The Hixon House: O Christmas Tree

So sorry for the long gap in posts!! Hopefully not many of you are shocked by the delay. Free time is not as plentiful as it was before Caden arrived (by no means is this a complaint against our sweet boy, just a mere fact) and when I am able to carve out a few moments, writing a blog post has just not made the list.  Activities like bathing and doing laundry have gotten precedence. Life with our wonderful boy has been great!! Don't get me wrong there is definitely less sleep and the days of just getting up and going are gone, but our lives before Caden almost seem like a distant memory and one we wouldn't want to change.
    Now that we have a little one, the pressure to make this first Christmas holiday a memorable one for him (but mostly for his family) is high.  What traditions do we want to continue and are there any new ones to start?! Sad to say I thought about this WAY too much while I was pregnant and might have done it more after Caden was born, but then the exhaustion of a newborn set in, so these thoughts along with so many others went out the door. One tradition Casey started since we've been married and hope to continue is going to cut down our Christmas tree. There is nothing like the fresh smell of nature filling one's house. Thankfully, no one in our house has allergy issues yet, so we don't have to go artificial, though there are several benefits in going that route.
     I like to go as soon as Thanksgiving is over, so that way the selection is best as well as getting to look at this natural beauty in my home for as long as possible during the holiday season. Since we had a baby the week before Thanksgiving, this didn't quite happen. Also, if you recall the weather was really nasty for several days after turkey day.  Caden was still very new to the world and not supposed to get out, but I couldn't have him miss helping us pick out a tree. So since Casey was off work still, we went during the middle of the day when school was still in session and picked one out.
    I will say this: Christmas tree hunting with a newborn is different than with two grown adults. Last year, Casey and I spent a good couple hours walking all over a Christmas tree farm trying to find the "right" tree.  Neither one of us would settle for just any tree, so it took quite awhile to find one we both liked. This year with Caden, one of us would go explore while the other person stayed at the same spot with Caden (in his car seat) and the beloved diaper bag of baby supplies. We both took turns a couple times to explore the different trees, but very quickly found one that would work. I think we were done in less than an hour. Caden enjoyed it for the most part and I loved being able to share this time with him! Here are some pictures from Caden's non-pediatrician outing to get a tree: