Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Christmas, Happy New Year - Happy Holiday Season!
December 6, 2006
I know that some people dread the holiday season - interacting with parents, siblings, in-laws, extended family, etc. I love it. I look forward to that time just before Thanksgiving until the new year. This year was no different. The three of us (Zach, Xander and me) spent Thanksgiving day with Zach’s family - his parents, brother & sister-in-law and their three children (ages 8, 7 & 5). It was wonderful - everyone oohs and ahhhs over Xander, since I’m nursing, I still get plenty of one-on-one time with the little guy, and when I would like a break there is always someone ready to cuddle him 
On Friday we had our second Thanksgiving with my family. My sister volunteered to change diapers on multiple occasions (somehow she got “lucky” with poopie diapers more than once that day…) My grandmother got a chance to feed Xander a bottle and we got some excellent pictures of everyone holding the baby. Later that afternoon my family watched Xander while Zach and I went to a movie - which was a strange experience for both of us, since it was the first time Xander had been apart from both parents at the same time. It was nice to have some time to ourselves though. Xander was fine, and behaved well for my family, so overall it was a positive experience.
With plenty of leftover turkey fortifying me, I’m gearing up for Christmas - 90% of my cards are signed, sealed and ready for delivery (though I thought I should at least wait until December to mail them out…), and I’d say we’ve got about 70% of our shopping done, though I haven’t started wrapping yet. This means that for the next month I can relax, find time to cut down a tree at the local tree farm with my family, find time to make cookies with my mother, decorate a tree with my family, attend office Christmas parties, and eventually celebrate my son’s first Christmas with a majority of our extended family! I know that a lot of these activities are seen as chores, headaches, and another reason to argue for a lot of people, but I really think it is a most wonderful time of year!
