Christmas (In a Nutshell)

So the holiday started off by preparing Maude for a couple long days alone. That meant cleaning and filling her "water fountain," leaving additional bowls of water and food around my apartment, and purchasing fresh "cat grass" -- not to mention, the live catnip pictured here.

And then it was off to Christmas Eve, which -- ever since my family "cancelled" Christmas years ago -- I spend with a friend's family in lieu of mine. Here she models with one of the gifts I purchased for her -- a rather macabre learning tool depicting the skeletal system.

[Yes, it's blurry, I know -- but I'm not about to post a clear picture of friends and family without first receiving written permission.]

Next was Christmas. And though Santa arrived as anticipated

This little elf spent the morning and afternoon hopping from one house to the next visiting relatives and dropping off gifts before touching any of her own.

Lunch was had at a relatives, where my aunt displayed an interesting collection of dolls, including one that looks a little like me... aside from the hideous ribbon and gold glasses.

[Mine, for the record, are tortoise.]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (errr... family room) my cousin took on his six-year-old son in a game of pool. My cousin, much to his chagrin, barely escaped defeat.

My fascination for the "8 ball" prompted all variety of questions regarding my gang affiliation. I tried explaining how intrigued I was by the Greek symbol for infinity (an "8" laid upon its side), but they weren't convinced.

Next up was my grandparents' home, where my youngest nephew sat down for a chat with his great grandfather.

There aren't really any pictures of me to memorialize the occasion, though I swear I was there. See? Here's my foot.

If you're lucky, I may reveal a bit more of myself in a future post.

[And by that I mean: I may show BOTH of my feet.]

Still not convinced I was there? Here's another shot of me back at my parents.

That aforepictured youngest nephew -- known simply as "The Trunk Baby" to many in blogosphere -- was less than thrilled by the "Safety 1st" items I purchased for him for Christmas. You know, the latches to keep him out of kitchen cabinets (and refrigerator) and even a nifty little contraption to keep him from swimming in the toilet.

Luckily, the giant stuffed elephant I also purchased for him was very well-received.

But there's also now a (step)neice in the mix -- not to mention my oldest nephew, an amazing kid with whom I was sorry to only get to spend an hour or two.

In any event, with so many kids roaming about, this was the most action-packed holiday of recent memory.

Once things slowed down a bit, a boy and his grandfather relived the first few months of the former's life thus far.

Before moving on to demonstrate that though he understands quite well the notion of object permanence, he's still nevertheless convinced that the "other" baby in the mirror should come out and play.


On the Third Day of Christmas, I made the long drive to visit a good friend and her newborn. Though she's not the first of my friends to have a child, she's the first of "The Five" (the girls with whom I've been friends for an exceedingly long time). So we marked the occasion with an amateur photo shoot.

Not to mention, baby's first outing. "Where'd she go her first time out of the house?" you ask.

Wal-Mart.

OK, so it's not glamorous. But reality seldom is, folks.

I returned to my home base with not-so-good pizza, which I was more than happy to share with the group. Unfortunately, "Santa Claws" was still there, seeking hydration in someone's water glass when they weren't looking.

On day four, I joined my brother and his new family for the celebration of his stepdaughter's second birthday.

Incidentally, my brother is wearing this tiara in the last photo I took of him -- or should I say, the last photo I'll take of him for at least 12 months. But more about that later.