Christmas in the Mitten

We spent seven cold but fun days in Michigan for Christmas. My high hopes of playing in the snow with Henry were dashed; all I have to show from a week long trip is a pitiful little dusting. It didn't matter much because Henry wasn't too fond of the "told" (his C's are T's) anyways. He's already a Georgia boy!

At Grandma and Papou's house, Henry had fun standing in the foyer and flipping the light switches. His mind was blown when Papou let him operate the remote for the outdoor Christmas lights! He also got a nice early Christmas present when we accidentally let him open a package with his gift from Uncle Alex, Aunt Anna, Ella, and Mila. Oops. It just meant a few extra days of Lego building!

On Christmas Eve, we attended mass with the Makris family and enjoyed a traditional Italian dinner with the Longo family. Henry's favorite part was blowing out the candles on Jesus' birthday cake. After a bedtime story of the Night Before Christmas from Papa, Henry said "ni night".

Christmas morning was a joy. Henry's excitement was contagious. He loved his musical instruments from Zia-Zia, his parachute and magna-doodle board from Papa and Mimi, and his locks and latches puzzle from Aunt Cathy and Uncle Joe. Staying true to toddler form, he also loved a cardboard box.

For Christmas dinner, we headed over to the Makris home. He enjoyed his lawn mower from Uncle Joe and Aunt Abby, and his Elmo Doctor Book, and tool puzzle from Grandma and Papou. After handing out kisses, Henry took a nap while we enjoyed a delicious dinner and opened the rest of our gifts. Mom and Dad loved the canvas of Mila to add to their collection. We also gave them (and the other two sets of grandparents) a cute plaque to display with their "names." Later, Henry happily enjoyed Grandma's homemade pfeffernusse cookies and milk on special Christmas china, because Grandmas can do that sort of thing.

Before our trip was over, Great Papa Longo came over to visit some more with Henry. And again, because grandparents can get away with it, Henry enjoyed even more Christmas cookies during his visit.

Our flight home was delayed. Henry passed the time playing near some large windows in the terminal. When the sun popped out for a moment, Gus, who has taken as many pictures in his life as I take in a day, noticed that the light was pouring over Henry, and he was quick to grab the camera for the last pictures of our trip. Who knew tax lawyers had an eye for the beautiful?

Our Family Christmas

We enjoyed Christmas at home before jetting off to Michigan. Santa brought Henry a tunnel and tent for the playroom, and we gave him a tractor and cash register. Henry doesn't know it yet, but his big gift is his "big boy room," which he'll be moving into in just a few weeks. Baby Mak also had a gift for Henry: The Best-Ever Big Brother book!

We exchange ornaments every year. Henry's first ornament is an engraved metal spoon because the first time Henry crawled it was because he wanted to get to a metal spoon. This year Henry received an alphabet ornament because he has a mild obsession with letters.

For breakfast we enjoyed monkey bread while Henry dove into the bag of iced animal crackers from his stocking. Henry knows we don't typically buy the delicious ones with the pink and white frosting, so he went to town and ate almost half the bag in one sitting. But it's okay because it was Christmas.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Our official celebration will be delayed until later this weekend due to work commitments, but Henry still had a special message for his Daddy on the day of his 31st birthday. We love you, Daddy/Gussy!

Henry's First Haircut

If you look through recent photos, you might be able to predict my feelings about Henry's first haircut. I was dreading it. Henry was born with those hairs on his head, and they were one of the last pieces of his babyhood. But the last pieces of his babyhood were starting to look like the first pieces of his mullet. It was time.

I washed those long curls one last time on Friday night and snapped a few "before" pictures. The Haircut was Saturday. That morning we enjoyed a last supper (well, brunch) with the long-haired one at an Atlanta institution, the OK Cafe. (Henry's Grandpa made the sign that sits atop the OK Cafe.) Henry ate a pancake the size of a large plate (his second meal before noon), and then we walked to another Atlanta institution, Tommy's Barber Shop. We were hopeful that Henry would be too full to care about a quick trim. Well, he cared. Lucky for us, Henry's barber, "Swift", proved true to his name, swiftly clipping and snipping the hair of a moving, crying, hairy baby.

When we got home, Daddy and Henry took a celebratory wagon ride to the park and played for a couple hours. I stayed home to clutch the saved lock of hair and shed a few tears. Henry couldn't be more handsome with his new haircut, but to my eye, he went from twenty months to sixteen years in one Saturday morning.

Same Old Santa

Last year:


This year:


It's the exact same Santa met with the exact same reaction. Just with a few more teeth and a lot more hair this year. All was well once we left Santa and took a lovely horse-drawn carriage ride for two through the scenic Avenues at East Cobb. Henry happily pointed out letters on the store signs, and gleefully shouted "B! B! B!" when he spotted his very favorite letter. All it takes is a good B to forget about that scary, old Santa.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

I make a big deal about trimming the tree, and it all goes back to being 7 years old. I remember my Mama telling us that we were going to have a "decorate the Christmas tree" party. She served cocktail weiners and those "fancy" Pepperidge Farm cookies to celebrate the occasion, and I was certain it was the best party I had ever been to.

So now I like to have tree parties of our own, minus the cocktail weiners (gross). We put on our Christmas pajamas (thanks to Gus for putting up with me) and enjoy hot cocoa and those fancy Pepperidge Farm cookies as we adorn the tree. Henry loved picking out the "balls" to put on the tree, and loved the cookies even more. I hope his memories are as fond as mine.