Baby's First Christmas

Notice the tree:  soft, petite and limp.  Notice the ornaments:  crowded at the top of the tree. Notice the chairs barricading the tree.  Notice the baby:  innocently gazing up at the camera after swiping at multiple ornaments and stuffing long fir needles into his mouth and chewing them like gum.  Henry’s first Christmas was AWESOME.  It was a beautiful white Christmas.  We took Henry sledding in the slush.  My sister hooked her dog up to the plastic sled, and he hauled the sled up the hill.   We went for walks, and played 6 rounds of Wits and Wagers and 2 rounds of Settlers of Catan (all while Henry slept).  We decorated Christmas cookies.  Every year we try to out-do each other with funny designs and clever use of the cut-out cookies to create unexpected shapes.  It’s pretty obvious from the pictures which cookies are my sister’s (the trained pastry chef) and the rest of ours (lay cookie eaters).  The favorites were the dog (originally a stocking cut out) and the reindeer (an upside down gingerbread man with 2 holly leaves).  We opened stockings, sang carols and ate omelets and kringle on Christmas day. At my sister’s (a half-Jewish household), we played dreidel and lit the menorah on the last night of Hanukah.  I discovered that dreidel is a really fun game!  We even found time to see Avatar in digital 3D – amazing.  Unfortunately, Henry missed out on the movie.   

He did, however, spend time with 3 out of his 4 grandparents, 6 out of his 10 aunts and uncles, 5 out of his 7 cousins and of course both of his parents.  Henry was showered with love and gifts from family and from Santa.  His favorite gift was the Fischer Price Little People Fire Engine Ride On.  He’s addicted to sitting on the seat, holding the handles and getting pushed around the room.  He also has started walking while holding on to the fire engine.  The songs aren’t getting on our nerves yet.    

It’s hard to believe that his 1 year birthday is this week.