Christmas 2010

Jimmy, Mike, and Abbey came in for Christmas this year. It was so nice to have them. We went to 4 o'clock Mass on Christmas Eve and Colton almost made it through the entire service. He enjoyed the music and the lights of course. We had dinner at our house and Bob, Mary, Ava, and Luke came down to join us, along with Mr. Kenney & Pat. Ava got to talk to Santa on the phone on Christmas Eve and couldn't contain her excitement - she wanted to hurry up home to go to bed. We planned on doing a fun grab bag between everyone, but only Mary, Bob, and I got a gift to exchange, so it didn't really work out. When everyone left, we watched the rest of A Christmas Story and then went to bed. Christmas morning consisted of breakfast egg sandwiches (courtesy of Jimmy and his stove-top griddle from Bob & Mary), exchanging gifts and then enjoying our gifts. Jimmy, Mike, Brian & I played a game called Telestrations (similar to the game - Whisper Down the Lane) and had many a laugh before we headed out to Bob & Mary's for dinner. Ava and Luke were totally high on Christmas spirit since Mickey Mouse called them in the morning to tell them they were going to Disney World. Jimmy & Mike left a day early due to the imminent inclement weather of 10-20 inches of snow. No white Christmas - just a white day after Christmas. Merry Merry.

Caroling

Our neighbors go caroling every year. Over the past few years, we have seen them spreading Christmas cheer to other homes while we were walking the dog. We were actually invited this year to join them (thanks to our friendly neighborhood party), but couldn't go due to family arriving around the same time for the holiday. They were pretty darn good and we were happy they stopped at our house to share the joy. Hopefully next year we will get to join them even though Brian says my singing is like audio terrorism.

Ava's Christmas Show

Brian, Colton and I went to see Ava sing in her Christmas show. It was so much fun at Halloween, we couldn't miss this one. Ava was decked out in her Mrs. Clause dress and was full of energy. She was awesome. Brian and I couldn't stop laughing at all the other kids though. The one girl in the front was on the verge of tears the entire show, one boy spent most of the time crawling around the stage, another had a scowl on his face while his hands were placed in his armpits, and others were just belting out tunes for the entire auditorium to hear. Oh to be a kid again and get away with all of that. Fa, la, la, la , la, ra, ra, ra, ra, raaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Linden Neighborhood Party

Brian and I have been wanting to have a neighborhood party since we moved in 6 years ago. We decided since 2010 brought us such joy, we should spread it to those around us during the holiday season. We invited 14 of our neighbors and 10 of their children, and every one of them replied 'yes.' It was so nice and we had a great time. I didn't take one picture because our house was packed, but I did snap a picture of Colton before the party - looking dapper in his khaki overalls and signature bedhead hairstyle.

Non-denominational Christmas Party

Work parties typically are 'holiday' parties vs. Christmas parties, but not us, we threw a traditional non-denominational Christmas party. That is what our one Jewish employee called it. All in fun. We had a great time and enjoyed celebrating a phenomenal year at 2nd Spark. Top picture - Chris (owner), me, Melissa, and Beth outside the front of our carriage house office, middle picture - Cheryl and me, bottom picture - Colt with Melissa and Beth.

Santa Comes to Glenside

Santa visited Glenside so we walked down to the Keswick Village to sneak a peek. There were carriage rides, hot cocoa and cookies, and Santa rode in on the Weldon fire engine. Thank goodness Colton is too young to know what is going on because it was cold, rainy, and there was an enormous line down the block for boys and girls to sit on his lap. I was the crazy stranger that shimmied my way up to Santa to take a picture for posterity so we could hurry back home. The above was the best I could get.

New Traditions

Life is so much fun with Colton. Beginning new traditions, letting him experience the traditions we started before, and seeing the smiles and hearing the giggles make it all so exciting. We started this holiday season by getting a tree. I always wanted to go out and chop down a tree in the wilderness. It would be a fun tradition to start, hiking through the snow, Brian sawing down the tree, and then carrying it miles and miles to our car. Because it sounds a lot easier and more fun in my imagination, we have decided that the VFW a few blocks from our house is where we get our tree, and have made that our tradition. Colt strolled around the aisles and helped us pick out the perfect tree. It was fun. We also baked cookies, one of Brian's childhood favorites his mother used to make, oatmeal cranberry cookies, and peanut butter blossoms. Colt napped for most of it, until he joined us in his exersaucer. The house smelled of sugar and butter. Next year he will be walking around the kitchen or standing on a chair next to us. Can't wait.