A Very Merry Christmas - 2009

It was a Christmas to remember. Chris, Kelsey, Clara and Robert; Tim; and Grandpa Dan and I were all together. It was Dan and Tim's first time to meet Robert, who turned one month old the day after we arrived. None of us could have imagined a more perfect Christmas gift.

Clara is at the age where something funny comes out of her mouth all the time. She kept us laughing, as well as very busy, from morning until bedtime. She loves being read to, and she loves having someone join her in pretending. She and I played, all one afternoon, that she was a puppy and I was the puppy-doctor. I can't even begin to remember how many maladies I cured with pretend shots, pretend pills, and other pretend treatments.

Robert is happiest when he is nursing, and still has some pretty fussy periods in between, especially in the evenings. But Kelsey is doing a great job of figuring him out -- isn't every new baby a little bit of a puzzle? -- and even in the few days we were there he was becoming a more and more contented baby. What a euphoric feeling it was to, once again, cuddle a sleeping baby, feeling the downiness of his hair against my cheek and smelling the sweet, milky scent of his warm little body. I've only been home a few hours, and I already miss those two GRAND-kids.

Christmas Day was exactly what it should have been. Clara's eyes were sparkling. Santa left a few big cookie crumbs on his cookie-plate, sitting under the tree, which Clara gratefully ate, herself. Rudolph ate his entire carrot, however. Presents were torn into - everyone helped open ones for Robert - and by the end of the morning the room was filled with toys, wrapping paper, boxes and ribbons. To top off the day, Kelsey and Chris, together, put a delicious Christmas dinner on the table.

I really enjoyed the interaction between Chris and Clara, all Christmas Day. Clara is a well-behaved little 4-year-old. (I know, I could be a little biased, but she really is.) And she always asks permission for special treats or concessions. On Christmas Day, she went all day without hearing "no" to her (admittedly, rather modest) requests:

"Daddy, can I have a Skittle?"

Chris, looking thoughtful for a moment would answer, "Yes, you may!"

"Daddy, could I have some more apple juice?"

Chris, with another thoughtful pause would answer, "Yes, you may!"

"Daddy, could I watch another Bugs Bunny video before I go to bed?"

"Yes, you may!"

Clara just had to feel like it was her luckiest day ever!

The presents under the tree were mostly for the children, but not all of them! Dan, knowing I had been itching for a DSLR camera, gave me a Nikon D5000. He was a little nervous about it. I had been debating, myself, between a Canon and a Nikon, so he feared he might have gotten me the "wrong one." But, as I explained to him, the reason I was having so much trouble deciding between them was that they were both wonderful cameras, and I knew I couldn't go wrong with either. So he just helped me through the difficult decision. I'm happy as can be with it, and can't wait for my first photo shoot. (Most of my Christmas pictures, by the way, were taken with my old camera.)

Here are a few random photos from our visit. As always, since I was taking the pictures, there weren't any of me. I'm hoping to get some from Chris' camera, just to document that I was there, too!

Clara bakes cookies for Santa Claus.

Santa's gift to Clara: a new doll stroller!

Dan looks through the book Chris found for him - a classic book on car racing,

that Dan was thrilled to have

Clara and Uncle Tim

Chris, Kelsey, Clara and Robert

Robert, all dressed up for church on Sunday