December Highlights

Yes, December has been very full (and distracting), thanks for asking. But mostly full in a good way, I'm happy to report: with family, friends, fun, festivities, and the whole lot of extra logistical hassle that the holidays bring. I wish (as always, a wish in vain) that I'd managed to be more disciplined and write about these things when they happened, but as always laziness (or to be a little kinder on myself, the desire to stay in the moment) won out. So therefore I'll just go with a giant recap (with a few picture illustrations; as always there are more here), and get all this blogstipation out of the way so that I can start out freshly motivated for 2007.

Aside from Thanksgiving, the true start to the winter holiday season for us is our annual Black Turkey holiday party. This year was the 10th one we've thrown (as Josh put it on the invitations, we were celebrating "10 years of giving you the bird"). We're getting pretty damn good at throwing this party; it's a lot of work, but by now we know just what needs to be done when and by whom, so the whole thing goes very smoothly. This year, I especially appreciated the time just before the party started, when the house was clean, decorated and smelling of good things, ready to fill with friends and food but still for the moment just a potential, not an actuality. And then the first few guests came and the party got rolling and it was hours before I sat down again. But what fun to have so many interesting people in one place! As always it was a great mix of old and new friends, and makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have so rich (in the sense of varied, not economically) a community.

^ Josh in his custom-made (thanks Dawn!) Black Turkey X apron.

Then, just a few days after that, a major life event took place: on Monday, December 11th, Eli lost his first tooth! He'd been talking about his two bottom front teeth being wiggly for about a week, but on Monday morning, right before school, the first one came out. We made a big deal out of it (and yes, the tooth fairy came, and for the record she gave him two gold dollars and a special magic rock that said "Confidence" on it). I think it's really important to make a fuss over those road-to-adulthood "first times" in kids' lives--I think it gives them a greater appreciation of all the blessings in their lives as well as a sense of their own unique journey through (and place in) the world. Only a week later, he lost the second bottom front tooth (this time the tooth fairy only gave him one gold dollar). He actually lost it while he was at school, and then lost the box he'd put the tooth in, so he had to write a note to the tooth fairy to explain what happened. She wrote him back to reassure him that it was ok but to remember to be more careful next time. So now he has an adorable gap in his lower jaw through which the grownup teeth are already making an appearance. I am both pleased and a little sad (that's parenthood for ya) that the next few big "firsts" will be coming thick and fast now--reading (he's almost already accomplished this) and writing, riding a bike, learning to swim, and so many more.

^ Eli with two missing teeth.

Anyway back to our list of December happenings: the next week after all this was Hanukkah, and we certainly did it up this year. Over the eight nights of Hanukkah, we went to 5 different parties (well, one of those nights was a work party for me and not technically a Hanukkah party, but still). Of the remaining four, two were at the synagogue, one was at my pseudo-aunt and uncle's house (lots of fun with that whole group of extended family, including oohing and aahing over a couple new babies), and one we hosted at our house (homemade latkes, woo hoo!). Isaac started out the week knowing nothing about opening presents or eating gelt, but by the end of the eight days he was an expert in both, a skill that continued to serve him well right through Christmas and beyond!

^ Josh and my uncle Lou in the midst of latke-making.

Speaking of Christmas, that was the next thing on our list. We had a couple days "off" in between the end of Hanukkah and Christmas eve, which we spent doing our favorite Christmas-y things like looking at all the super-crazy-decorated houses in our neighborhood (the Bear House and the Disney House are our favorites), wrapping presents and watching "It's A Wonderful Life" (that movie makes me cry EVERY SINGLE TIME), watching Eli perform in a holiday pageant at school (they sung two Hanukkah songs, and the whole thing was heartbreakingly cute in that "oh God I'm a parent" kind of way), and for the first time ever, having friends over to decorate gingerbread houses. Then it was Christmas eve and we had Josh's parents and sister and brother-in-law over for an elaborate dinner--this year Josh cooked his famous Chicken Cordon Bleu with a cherry mushroom sauce on top, along with roasted fingerling potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes with turkey bacon and leeks, and a really yummy persimmon pudding with hard sauce and vanilla ice cream for dessert. (This has definitely been a month of over-the-top food…but then I guess it always is. What better way to celebrate than with over-the-top food?) We opened presents and had a good time hanging out until late in the evening. Then we put on our new pajamas (another Christmas ritual) and all went to bed.

^ Gingerbread houses in progress.

Christmas morning Eli was especially delighted with the bunch of little goodies that Santa had left in his stocking (and sweetly appreciative of the fact that Santa had even remembered to sew the missing bells back on to his stocking). We played with those and the new bow and arrow set Santa had brought him, and took a walk out to the playground in the gorgeous cold winter sunshine to blow off some steam before heading out to Granite Bay for Christmas dinner with Josh's extended family. We had a pleasant if not deeply meaningful time hanging out with all those relatives, and then headed back home for our annual post-Christmas gathering with a small group of old friends back our house. (This year Bert christened this gathering "Christmas Sucks" but really it's always just a chance for us all to roll our eyes about family foibles and do a little decompression from all the seasonal hoo ha.)

^ Isaac on the playground, Christmas morning.

Then after a day off, a day of mostly fiddling around and not going anywhere or doing anything much, we packed up and headed out to Stinson Beach (which is where I am now, sitting at a table overlooking the Seadrift lagoon glittering placidly in the sunlight) for a week with my parents and my brother's family. We had a belated Hanukkah celebration, including the ritual crab dinner and even yet more presents (as always, once we get home we will have to undergo one last holiday ritual: trying to figure out where to put and how to deal with all the new toys and other random kid presents we've received--not that I'm complaining, mind you). We've actually been here at Stinson for a few days already, but this is the first chance I've had to blog, since the days have been full of chasing children, trips to the beach, and all kinds of family time. Courtesy of my extremely generous parents, we've rented a really cool house here in Seadrift on the lagoon, where the four of us are staying along with my brother's family (my parents are sleeping at their little cabin but spending the days here). The weather has been spectacular, sunny and mild, and I’m really grateful--the beach is equally attractive in it's grey, stormy mode, but it's a lot easier to deal with kid energy when you can go outside. And no flooding this year will be a big plus.

And now, just in time, I hear the sound through the monitor of Isaac waking from his nap, and I have to go. But now that I've gotten all the "we went there we did this" journaling out of the way, I'm hoping to get to the actual thoughtful blogging any day now. Really. It could very well happen. Stay tuned.