Christmas 2009

I had to keep reminding myself several times daily over the past few weeks that the upcoming December 25th blowout would not be Carter and Nathaniel's first Christmas, but their second. Last year, they were freshly released from the nursery at St. Mike's just in time for their folks to improvise a serviceable Yuletide celebration while still trying to process the month's drama and prep for the parade of visitors who braved some pretty awful weather to welcome them to a whole new world. The boys missed most of it--being all of collective eight pounds and confined largely to the cosleeper upstairs (until Wendy and Grandma showed up with a pair of bouncy green chairs, long since retired)--but what the event lacked in celebration and gifts was made up for by the reality that they, in fact, were the greatest gift of all...


While our space has become exponentially-more-cramped over the last 12 months, we couldn't resist putting up the trusty fake Xmas tree and piling on the ornaments, many of which had been purchased in anticipation of the boys' arrival (their father's insidious influence should be obvious)...
And while it had been two years since her last attempt, Maggie couldn't resist indulging in her inner-kitten and nesting amidst the tangled plastic branches to one-up the boys in the "awwww" department.

By the time Xmas Eve rolled around, the boys had been properly indoctrinated into the season's great television traditions: Karloff's indictment the Grinch, Linus' quoting the Gospel Of St. Luke, Burl's ode to "silver and gold", Chevy's nightmare dinner at the Griswold household, and their parents' annual bewilderment as to what, exactly, was wrong with the little girl doll on the Island Of Misfits Toys. Just in time for Grandma and Grandpa to arrive, along with aunt Wendy and cousins Stepheny and Thomas...