our 9 foot ceiling (barely), but it’s also really big around. Watching TV is slightly more difficult than usual, but we really enjoy this awesome tree.

As we have done for the past five years, we went to Greenway Farms in Woodbine to cut down our Christmas tree. Again, we opted for a White Pine (which they sell for only $25 regardless of how tall it is!). So, we made our way to the row of White Pines and looked for the best one. Here are Jen and the girls in front of our pick.

Unfortunately, when I went to cut it down I found a problem. It had 2 smaller trunks that split just above ground level. Had I cut it down, I would have ended up with 2 disconnected trunks that happened to be tangled up. Fortunately, we had gone back and forth between this one and a different one, so it was easy to make a different choice.

Here they are with our final tree. This one did have a split, but it was up near the top. So, it wasn’t a problem. If you think the tree looks big, you’re right. It measured 10 feet 4 inches from the ground. Our family room has a 9 foot ceiling.

The tree farm is next to a horse farm. So, naturally Molly wanted to pose with a horse.

Tune in next time to see how our giant tree fit in our house.

A couple of weeks ago we realized it had been a long time since our last real photoshoot. With the need to print Christmas cards arriving soon, we picked the warmest available day we could and planned an outing. Jen and I looked through lots of locations, but ended up choosing to go to Rockburn Branch Park.

Give me a kiss!

Suddenly, Leah became much older than she was a few minutes ago.

These girls manage to always have fun. This can make it hard to stay on task sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jen thought it would be fun for the girls to wear their hats. I thought I might wear one as well, and then suggested Jen join in the fun too.

This picture made it onto the back of the Christmas card.

And this picture was the big winner for the front of the Christmas card. Jen got a crate and some letters for the perfect extra touch.

Note that the hats did eventually come off.

As the sun went down, it started to get colder. The girls let me take one last picture before heading to the car to warm up.

This is just a taste of the photoshoot, but you can see all the great pictures on Flickr.

While Jen and I got to meet Charlie at the hospital, Molly and Leah were not so lucky. Fortunately, Charlie came home from the hospital yesterday, which meant Molly and Leah got to meet their new cousin. They were so excited to meet this sweet little guy.

Of course, they were excited to hold Charlie. Molly was all smiles for her little cousin.

Charlie checks out the world; Molly checks out his face; Jen and Leah check out his feet.

Charlie is really studying Molly here.

Leah loved to touch Charlie’s soft little face.

Charlie has soft chubby cheeks, but his hands are old man hands. Long, thin, wrinkled fingers. Here they are up close.

Eventually, his mom did get a chance to hold him.

The girls gave Jen a chance to hold him, but they didn’t go far.

Molly loved chilling with Charlie, but she also would get tired of it and want to get up. Leah, on the other hand, couldn’t get enough of him.

So cute!

It didn’t take long before he was back in Leah’s lap.

Leah could not stop stroking his hair.

Yay for Charlie! And good luck to Aunt EA and Uncle Scott. We can’t wait to see you guys again.

Aunt EA and Uncle Scott had their first child Thursday evening. Welcome to the world, Charlie.

Jen and I didn’t get to see Charlie right after his birth, but we made sure to get to the hospital the next morning to meet him.

It’s been a while since I’ve held a baby this tiny.

Jen can’t hold back the kisses when around such cuteness.

I failed to get a picture of Aunt EA as a new mom, but I did get one of Uncle Scott as a new dad.

Congratulations Aunt EA and Uncle Scott! And welcome to the family, Charlie (or Charles, if you prefer). Your cousins can’t wait to meet you tomorrow after you get home (non-sibling children were not allowed to visit in the hospital during flu season).