We're all still a little bleary-eyed and tired from multiple days of late nights, lots of sugar, and family time. The kids had a blast this year. Here are a few highlights:
- We kicked off Hanukkah at a party at the Ginns on Dec 10 - adults loved the latkes and kids loved the chocolate gelt and cookies
- Elizabeth lit candles on a few nights with a steady hand ("Isn't it so beautiful Da-Da?)
- We moved into Christmas festivities with a party at the Skidmores on Dec 16th at their new house in Brookline
- I treated Danny to a birthday adults-only dinner at the Red House in Harvard Square
- We had a family party for D on Christmas eve - kids had fun with cousins and Whittakers. Elizabeth asked to go home with Colleen becuase the two of them had matching yellow straws (!?). I said that E might want to sleep at home so Santa would know where to find her
- Elizabeth put out cookies and milk for Santa; and carefully placed bowls of carrots and water for the reindeer on the deck
- Needless to say, the kids were awed by the mountain of presents they woke up to on Christmas morning. Mom (grandma) told E that she must have been a good girl this year and E nodded seriously and said "uh, huh. I really was"
- Elizabeth loves "crackernuts" (nutcracker dolls)
- Kids loved their gifts: the current favorites are the ball game from Nancy and the little ballerina dolls - also from Nancy, the master gift-giver; Elizabeth loved the fantasy items from Deanna
- We had Christmas dinner in Marblehead at Kris/Scott's. More presents, sugar, fun
- And we went back up to MHD the day after Xmas to spend time with Tyler and Trevor, who is visiting from Hawaii
- The girls loved the K & S's cats. They followed them around patting them all night. Paige makes this cute little sound to mimic what she thinks cats sound like when they drink milk and mimics licking her hand
- Paige was impressive in her ability to hold her own with the older kids. They all kept running in and out of the tent that Mom gave them and P didn't let her self get knocked down. She fell off Mason's tractor toy a few times, bumped her head, but got right back to playing
- The kids are pretty ragged from too many late nights, but they had a great time
- We have a few days of normalcy and then it's back to party-planning mode for New Year's Eve