This was one of the first photos taken with K's first gift, a nifty new digital camera. Most of the photos previously displayed here were taken with a workhorse Sony Mavica or a hastily-acquired Canon something or other which underperformed in low light. So far, this new camera is taking some great pictures, but you be the judge. Oh, this is Sania posing on Christmas morning.
Sania was read somewhere in excess of seven hundred books over the holiday week. She has taken to assembling a stack of books in one corner of the room (approximately one more than she can carry) and then perilously traipsing across the floor to a person sitting on some furniture and saying, "Read this, mommy/daddy/grammie!"
A big hit for Sania was a baby doll, immediately dubbed "Baby." Here, Sania reviews Baby's latest outfit.
Reid received a bunch of great stuff, including this solar system puzzle and an enormous inflatable Space Shuttle which I somehow managed to not photograph. A quick roll play was devised in which the puzzle served as a space chart and Reid expertly piloted the shuttle around the stars.
Book reading: Number one activity of the holiday season.
For Christmas night, we hosted some friends including Reid's best friend Owen (being manhandled on the left), a little cutie named Krish (sitting stunned in the center) and Owen's little brother Nathaniel (fleece-clad baby-seat-bound boy on the right).
K and her mom carefully assembled Christmas trees from extruded cupcake batter supported by a network of toothpicks and heavy cream cheese icing.
Pawpaw spent a surprising amount of time dressing and re-dressing baby doll for Sania.
Have I mentioned the book-reading?
Reid loved having his grandparents around for Christmas.
Nonni, Aunt Alia and Aunt NayNay's daugher Petra also visited us later in the Christmas break. More food and book reading ensued.
Aunt Alia is practicing hanging out with the little girls as she and Uncle Sean expect one of their own in the new year.
There are a lot of days during Christmas break. To get out of the house, Reid went on nature hikes, hit the Chuck E. Cheese one early morning when daddy had a memory lapse and forgot what Chuck E. Cheese was like, and even made it over to the Natural History museum.
This is the face Sania makes when she sees a monkey, as she did at the museum. She saw lots of animals, and she is an animal expert, so the marble halls echoed with "Bear daddy! Bear! Giraffe! Daddy giraffe! Monkey daddy! Monkey!"
Who needs a double stroller?
Reid and Owen hung out again before the break ended, comparing gift hauls and commiserating about returning to the daily grind of Montessori school.
A Lightning McQueen-themed sleepover!
Sania surveys the wreckage on the last morning of Christmas break.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone.
