Happy 2007!

Wow!  2007!  And Calvin has enjoyed yet another first holiday celebration, although this one he slept through completely while we partied in the next room (at least he's a good sleeper).  We had figured we would end up ringing in the new year just the two of us with our own (sleeping) baby year - we took Steve and Rachel (who, by the way, rang in their new year as an engaged couple after a very special Christmas Eve proposal - yay, yay, yay!), but as luck would have it, someone actually wanted to spend this, the greatest party night of the year, with us boring old parental types...Andrew and Amy, our good friends from around the corner, came over for dinner, baby play, music, snacks, and the traditional dropping of the ball and champagne toast.  Good company really adds a lot to any celebratory situation, and we had a really wonderful evening - and a LOT of good food.  We are really looking forward to (and bracing ourselves for) all that this new year has in store for us (including a new tax break), and we wish all of you out there a year full of beautiful blessings.

One last Christmas dinner

Who doesn't want Christmas to lsat for days on end?  We really like to spread out our Christmas joy.  In fact, tonight we realized that somewhere along the way Christmas really changed for us.  It seems to us that when we were Children Christmas was a one day event that we waited for all year long.  Now, as adults, Christmas isn't a day, it's a season, and we find ourselves trying to spread the spirit out across days, or even weeks.  And Christmas is less about the gifts we get and more about the gifts we give, and even more about the people we share it with.  With that in mind, tonight was Christmas all over again!  Tonight we had our traditional Christmas dinner with the extended Hiller family, only this year the table was graced by three members of the next generation.  Calvin was the youngest baby there, his second cousin Iris is five months older than he is, and Iris's cousin, Dylan, is about ten months older than he is.  And we also enjoyed the company of family who travelled from all over the world, including California and The Netherlands.  Calvin even received a very speical gift from his cousin (once removed) Kate, who brought him a Dutch children's book, something we will enjoy sharing with him to help him embrace his heritage.  It sure would be nice if there could be a little bit of Christmas every day.

It may not be a box, but...

It is a well known fact that if you give a kid a special gift he will find the box it came in more fun.  Well, we bypassed this issue by removing the big gifts from their boxes before giving them, like the Learning Home and the Grooving Table (cool names, huh?).  We were outsmarted, though.  Clearly it's not the box that is so appealing, but the box's simplicity.  We learned this because even though Calvin clearly loves the door and the table, and pretty much all of his new toys, his absolute favorite new item seems to be the rolling cylinder that his uncle Steve and aunt Rachel gave him.  Yes, it's just a beach ball like inflatable cylinder, and it is possibly the most fun he has had yet!  It encourages and allows him to be much more physically active and mobile - and he just loves going crazy on the thing. 

He does exist!

Santa does exist!  It may have been years since either of us was visited by the big man in red, but we know he exists because he was in our house last night and he left a bounty of gifts for little Calvin!  He graced our sitting room with the evidence of his visit in the tradition of the Hiller family - a full stocking and a handful of special gifts left unwrapped by the tree.  The stocking itself was a big hit with Calvin, who thought emptying it was more fun than the trinkets he pulled out from inside (including, his own soft cell phone and camera so he can be just like mommy and daddy).  He did get a kick out of the learning home (read: door with lots of kiddy gadgets) that Santa left, though, and his parents really enjoyed that one, too. 

And after a quick overview of Santa's drop, we headed to the Hiller household for a Christmas morning including stockings, great food, and gifts all around.  We had a wonderful time and Calvin was on his very best behavior - he just loved all the activity and all the interesting boxes and toys (even the ones that didn't belong to him).  The best gift we got that morning?  Calvin took both of his normal naps (9-11 and 1-3) while we were there without any difficulties - yay!

We finished off the day with a Christmas evening at the Ophoff household, including a beautiful dinner and dessert.  We had a wonderful time opening gifts in front of the fire there and, again, Calvin was really on his best behavior.  The best gift we got that evening?  Calvin took his normal evening nap without trouble - yay (do you see a pattern here?)!  We had started the holiday expecting to deal with the stresses of a long and grueling day away from home, and the consequences of a fussy and over tired baby, and we were pleasantly surprised and pleased to return home with a very happy infant.  Calvin really revelled in the attention and the stimulation of the day and that is more than we could have every hoped for, and his happiness was the best gift we could have asked for.  It was a true Christmas miracle!

Merry Christmas one and all!

Watch the Calvin's 29th week album for the pictures from Calvin's first Christmas Eve and Christmas!