What The Holidays Do To Your Body

Forget what they say happens to your waist line between Thanksgiving and New Year's.

I'm much more concerned with what happens to your teeth.

Top left tooth lost first week of December.  She lost it in her sleep. We still haven't found it. Its presumed to have been swallowed.

Bottom right tooth. Lost Dec 22. Finn's 1st lost tooth. It probably could have lasted another week but he wiggled it intensely every moment he had his hands free. 

Top right tooth. Lost Dec 26th. This one gave everyone the willies on Christmas because it started bleeding and twisted around and back and forth. The Westovers don't have strong stomachs for such sights. 

Around here, teeth have been falling out so fast that the Tooth Fairy booked a room at The Edgewater so she can stay close by.

My Dream

Remember how last year (and all the years before last year) we sat on the floor to open Christmas gifts?

 Remember my dream of sitting on a couch to open Christmas gifts? 

Well, my dream came true.

Oh what a difference a couch makes.

Merry Christmas.

Onslaught of photos to come.

For now, we are in sugar overload and the day is just getting started.

Sucking Up to Santa

Niamh left this card and wrapped gift for Elfa to bring to Santa a few days ago.

Niamh is no dummy. She knows who to suck up to this time of year. 

 Dear Santa, I hope that it is not too cold so I made you a scarf. Love, Niamh

(she gets her "d's" and "b's" mixed up)

Elfa felt it was more his size than Santa's so he has been wearing it on his trips between the N Pole and Seattle.

Dog People

 This is how it usually starts. Someone is at the table, enjoying some hot chocolate, or posing for a photo.

Next thing you know, Fred sticks his wet little nose up from beneath the table. He gives just a slight nudge in your belly to let you know he is there and would like some attention.

Then, he quickly pulls himself up and is right in your face, demanding some attention, or maybe more than what you were already giving him.

 

Once he's up, its Game Over. Freddie wins.

And then, because we are Dog People, we reward this appalling behavior with a big hug.

Later, we tell our friends and visitors that we can't understand why the dogs won't obey when we say NO, Get Down!

 

 

I guess Fred is just too stupid to learn that he's not supposed to be on our laps at the table.

The message was pretty clear. Don't you think?

Password Protected

Apparently we now need a password (or pazwrd) to get in to Niamh's room. 

NOTV seems to work pretty well for me.

The Bearded One (Sneek Peek)

Serioiusly, Finn, loosen up. You look a little tense. Its just Santa.

There we go.

This guy was chatty. Well worth our wait. Niamh politely answered his inquiries.  When he asked what she wanted him to bring her, she said, Surprise me.

I think that Finn needed a drink after this visit with Santa.He was tense. It may have something to do with some of the behavior Santa noticed with Finn recently. But that's just speculation.

8 Candles In The Candelabra

Nov. 26 marked 8 years of Niamh's survival with us.

We opened a few gifts, we had an ice skating party, and we had some cake made by Steve.

Finn wasn't happy that it wasn't his birthday. We saw this face a lot on November 26th.

Note the pout.

Lucky for Niamh, Finn doesn't hold grudges.

Niamh didn't want to have a party with her friends this year. She sweetly declared that she wanted to have a day with her family, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents and go ice skating. I gave her the chance to change her mind, invite her BFFs, but she insisted, FAMILY ONLY! Is she getting soft in her old age?

Uncle Mike and Cousin Ems

Best Brother in the Universe who doesn't hold grudges for too long

Auntie Alethea, Uncle Erik, Cousins Isadora and Lincoln. 

PS I love Lincoln. The Westover Boys are much nicer than the Westover Girls.

 Scott Hamilton and Dorothy Hamill

Finn and I were gaining momentum for a sweet lift in this picture. He had me above his head and then we did some fast spinny things. It was amazing. Too bad it wasn't captured on film.

Since there were only 5 of us to eat this beauty that Steve made, we cut a few pieces and then told Niamh she could dig in, eat it with a fork, use her hands, or just lick it if she wanted. 

Happy Birthday, Niamh. You've turned out pretty well considering you are the kid we test our parenting on first.
I love you.