Christmas Day 2011

I love Christmas.  It has always been a magical time of year for me.  Now, with two little ones, I love watching them experience the beauty of this special holiday.  Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, we attended Church in the morning.  What a wonderful way to remember that Christmas is really about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Abigail and Michael opened one present before church.  After returning home from our meeting, we opened the rest of the presents.  Abby was so excited she could hardly wait.   

 Abby loved her "Clarice" reindeer.

Michael (with Rudolph), Abby (with Clarice), and Tara on Christmas morning. 

Abigail had a great time helping Michael open his presents.  Michael loved his new toys, but he also was entertained by the boxes.   

Abby figured Daddy needed help opening his present from her. 

Abigail is all dressed up in her beautiful Christmas dress.  She was very excited about her little Miche coin purse named "Abby" from her Aunt Elisa. 

And there's our "little" guy.  Michael LOVED Christmas too!

What a great day!  Besides spending the day with my wonderful family, I was able to take a nap (Thank you, Coley!) AND I didn't have to fix dinner (Thank you, Mrs. Petrucci!)!  

Christmas Eve 2011

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, we had a few friends over for a little party.  We had some yummy snacks, lots of visiting, singing Christmas carols, and reading some fun Christmas stories.  The head count was 38 people (only 2 were babies).  It was a little crazy, but lots of fun!

Just visiting

Yummy food

Great singing

When the party was over at our house, we did a quick clean-up (to keep Michael safe from all the allergens) and headed over to the Petruccis (our adopted Italian family) for Christmas Eve dinner and festivities.  Michael loved opening his present from Miss Rita!  Everyone had a great day.  Michael wasn't sure what the next day would bring, but Abigail was sure excited to see what Santa would leave for her that night.

By the Way....

Winter is here now.  It is not a good idea to even entertain the thought of trash-talking Winter.

"Crazy" Christmas

On the day after Christmas, my 4 year old daughter, Abigail, said to my wife and me, “Why did we have such a crazy Christmas?”  “What do you mean by a ‘crazy’ Christmas”, we asked.  “No snow,” came the reply.  We moved here in April of 2007 three months before Abigail was born.  She had, up to this point, known nothing but white Christmases.

When we moved here, my recollection was that my wife asked, “Do you think we will have a white Christmas?”  My wife’s recollection is that she made a statement, not asked a question.  If you knew my track record for disagreeing with my wife, you would not bet with me.  Each time we investigate a disagreement, we find that I am right about 5% of the time and that is after I round up to the nearest 5.  I do make a point of making as much hay out of my 5% as I can.  I tell my wife that since I only have 5%, at best, to work with, I need to fluff it as much as I can.  In any event, my reply was, “Sweetheart, I am quite sure we will have a white Christmas.  We may even have a white Easter.”

So here we were this year in Rochester, NY singing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” and really meaning it, just dreaming and not having it.  Abigail is right.  It is crazy!  There may not be a divine right of kings, but isn’t there a divine right of Rochesterians to a white Christmas?

 Today I was asking my wife if I should start taunting Winter.  I was wondering if I trash-talked this Winter, maybe I could stir us up some snow.  My wife was very much against it, and I have, from hard experience, learned the value of her counsel.   So if Winter comes in here kicking tail and taking names, it wasn’t me.  I didn’t say anything to her.

Coley

Santa's Visit at Preschool

Even though tomorrow is Christmas Eve, Santa was not too busy to make an appearance at preschool this afternoon.  He even had a present for each child!  Everyone had a great time.

 Abigail receives her present from Santa.

Michael (who had been awakened from his afternoon nap to attend the party) was not all that thrilled about Santa.  Maybe next year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Spreading Christmas Cheer

Over the past few days, Abby and I have been busy making holiday treats (other than the toffee which was made when Abby and Michael were nestled all snug in their beds).  Tuesday after preschool, Michael, Abby, and I began the deliveries (unfortunately without Coley, who is working a crazy shift this week so he can be off for Christmas).  I asked Abby if she wanted to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"  for our friends at the first stop.  She told me she wanted to sing a different song.  At the door, she sang "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" from start to finish all by herself.  After the applause, she was ready for more time in the spotlight.  At each house, she sang her little heart out and then wished her audience a merry Christmas.  The picture was especially beautiful as she sang to several different friends from church who have recently had surgery for various reasons.  What a great afternoon and evening!  Thank you Abby for spreading some Christmas cheer!  I love that little girl! 

 

Celebrating the Season at the Museum

Earlier this month, we spent an evening at the Strong Museum of Play to meet Santa and sing Christmas carols.  Michael and Abby both had lots of fun.

Michael was more interested in meeting Frosty the Snowman than Abigail, but he still wasn't quite sure about it!

Abigail caught Santa off guard with her response to the question of what she wanted for Christmas....  "Mr. The King, the racecar!"  Santa was sure he misunderstood, so he asked her again.  When she repeated her answer, he looked stunned.  It was rather entertaining.

Tiny Mike

This picture of Michael was taken when we went to the Strong Museum of Play to visit Santa Claus.  We wanted this picture to show to our bishop, Tate Tischner.  He has taken to calling Michael, "Tiny Mike", because Michael is definitely not tiny nor is he likely to grow up to be.  Currently, he is greater than 97th percentile for height and is 75th percentile for weight.  While watching him crawling around on the floor, I have said to Tara, "Sweetheart, that baby is buff!"  While I am not a small man myself, Michael gets this from the Perry side of the family.  I told Tara that, when we were getting married, I knew I wanted to be good to her, but when I met her father and her brother, I KNEW I wanted to be good to her.  As for the Tiny nickname, it reminds of what my father once told me.  Never pick a fight with a man named Tiny until you have seen him first, because most Tinys are not.

Christmas Stockings

What do you think of Abby's stockings?

I wish I could have captured the moment when I discovered Abby, sitting at the piano, playing a little tune with "Christmas stocking" feet dangling from the piano bench. 

Gearing up for Christmas

We spent the weekend after Thanksgiving decorating for Christmas.  Coley was in charge of setting up the tree and putting up the outside lights.  Abigail had a great time helping us decorate the tree.

 And here is Michael.....  he was so much help, he ended up in the Pack 'n Play. :)

 Abigail loved hanging the crocheted snowflakes on the tree.

While decorating the tree, Coley gave Abby a present.  I love the look on her face.  She wasn't quite sure what was going on. 

 Once she opened the present, she was thrilled.  It was a "My Little Pony" ornament.  She told us thank you several times and kept telling us how happy she was.  It was really sweet.

We also had a present for Michael and Abby to open together.  It was a box of little "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" board books.  Coley found them last year after Christmas and we wanted to be able to read them (or eat them in Michael's case) this year.

What better way to end the night than by reading bedtime stories with Nana in front of the Christmas tree.  I love this magical time of year!