Merry Christmas!

We have had an oh so busy (but wonderful!) holiday season so far, starting with the annual Starlight Foundation Christmas Party at Jillian's in Boston.

Some of you may remember the "incident" from last year when we went with Gabe. For those who don't (or need a reminder), let's just say that Santa wasn't the most politically correct dude around. However, he more than made up for it this year, spending lots of time with each of the girls, going over their lists, and ultimately delivering some gifts to them.

Followed by a first (barely) snow of the season. The girls didn't seem to care that there wasn't enough to really do anything. I think they were just happy that the cold snap of early December was over, and they could actually get outside.

Maya made creative use of the ice patch in front of our garage: "Look at me! I'm a turtle!" I think she looks more like a seal, but what do I know?

We were late this year, but we did finally get a tree. Instead of cutting one down, we - for the first time ever - bought it from the Lion's Club in downtown Templeton.

And we cannot forget the annual building of the gingerbread houses. Every year I proclaim that it will be the last, and every year, I again attempt to defy gravity in the form of attaching a too heavy roof to a too small house frame.

It's kind of like childbirth. By the time you're ready to do it again, you've already forgotten how painful it was the last time.

And as if this isn't busy enough, we also celebrated Garth's birthday with the help of good friends...

found time to play Santa...

exchanged notes with the dude in the red suit...

found a Lalaloopsie doll (somewhat akin to finding a needle in a haystack)...

opened some stockings...

and unwrapped some gifts.

I wish I could say that all have been healthy, but unfortunately that hasn't been the case. Ali is on yet another round of antibiotics for a sinus infection. She started with a cough and congestion almost immediately after her dental surgery. Her symptoms got progressively worse over the next couple of weeks, and then came the dreaded fever. With the fever, came the Omnicef.

Five days before Christmas, we thought we had earned ourselves a stay at the Inn. Immediately after I gave her an evening dose of the Omnicef, she started complaining that her throat felt funny. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any more information out of her than that, so we dosed her with Benadryl and put her on the monitor for the night. The allergist wanted us to push through it, so we did without further incident, and have been holding on ever since.

Ali is feeling better, but she is still struggling. The Dulcolax has all but stopped working, and she is more fatigued than usual, but no fever so we are hanging in there. I just want her better, and I'm frustrated that we don't seem to be making any real progress in that department. But, at least it's vacation so we can lay low and take it easy and hopefully she'll make a turn towards health soon. Feliz Navidad!