Christmas Week

On Christmas day we welcomed Mark's parents to our home. They made the journey from Massachusetts and got to our house just in time for Christmas dinner. I made a wonderful boneless ribeye roast accompanied by Yorkshire pudding and roasted root vegetables. It was a big hit with our weary travellers.

The next morning we celebrated Christmas. I guess we can get away with postponing Christmas for a day since the kids are so young and don't know any better anyway. I must say, it was lovely to have the extra family members there when we opened our presents. It made it all the more festive.

Two of our presents to Mark's parents were activities for the whole family to enjoy together. Monday evening we went to Atlanta Botanical Gardens to view its special lights display. It was beautiful walking through forests of trees all strung up with colorful lights. One of the highlights was a three-story tall Christmas tree completely made out of fresh poinsettia plants. Simply gorgeous.

The other present didn't come until Thursday morning. We went to a puppet show at the Center for Puppetry Arts. It was a wonderful rendition of Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer--you know, the version that has Hermey, the misfit elf that wants to be a dentist. It was virtually identical to the movie with a few fun ad libs. None of us had ever been to a puppet show like this and it was surprisingly cool.

The rest of our days were filled with quality play time, some walks to the parks and rest and relaxation. The rest part was mainly on Mark and myself because we both came down with terrible colds...unfortunately passing it along to the grandparents toward the end of their visit. Sorry again Mom and Dad!!

In fact, by the time New Year's Eve came around, everyone was so tired that Mark was left rolling in the new year by himself. Woo Hoo! I passed out by 10:15 and I think Mark's folks even earlier. I don't know, it was all a blur. I was so exhausted. We all simply said "Happy New Year" the next morning. Boy have times changed.

As you have seen by my earlier post, Leo has been practicing his walking. He is getting a little better at it every day. Today I think he took about 7 steps before crashing to the floor. I can't believe how fast he is growing. Almost a year and already weighing in at what Carmella weighed at 2 years--25 pounds!! But what a sweet boy he is. Such a delight. They both are.

There is quite an emptiness in the house since Grandma and Grandpa left. Carmella did much better today, but yesterday she was so sad all day. Poor thing. Thanks guys for making this such a special Christmas week! We love you.