Happy New Year!

I hope you're all having a nice start to January.  Our Christmas weeks were hectic - that's no surprise.  First, Baby Madeline and her parents came to spend a week here before Christmas; they wanted her to be home on Christmas morning to open her presents.  I missed having them here on Christmas, but they need to make their own traditions.

Maddie turned 9 months old while she was here, and she's quite the little crawler.  Here she is, selecting a gift for herself.

 She was better able to hold this one, so she worked at it for a while.

 "Mommy and Daddy can open that present from Uncle Ryan; it looks too complicated for me."

 "Oh, boy!  Uncle Ryan sure does know how to find fun stuff!"  Evidently, she has been enjoying her elephant at home, too.

As they left on Christmas Eve, others began to arrive.  Christmas morning was the usual feast, with the addition of Jeff cooking up 3 dozen eggs with ham.

 Does Adventure Beagle really like Mark, or was it just that she admired his spiffy Patriots Christmas sweater?  Maybe both.

 Tank spent plenty of time trying to sucker Patrick into feeding him.  He also wore his Christmas tie very well.

 Quincy had to wear a Christmas bow tie, so he wouldn't try to eat it.

 The soon to be newlyweds!  This was his first Christmas with us, and he seemed to really enjoy it.

 I do admit that when 9 people buy presents for their siblings and parents, Mom doesn't have to do much to make the pile look astronomically huge.

 Remember my grandmother's antique German glass icicles?  When Shannon and Chris went to Germany with his mother in March, they and his mother bought me some additional glass icicles.  I am so happy!  They are beautiful!

 Christmas dinner was different.  I got tired of the price of Standing Rib Roast ($400 for one meal, with no leftovers), so I bought Filet Mignon.  Cut by a local butcher, I bought 50% more than we needed for only $300.  After some of our celebrants had gone home, we had it again a couple of nights later, and it was just as wonderful then.  (I did have to go in and cook seconds for some of the menfolk on Christmas, but that was fine, because it meant everyone was happily stuffed.)

 Look at all of these happy people, busily stuffing their faces!

And the best Christmas present of all?  Baby Madeline will be a big sister in June, and Shannon and Chris are expecting their first baby at the end of May!!!!

So, belated Merry Christmas to all of my friends out there in Cyber-World, and I hope 2017 finds you healthy and happy.