Christmas Gallery

We spent Christmas Eve and morning at Jackie and Graham's house. Their home is lovely, but even more so when decorated for Christmas. The Christmas Eve spread was scrumptious - our favorites were stuffed mushrooms, rye toast appetizers, buckeyes and the cupcakes. Yum.

In addition to the usual suspects, Jackie, Graham, Julie, Tom/Dad/Grandpa/tpatterson and Audrey, our friends Kim and Kim joined us Christmas Eve.

Whether it's Christmas, or any other holiday, the fun is watching Sydney experience something new. She is inquisitive, curious and expressive even when engaged with the most simple, novel items, such as crinkled wrapping paper.

Here is Sydney solo on Christmas morning.



Sydney with her handlers on Christmas morning.



No peeking!



I am dreaming of a green Christmas ...



This was certainly our most eco-friendly Christmas. The majority of the gifts my family exchanged were 'wrapped' in gift bags. So, not only was the joy in gift giving /receiving from the present itself, but also its container. I am pleased with the selection of gift bags we returned home with. "Note to self, just remove the name tag before I use them ..." We still used wrapping paper and I salvaged some pieces for scratch paper.

One of the coolest presents I received was a tree from Jackie and Graham. And to ensure that this tree lives - I lack the family green thumb - I will not be taking care of it. Jackie and Graham's gift is for a tree to be planted for me in a National Forest. Unfortunately, I am just not sure which forest. But, what a warm and pleasant feeling to know that birds and squirrels are making my tree their home. And, even with the high risk of wildfires, the tree will actually have a chance of survival hundreds of miles away from me :)

To reciprocate, Sydney gave Jackie a pail full of Method house cleaner, which is environmentally friendly. A lame gift for some, but Jackie loves to clean. Plus, it comes in such cool colors, scents and packaging. (You gotta love the people in marketing).

So, after Christmas brunch, (which also is my annual does of sausage, gravy and biscuits) Brian, Sydney and I returned to West Lafayette where Santa visited the night before.

Sydney scouts the present options.









Sydney munches on her new Dora the Explorer soccer ball.



Some of Sydney's other favorite gifts include her walker/wagon, Leap Frog Fridge Farm, Leap Frog Alphabet Pal and a new batch of books, which I am enjoying even more! I highly recommend Janell Cannon's Verdi and Stellaluna, and Steve Martin's (yes, that Steve Martin) The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z!. I personally am reading more than just books with pictures - I finished Anne Tyler's Breathing Lessons and started Carl Hiassan's Nature Girl. Ten more days until class starts, which means 10 more days of pleasure reading.

But, I have digressed from our Christmas reel. The holiday was lovely and Sydney seems to be a fan. Now, she just needs to work on her New Year resolutions.

Skate with Santa

Last Saturday (12.15) we crashed the Skate with Santa party at the West Lafayette ice skating rink. Sydney is a bit young for skating so we were spectators. Here is Brian trying to help Sydney keep her cheeks warm.



Even though we were just watching the skaters, Santa (a skinny teenage boy in a Santa suit) skated to the side of the rink to visit Sydney. She enjoyed her introduction to the jolly man in the red and white suit and maybe next year she will be skating with him.



I wrapped up my Christmas shopping this week (he, he, 'wrapped,' get it?) and have resolved to start the retail process earlier next year.

My sisters and I exchange "Suggestion Lists" every year. We share suggestions, so the gift-giver has a better idea of what someone may need or want. We each keep saying we have too much stuff, and the lists help us with our selections.

The lists are also fun to read because I always learn something about my sisters. However, it's a guarantee that Jackie will list warm stuff, ie, fleece blankets, socks, hats, scarves, etc., every year. Based on Jackie's warmth stockpile over the years, you would assume she hibernates during winter.

While shopping for her last week, I found myself wondering what she would do if Christmas was not a winter holiday. I guess she would celebrate the winter solstice (which is tomorrow). It's amazing to think how different the holiday would be if it took place in August ...

Instead of buying scarf and hat sets for friends, would we give sun glasses and Speedos? Snowmen would probably not be so prevalent. What would replace them, ants? No more penguins or polar bears (this is foreshadowing global warming). Toucans and alligators would replace them. Gourmet cooks would pass on heating their ovens (no peanut brittle or fudge). Tomatoes would probably be a common gift and stockings would probably be filled with sunscreen.

I pledged I would start shopping earlier this year. Maybe I will hunt for gifts in June and surprise my family and friends with pool toys or Tiki torches. Those items would be fun to wrap.

Christmas during winter, especially when it snows, is magical. I wouldn't want it any other way ... but it is fun to imagine ... Here is wishing for a little snow Tuesday morning so Sydney can test her new purple boots.

Digital Baby

This fall I clipped an Associated Press story that highlighted the pros and cons of digital technology recording today's kids. "Digital technology leads to the most documented kids ever" featured a mom that shot more than 6,500 photos during her daughter's first nine months.

Brian and I have not calculated the number of images we have, but we know it doesn't take long to accumulate oodles of images ... often of the same pose, expression, outfit or moment. I remember back (and I mean just a few years) when I had to carefully budget the 24 or 36 images assigned to each roll of film.

Now, we can snap a moment with one of two digital cameras, two cell phones or a digital video camera. Oh, and sometimes Brian records Sydney's chirps and peeps with his hand held recorder.

Yes, this is one documented kid.To illustrate my point ... here are three photos of Sydney (August 2007) from the same moment:).








We have so much material that I easily get overwhelmed trying to organize, develop or post the photos we do have. I spent Saturday evening catching up on photos from October and November when I panicked: we have very few (only about 30 photos) of our daughter in November. How did we fail we to chronicle the month as she approached her 11 month milestone?

The article points out that all of these recordings (photos, videos, blogs and audio clips) would be a gold mine for an anthropologist, but who is really going to wade through all of these? Will Sydney ever look at every photo or video? I know my mom set aside a box of photos for each daughter and I am excited to look through its content some day. At the rate Brian and I are snapping, Sydney will have a library to peruse.

The number of days Sydney is a baby are passing quickly. Brian and I realize this, and it is comforting to know that somewhere we have photos of Sydney at various stages of her babyhood. Just one month and one day and our baby will be a little girl!

Turkey Day

We had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. Brian's parents visited from New Jersey and we all spent Turkey Day with Jackie and Graham. They planned a lovely meal for more than 20 people including the Neuberts, the Pattersons, the Peelles and family friends.

Chow time: Here is Sydney waiting for her meal from Aunt Jackie.



Sydney loves Bailey and Bauer (pictured). And, I am sure Bauer loved the baby food that Sydney smeared on his face.



Dancing with the stars: Aunt Julie Turkey Tangoed with Sydney for entertainment.



Scaling the stairs: Our own little butterball burned some calories climbing the stairs ... of course, Julie and I followed her.



However, Sydney did not like the idea of napping at Jackie's house, so Brian and I spent two hours of the day driving the deserted streets of Indy trying to lull the cranky baby to sleep. She really liked the idea of sleeping in her car seat because the following day she napped sitting up in her crib.