Making merry

Why don’t I ever write about stuff within two weeks of it happening? It would make this so much easier.

Anyhoo, here’s a recap of our Christmas break and The Girl’s first birthday shindig. Since it’s been so long, I can’t really remember the specifics well enough to create a narrative, so you’ll get the recap in bullet list form.

• First of all, the weekend before Christmas we had a pre-Christmas Christmas with The Wife’s side of the family in The Woodlands.
• On the 23rd, we headed down to the Swamp of Enchantment. Since we were taking separate cars, we went ahead and turned The Girl’s car seat around, a change she officially approves of.
• Upon arriving in Lake Jackson, The Girl discovered a chair that was just the right size.
• The kids entertained us with several piano duets, but I’m not booking Carnegie Hall just yet.
• We visited Grandma Mee-Mee’s apartment, where The Boy discovered that magnifying glasses are fun, while The Girl discovered that she likes Danish butter cookies.
• On Christmas Eve, we opened presents at The Wife’s parents’ house. Although The Girl was excited by the whole gift thing, she found chewing on her aunt’s BlackBerry equally satisfying.
• The Girl got a scooter and a baby doll that she loves more than life itself. Since The Dog wasn’t with us, The Wife put a bow on her head instead.
• The following morning was kind of rough, but we got up and went over to my parents’ house to do the presents thing again. The girl added to her haul while The Boy netted more Nintendo games.
• For lunch, we headed to my grandparents’ house where The Wife did shots of some mystery Czech liquor. It had the usual effect. Meanwhile, The Girl did some drinking of her own.
• My kids shared some Cool-Whip, which is apparently better than ice cream. Also, more Danish butter cookies for The Girl.
• The Girl demonstrated once again that she will point out her navel upon request.
• After that, it was back to my parents’ house so we could all rock out with Guitar Hero.
• The kids played together really well all week long, thanks in large part to an air mattress that they both thought was a lot of fun.
• Two days after Christmas, it was birthday time!
• The Girl opened some more presents. She got really excited about cards containing cash, as well as the stroller she got for her baby.
• After that, it was time to blow out the candles and enjoy some cake. The Girl wasn’t sure what to do at first, but eventually she figured it out (and she was even nice enough to share).
• After the party, The Girl relaxed with her new bath toys while The Boy did his best Bat Boy impression. (You do remember Bat Boy, don’t you?)
• At that point, I headed back to College Station to take care of some stuff at work and left the camera with The Wife. From here on out, I’m either deducing what happened from the pictures or just making something up.
• The kids went to the park at Shy Pond, where The Girl showed off her new glasses, The Boy fed the waterfowl and some random kid bogarted his way into our family photos.
• At some point, The Boy injured his arm and cried about it for a while. When she decided that he had gone on too long, The Wife took a picture of him carrying on and on. All I can say is that’s a unique approach to parenting.
• The Girl continued to be nuts.
• After a trip to the mall and another stop at Mee-Mee’s house, The Girl decided it was time to come home. So they did. The end.