Christmas in the eyes of a 4 year old

I have to share a little bit about how much fun I'm having with Ella this Christmas season. Of course, Cade is such good entertainment all the time, too, but Ella is at such a great age and is sooo excited about everything Christmas. The very first thing she does every morning is plug in the tree and all the decorations. Then she changes the number on our Christmas counter, and everyday she says, "Wow, I can't believe it's only __ days till Christmas!" 18 this morning!!
She is very interested in talking about Baby Jesus and how he was born. We have some window clings of the nativity scene and we talk about Jesus' birth almost every morning at breakfast. She used to always ask why he had to be born in the stable, but preparing for her Christmas program at school has taught her the reason- "Because there wasn't room." That's her line in the program and she says it so proudly. Now, everytime I ask her why Jesus wasn't born inside somewhere warm, she says, "Because there wasn't room!" =)

We sing Christmas carols all the time. She really likes Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells, but her favorite is We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Chris and I get so tickled every single time she sings it, because according to her, the lyrics are, "Oh, bring me some stinky pudding. Oh, bring me some stinky pudding. Oh, bring me some stinky pudding, and you better bring it here." haha! We have a snowman that sings it, and I guess when he says "figgy", it sounds like "stinky" to her. I have laughed and laughed. I love it so much!

We have spent lots of time making ornaments and reading Christmas stories. We talk an awful lot about Santa, his reindeer, and the long trip he has to make on Christmas Eve. And Ella, always worried about details, has so many questions. What if he gets stuck in the chimney? Won't he get burned in the fire? His outfit is going to be so dirty! If he can't get down the chimney, will he just come in the front door? Should we leave it unlocked or does he have a key? Is our yard big enough for the reindeer to land? Will he go to Julia's house first (right across the street) or come to ours? I hope he doesn't mix up our presents! Will he come to my room to see if I'm asleep? And MANY, MANY more. It is so fun watching her try to figure it all out, but I feel like I have to be so careful about what I say! I've told her several times that it's just Christmas magic, and I've heard her repeating that to Cade. It is not in her nature to accept it at face value though; she wants to know how it works. I really love that about her, but I have a feeling she will be one who, in the next year or two, will simply decide to stop believing in Santa because it's just not logical to her.

We have also made an effort to watch all the traditional Christmas cartoons when they air on TV. Ella loves the old Grinch cartoon and she and Cade both sat so still through all of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer the other night. I was kind of surprised they enjoyed it so much, especially since it's so different from the cartoons on TV now, but they both oohed and gasped every time they saw the abominable snowman. haha! They are so fun! And tonight is Charlie Brown's Christmas and I can't wait! We plan to be on the couch with our popcorn at 8 pm sharp! =)