Christmas Video!

This is a highly limited group of scenes from our Christmas week in Ohio - I concentrated mostly on still shots this year. It starts with some fun clips of Sylvie's all-out-of-proportion good time in the hotel in Syracuse on the way to Ohio. Sylvie's fascination with all things play-domestic comes out, too. Whether it's Emily's old doll house, decked out in 70s retro style, or her brand new micro (that's an understatement!) animal family, Syl's favorite thing to do these days is play "house."

By the way, our "two Christmases" thing is working out particularly well for Syl this year. She didn't really understand the whole Santa thing before Christmas, when we tried to explain it to her. But afterwards, pretty much every morning she wakes up and declares, "Santa's comin'!!!" It's nice to be able to tell her that because she was an especially good girl, Santa is coming to her AGAIN in Florida in a couple of weeks!

Happy 2010!!

We saw in the new year on Casablanca time... or something like that... at a very fun party hosted by Madeline and Jake O'Leary. Sylvie got on her fancy new party outfit (courtesy Aunt Amanda) and had a great time playing with a whole bunch of kids... until she basically conked out on the couch watching - what else? - Frosty the Snowman. Mommy made some Elmo cookies - always a favorite, especially with Jake.

Speaking of Jake, he was officially Sylvie's first New Year's kiss - an emphatic smacker right on the lips, which caused Sylvie to throw her hands up in the air and shout, "BIG KISS!!"

We did our best to get all the kids together in one shot. That worked out, well, as it usually works out.

Here are just a few of the fun photos I got of all the revelry - mostly of the kids, of course. The rest in the New Years Eve - 2009 Gallery.

It was fun to see a bunch of friends, some of whom Melissa and I have not seen for an awfully long time. Many thanks to the O'Learys for a really fun night.

Happy New Year!

Back to school - and happy about it!

Here's a fun excerpt from the "week in pictures" email that one of Sylvie's teachers at day care sends out.
Melissa and I have always felt really good about the Holliston Community Children's Center. The people are incredibly nice and conscientious, and clearly spend a lot of time actually interacting with - not just monitoring - the kids. Sure, she gets more than her share of colds. But Sylvie also learns a whole lot at school - every day she comes out with something that we know did not come from us - and her social interactions are just wonderful. On that topic, Melissa's heart was warmed when she dropped Sylvie at school after her week away in Ohio, on Monday. Melissa worried Syl would be reluctant. Instead, she was downright excited. She ran into the room, yelling to her friends by name and offering each of them individual greetings. At home now we often hear references to Edward or Sophie or Kevin or Maya as Syl chatters away, and she loves taking her class photo and naming each friend - and each teacher - in turn as she points to the faces.

And here's the class photo I mentioned...

Christmas Photos

OK, here are just a few of the several hundred (425, to be exact, before I culled them down!) photos that I took over the last week.

There are a lot more here, in the Christmas 2009 (Ohio) gallery.

Home Safe

We made record time this morning - Syracuse to Holliston in just shy of 4.5 hours. I think we just beat the nasty traffic.

Sylvie hit the sack after a good lunch and is still sleeping now (5:15pm). She's whipped after a wonderful Christmas in Ohio. Sylvie woke up this morning in our hotel and declared "Santa's coming!!" How nice it was to be able to tell her that she's right - because she's been such a good girl, Santa will visit her again at our Florida Christmas in a couple of weeks!

Here's our family shot from Christmas Day, courtesy Aunt Amanda. I'd feel badly about Pax not being in it... but then again, about an hour after this shot was taken he tried to bite off my thumb! I'm working on getting many more photos up later this evening. I took lots.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa, for a really nice time this week.

Options

After bfast, home stretch.

Deja Vu

Ruby Tuesday's. Syracuse. Mac n cheese. Home tomorrow!

Thanks, Pax.

And to all a good night.

Biting the hand that feeds him

Meanwhile, this little ingrate, who I've fed and cared for lo these past ten years, decided to wish me merry Christmas by trying to bite off my thumb. Pretty good puncture wound - lots of blood. Nice to be in the home of a nurse. I should have known something was up when I saw these eyes... Also, the thing about not putting your hand near a dog's mouth when he's eating? It's true.

Presents!

Many, many presents. So many, in fact, that Syl retired temporarily to her brand new sleeping bag for a little rest.