Preparing for the holidays

Highlights of the time between our return home from Thanksgiving travels (the 27th of November) and our trip back to the west coast for work and holiday celebrations (the 18th of December) included a fun lab gathering; a trip to Vermont to visit with Mark, Anne, and their kitty Lucy; decorating our home for Christmas; and a couple of winter storms that carpeted the Boston area in over a foot of snow.

Caden enjoyed playing with his friends Mae, Summer, and Chelsea at the Marine Science Center chili feast over at Sal and Liza's place. He especially liked Mae and Summer's collection of Play-Doh colors and accessories and kept saying "Summer house Play-Doh" for days after. He also tore up the dance floor, bouncing and shaking his rump in time with the reggae beat, which the students loved. A few days later, while we decorated our Christmas tree, Caden learned a new word, "snow," as he watched the first flakes of the season fall.

The next weekend, we headed up to Vermont, where Mama and Anne were selling their crafts at the Mt. Hollyday Fair. The craft fair was a great excuse to visit our friends, and Caden - as usual - loved playing with Lucy the kitty. He even read stories to her! We made it back in time to avoid the storm that was predicted later that weekend (and which fizzled by the time it reached the coast), but two more storms hit the next week - the first while Dada was away in Santa Barbara - so that by Sunday the 16th, we had about 1.5 feet of snow on the ground. Thank goodness for our neighbor, who loaned Dada his snowblower to help clear our driveway and sidewalk!

That same neighbor invited the entire neighborhood over to his place for a holiday cocktail and dinner party the evening of the 15th. Caden has really "clicked" with a high schooler who works at his school, so we asked her to babysit for the evening, his first non-family babysitter since we moved to Massachusetts. When we headed across the street, he quickly said "bye, Mama, bye, Dada" as he raced, squealed, and "whee"-ed around the dining room table.

Checking out Summer's flower

Decorating our tree

At the Mt. Hollyday Craft Fair

Reading to Lucy

Blowing snow