2009

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Christmas Day

We had a light breakfast at home and the kids opened the socks that were standing in for the stockings that were still packed away. Then we headed to Mimmu and Iso's house for more food and the presents. The morning was spent eating and opening gifts with lots of breaks for reading new books and playing with new toys. We had turkey sandwiches for lunch and did some more playing, then took the dogs for a walk and delivered some presents. We left Helena and Mark to keep warm inside. There were gingerbread cookies to decorate when we came back. Nora had an indulgent approach, unwrapping chocolate candies and sticking them to the cookies. There were appetizers for dinner and then we packed up all our gifts and headed home to bed.

Christmas Eve

It was a nice quiet morning of preparation. We started the day with baths and some cooking. Nora helped me make the pizza dough while Henry had his bath and Henry helped me make coleslaw while the girls bathed. There was lots of Christmas music and treats like a morning snack of mango.
We had the traditional Christmas Eve pizza for lunch this year.
The aunts and Mimmu came over for coffee and cookies in the afternoon.There was time for a quick walk around the block.
Our fancy meal was in the evening. The menu was very similar to Thanksgiving. The meal was nicknamed "Thanksgiving 2.0."After dinner the kids opened one present from Grandma. She made personalized aprons for the girls and a tool apron for Henry. They came with play kitchen gear and real tools, so Henry will have to have Daddy with him to use his present for a little while. We attended the candlelight service at our church. The kids sang "Matthew's Begats" that had been part of the program Sunday night. You can see a nice picture of them here. Then the kids were off to bed and the adults had some pumpkin pie and tea while baking up gingerbread house components.

Christmas Program

Tonight we had our church Christmas program. It was wonderful and hilarious, the way all plays with small children are. Nora was an angel. She observed as we were getting ready that "it was good to be an angel the first year because there wasn't very much she had to do." Here are a few seconds of her on stage. Next to Nora is her friend Grace as Mary.

More visitors

Collin, Wendi, and Lydia visited us! We had a lovely time chatting and eating and playing. And I remembered to take a few pictures the last few minutes of their stay.This picture makes me laugh. They have such similar, serious expressions. I think we all had a better time than it might lead you to believe. Lydia is about Henry's height and much taller than Helena, though she is just two days older. We are so glad they came!

Last Week

December continues to be fun and busy. Aunt Maryann came to visit us. We had a great time. She played games with the kids. I think this is "Red light, green light." Maryann read a lot of books and Nora read a few to her. Nora had another eagerly awaited dentist appointment. Everything looked just as it should and we found out that she has two loose teeth! Henry was brave and sat in the chair and let the dentist take a look at his mouth too. He did a great job of opening wide and letting the Dr. see his healthy teeth.

The Christmas Tree

Mark stayed home Thursday so we had our Christmas decorating day. We went an picked out a tree in the cold.The van is good for hauling a variety of things.There was chai to drink while the lights were put up.

I don't have pictures of the decorating, but here is an example of Henry's style: find a branch you like and just keep adding ornaments. We baked gingerbread cookies in the afternoon and had them for dinner with some popcorn.A day full of treats and fun. And now our house looks and smells like Christmas!