Oh, Christmas Tree . . .

I have been so excited for the holidays this year!  I had a goal to get all of my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving.  I got about 90% done.  I still have to find something for Gary and find a couple more stocking gifts for Riley (and let's face it, I probably won't stop buying Christmas gifts for that little munchkin until all the after-holiday sales are over in January!  He is only going to be a single-child for one year and I am taking advantage of the opportunity to super-spoil him, even though he won't remember.) 

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we lugged out some of our Christmas boxes and started decorating.  With Christmas music playing in the background we set up our tree and put some pretty lights up on our porch. (thanks honey, they look beautiful!!) 

My only problem now is that I have a VERY curious toddler to contend with.  About 30 million times a day I remind him that the tree and it's ornaments are just for looking at with his eyes and not for touching.  He will stand very close to the tree and look at it with beautiful awe-struck eyes and then, like lightning he will snatch an ornament off while at the same time saying "No, no no!"  (Interestingly enough, he is also doing this while lifting the toilet seat and attempting to splash in the water.  I believe we are entering a new phase in baby obstinance.  Heaven help me!)  He then holds the little ornament in his tiny chubby hands and gazes at it like he has just found the greatest treasure in the world!  What is a mommy to do?!?  I need advice here, people!!  I have a few ideas, but I'm just not sure which direction to go.  Here is what I have come up with . . .

1. We can pack up all the ornaments and just enjoy the twinkly lights this year. 
2. We can move all the ornaments out of reach, leaving our tree bare on the bottom half and crammed with ornaments on the top half. 
3. We can just continue the current battle of reminding him that ornaments are just for looking at with his eyes and not for touching (could this actually pay off in the end?  It certainly doesn't feel like it right now). 
4. Finally, we could just let him have one ornament to hold and take off and put on the tree and move the rest out of reach (or put them away entirely) in the hopes that it will help get it out of his system.  After all, my mom always used to use the phrase, "What you resist persists and gains energy" meaning that if I keep holding him back from what he wants he will just want it more and more, or I can give a little and hope he loses interest.  While this one seems like the most workable to me, it could end up being one of those things where "you give them an inch and they take you for all your worth".

Any other ideas or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated, because this is driving me crazy!!

Besides the ornament struggle, we are really enjoying this Christmas season.  We have our ward Christmas party this weekend and I am so curious what Riley's reaction will be to meeting Santa for the first time.  He knows what Santa looks like and what he says, but he has never seen him in person, let alone sat on his lap.  I hope it is a fun experience for him.  Look forward to some pictures next week.

We also pulled out our Fisher-Price Nativity set and talk about it and play with it every day.  He still doesn't grasp the concept of Jesus being a baby and always points out shepherds or wise men as Jesus in pictures of the Nativity, but we are getting there.