Good Lord People!

Dearest Grace Fans,

It has come to my attention from a great number of you, that you are very disappointed in the updating of the blog. My sincerest apologies. A little thing called the "holidays" has now come and gone leaving me with hours of free time on my hands to amuse and bemuse you with stories of our favorite girl. So here's what's been going on. . .

Here's the x-mas update. When we were little, we made a whole day out of going to see Santa. My mom ordered (well in advance of our date) monogram sweaters and kilts for the girls and while I was annoyed to be dressed like my sister, they did make for cute pictures. Back when it was called "Wanamakers" and not Hecht's or Lord and Taylor or whatever it's called today, we headed downtown to see my dad. We hustled over for the light show and then a trip to Santa's village. We got to meet with Santa and take a tour via a mini monorail (on display at the Please Touch Museum) all through toy land. What a day. . . . While they still have a lightshow, we missed it this year and will hopefully catch it next year. I did manage to get Grace in her x-mas outfit off to Willow Grove Mall for a quick (and I mean quick) visit with Santa. We had been waving to Santa for weeks leading up to this moment but to no avail. Instant tears the second the kid's bum touched Santa's knee. Lord did she scream! I actually bought the picture because I thought it was funny. My husband, on the other hand, was horrified by the picture and can't even look it. He was seriously disturbed by it. His reaction made me look at the picture again and wonder if I was a bad mom. It still made me laugh. Say what you will about me as a mother--I'm comfortable getting a chuckle from it.

What can I say about Christmas other than it was the most amazing day we've ever had with Grace. Following my family's tradition of a big reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" we piled onto the bed for dad to read it to us. As soon as we hit the bed,Grace started screaming "DiDi" for Captain Idiot to join us. So up he came, mayhem ensued, and the reading was very, very quick. Two adults, one toddler, and a giant golden retriever--you get the picture. Christmas morning brought an early wakeup call--5am! How did she know it was Christmas? She let us stay in bed until about 6:15 and then we headed downstairs. Thankfully Santa came (we knew she had been a good kid) and brought lots of presents. Grace's first reaction to the tree lit up and presents everywhere: "Oh Wow!" So cool! She needed a little help opening her presents but once she got the hang of it, she loved it. Among her favorites were a coloring table, a new bike (complete with bell), weeble village, and a new kitchen so she can cook like mommy (hopefully better). Christmas morning really was one of those moments that we'll never forget. I can't tell you how many moments husband and I had where we just smiled knowing it doesn't last forever. It may sound corny, but it really was magical.

There's a lot I'm leaving out and forgetting but I'm tired and wanted to get something in writing before you all showed up outside the house with pitchforks and bonfires. I'll post pics in the next few days. Hope everyone has a healthy and peaceful new year!