Holiday Fun

We have a full house this holiday. Grandma Bette and Auntie Cate are here with us...they said something about it being warmer here than in Wisconsin :-)

So, a retroactive report on the goings-on here...

Dan and I were concerned about decorating in a way that would keep Alex and the decorations safe and sound. We happened to be at someone else's house the weekend before our visitors came and saw their little-kid proof solution. So, by the time G-ma and Auntie C arrived at our house, we had a 2-foot or so little tree perched on a shelf in the living room, topped with a Santa in a grass skirt and just out of reach of those wild little Alex fingers. Excellent...and actually much cheaper than a real tree :-)

Present opening was a bit of a trial for Alex. He would open one gift, get excited, sit down to inspect and enjoy, and we'd hand him something new. Even the joy of ripping the paper was not as alluring as I'd hoped. Another friend with a boy about A's age said that they had created a "12 days of Christmas" thing, and plan to do it for at least a couple of years. He gets to open 1-2 presents each day for 12 days. Alex had fun and it was fun for us, too, but I think he was overwhelmed a little.

Alex got everything on his Christmas list! Some of the highlights...wooden blocks, a couple of cute shirts (including the one featured in the pictures later on...) a cool gear set that will be much more fun when he knows not to just bang on it!, really cool light up frogs (I can't do them justice, just know they are cool), a musical giraffe, and a new pair of shoes. More fun than a baby can handle!!

Speaking of babies....Alex is really not one anymore. He has big boy shoes and after another recent hair cut, this little guy looks ready for kindergarten, not a play group! He's turned into a pretty good walker, he is a very capable trouble-maker, and he blows great kisses. Amazing how fast they grow!!!!

Look at that little boy go!! "Mom, I'm getting on the swing!"


Alex and I enjoyed the swing a little bit before dinner. Alex is wearing his new Austin City Limits t-shirt from Auntie Cate, along with little bitty Chaco-like sandals. He looks deceptively like he's still in Texas :-)

We had dinner at Dan's coworker's house. There were quite a few people there, and it was a *perfect* dinner. Just the right mixture of stuff (i.e. not everyone brought rolls or desert with no stuffing or veggies...it was perfect!) including a Hawaiian sweet potato dish with bananas and macadamia nuts mixed in...yum! It was the hosts' first Christmas since they were married, so the husband (also named Dan) kept commenting that "this was a tradition" as in "Every Christmas since we've been married, we've done it this way." It was really cute.

Mele Kalikimaka, folks!