December 29, 2006 - 1:28 AM.

Xmas, especially for the Punim

Back from Xmas at the in-laws'. Went well - everyone liked the gifts we made, and we were gift-makin' fools this year. Baby played w/his cousin so sweetly - cousin running solicitously alongside Punim, hand on Punim's back, looking kindly and eagerly into Punim's face and shouting happily, "Come on!" As usual the babe adored the chocolate lab, repeatedly showing her his favorite stuffed cat and asking "What'd she SAY?" and going back to "Pet Molly BVOWWWN." Went onto the base w/mother-in-law to shop for chili ingredients (creepy - base, not mother-in-law). Wrapped all this year's presents in Batman paper bought by husband despite plenty of paper in house from previous years -- but it made him so happy, so what's one roll?

Xmas was scaled back quite a way at both houses of elders, due to illness and treatment thereof over the last year. So I think I need to step up this Saturday when we have a party of my brother's in-laws (and all my family) over. I have to clean house tomorrow (today!), but am hoping to at least lay out some Xmas cookies and put out all the red-like and green-like towels in the bathroom, and maybe tie some windfallen spruce branches with a red ribbon and hang in on the front door. We do already have a tree up and a half-gallon of eggnog and some Xmas CDs, so honestly I think we are halfway there.

Punim *scored* under the various trees this year, and I know there will be more from the last crop on Saturday. To wit:

* From us: a canvas apron w/vegetables printed on (an ad for Litehouse dressings no less, from VV!), a Little Tykes rainbow-colored combination xylophone/piano thingie, a fleece-lined brown corduroy coat, and a Blue doll (these last 3 all on consignment credit, aka free)

* From our friend Scott and his kiddo, a wooden sea-creatures puzzle

* From my folks: a Pop-Onz building set (so adorable), a new cozy knitted pompom hat to replace the one that got mowed, and a full outfit of the same yarn for his dolly - hat, sweater, and pants

* From his animal-loving auntie my sister, a hippo puppet and a tiny stuffed grey seal

* From J's folks: a little grey-&-black sweatsuit with a nice big fire engine applique on the front, his favorite; a little Lego Harold the Helicopter toy (this to match one for his cousin, who is a heli-&-rocket fiend), and the cutest little pedal-less bicycle from a company called Skuut

* From his auntie Flame and uncle Cholly, a proper paper-paged book about Five Little Chickens and I think we left it there, oh dear

* From his auntie T and uncle D: a Fischer-Price Little People bus with 3 figures, songs, and a wheelchair (plus the bus is ADA compliant!); a lift-the-flap book about going to preschool on that very bus; a set of 120 MegaBlocks which we will combine with a set of 50 he got last year when he was too young; and 3 more books, one about counting giraffes, one about what Simon the Snake can be, and one all about memory and flap-lifting. Plus -- the big AquaDoodle! Which he adores - plops himself down in the middle of the mat, bangs the waterpen all over it in long strokes (preferably to the beat of some music), saying "Bo loveth AkkaDuddle." She loves to give for birthday and Xmas and it showed!

I will try to put up a list of all the gifts we had fun making, but now I am tired and want to sleep in my OWN bed, and I think the house has warmed up. It was 46 degrees in here when we got home. Lord.

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