the bat box: Luc's First Christmas!

What a wonderful (and busy) few days it's been!

Our celebration began Saturday evening with the second annual Sombat Family Christmas Party. We had a blast! We started this tradition last year as a way to bring my family and Sonepheth's together during the holidays. This usually proves to be very challenging (and this year was no different), but it's well worth it in the end. As the years go by, I hope the tradition will grow to include our friends and eventually our children's friends and families too. I served cheese and crackers and bruschetta (yummy) and my mom made a seafood lasagne (sooooo yummy). We also had stuffed shells, salad, garlic bread, and fresh fruit, and (for those of us that still had room) finished with Sonepheth's brownies and my mom's fresh coconut cake. We have decided to host the party every year on the Saturday before Christmas, so mark it on your calendars for 2007! Come one, come all!

Sonepheth had to work on Sunday, so Luc and I did a little shopping in the morning and then I wrapped presents while he entertained himself for hours on his mat. I also made a rockin' crab dip to take to my mom's house later. The recipe, which I created myself, turned out really well. The crab dip may just become my signature dish... so be sure to look for it at next year's Christmas party! We had dinner with my mom and Paul before heading to the candlelight service at 10pm. I was especially glad to return this to the list of our Christmas traditions. We missed it last year because I was just too tired to go (perhaps because I was very newly pregnant at the time). It was beautiful! Luc slept soundly through the whole service, and afterwards my mom finally got to introduce the sleepy little cherub to a few of her church friends.

We didn't get to bed until very late Sunday night (early Monday morning for me), so we slept in a little on Christmas day. We sat under the tree and opened stockings first, followed by a few of our many presents. Luc wanted to open his gifts all by himself, but did end up needing a little help. Santa filled his stocking with socks and little toys, which for this year and this year alone, were both equally exciting. He also received lots of books and clothes and a four-key toy piano. Seeing him reach for the packages and then being able to look at and touch his gifts was amazing! He was adorable (as always). I think we took about a million pictures! The dogs got squeeze cheese, treats, and toothbrushes in their stockings, and also had a few gifts under the tree. They were not too interested though, as they were still working on the rawhide bones Sarah and Tim brought them on Saturday. It was so wonderful, being together on Christmas morning. I just kept thinking, wow, this is my family! It's a feeling I hope I'll remember forever.
We spent the morning with my mom and Paul, having a delicious brunch, opening presents, and simply enjoying each other's company. Oh, and taking a million more pictures! Pop Pop was there, and we got some priceless shots of him with his great-grandson.
Next, we headed up to Pasedena to Uncle John's house to have dinner with Paul's family. John's daughter and daughter-in-laws and our Aunt Mary Ellen helped put together a wonderful feast! Everything was so good! It was sad without Grandmommy, but she was there in our hearts as we enjoyed many of her traditional holiday recipes.

Last stop was a visit to my Grandma's house to spend time with my Dad's side of the family. Even with only half of my Dad's ten brothers and sisters in attendance, it was a full house! Everyone loves seeing Luc, who is the first great-grandchild and one of very few boys in the family. We had desert (more food!) and watched my younger cousins open gifts. Luc enjoyed sitting with his Granpop, and his Granpop enjoyed holding him, until he pooped (loudly), which put an abrupt end to that! It was soooo funny-- that is until Luc either realized what was going on and thought we were all laughing at him (is that possible at this age?) or maybe just got scared by all the noise and the unfamiliar faces and started to cry. I'm hoping there won't be any lasting scars... But what's Christmas anyway, without the love of family and a few lasting scars?

At the end of the day we were pooped (!) and just glad to get home to our dogs, who had spent the day by themselves. They were glad to see us (and probably had to pee pretty badly), but were even happier when I opened the gate to the family room, where their rawhide bones were waiting for them.

This was by far the best Christmas ever. Luc is the most precious gift. Looking at our son, my heart swells with happiness and gratitude and pride and love, I'm overwhelmed! He is a miracle, and we love him more than words can say.
Happy Christmas and a joyous New Year to all!