on the first day of christmas

We celebrated wave one of Christmas with the Vermont Carlsons (which includes Aunt Holly, who technically lives in Arlington but is a part-time Vermonter, due to her semi-regular travel schedule up north). Nate is in present heaven these days. Since his birthday in mid-November he has been bombarded with a regular stream of presents. It's gotten to the point where if anyone comes to visit, even if we saw them a day ago, he asks if they are bringing him a gift. January's going to be a big downer. But January isn't here yet, so Nate's Gift-a-Thon continues!

Nate's been telling us for months what a good skier he is. I'm not sure where he got this idea, since he'd never been on skis of any kind. But things change, and Gramma and Grampa gave him snow skis and the related accouterments. And, low and behold, Nate is a good skier! He trekked through the wilds of our backyard and after a few assisted laps he actually moved a few feet by himself. He is off to a good start and you might be seeing him in Vancouver shortly.

Other weekend highlights included making gingerbread cookies and a house with Gramma and Aunt Holly, and a new power tool - hedge trimmers (we are pleased to report that Nate is using proper safety equipment. He even uses invisible safety goggles. Or so he says.)

The family photo of us outdoors should be added to our "Where's the Baby?" gallery. Anyone know where Anja is?