December at Chez Wixsons

Hi,

It's been awhile since our last post. The Christmas rush hit soon after Thanksgiving along with many other tasks and adventures so we are just now digging out of the craziness. here is a little synopsis of what's been going on.

Mid-December brought the first of two family gatherings to celebrate Christmas - we went to Harriet's for a get together with Granpa and Nonnie, Fred, Liz & Charlie, Aunt Emmy and Uncle Jim, and Harriet and the boys. The meal was spectactular but the most fun was watching all the cousins play together. Several group pics were taken and can't wait to see how they came out.

Anastasia is really getting to be quite a little toddler. She is really steady on her feet now and can almost run if she is so motivated. Cathi has been busy keeping up with Anastasia, as has Bobby.

Recently Bobby took Anastasia to visit the National Aquarium. She discovered that glass is not permeable - while Bobby was waiting for friends in the foyer, Anastasia saw people walking around outside and tried to join them - but to her dismay she ran smack into a glass wall! Then there was the dolphin show - and she loved it - until the dolphins jumped out of the water! Ahh, the life of a toddler. Bobby stopped by Vaccaro's on the way home and bought Mommy a really yummy Napoleon - layers of mille feuilles pastry with chocolate cream in between! Vaccaro's distributor is less than a mile from the house but they don't sell from their warehouse (bummer!).

The second family gathering was to get Cathi's family together in Livingston, TX, where all the Dannenberg first cousins (Cathi's family and her Uncle Bill's family) got together and celebrated Christmas. There are three kids all 1 year to eighteen months and we got them together for the first time. What fun to see them at play and also to look for resemblances between the cousins. We had so much fun we put the present opening off till the last minute.

Another thing we've discovered is the joy of travelling with a toddler! Yikes! I don't know how people travel with two children - one was enough for me (Cathi) to travel with! Planes just weren't made for toddlers - if they were they would be devoid of seats and look more like the play areas at the mall. There was a study done somewhere regarding how toddlers to age four explore a playroom - and the most active are kids right about Anastasia's age. They visit every single toy in the nursery whereas an older child will pick a couple of toy areas. People complain about being stuck on runways - well - we sat on one for 1.5 hours on the way home from Christmas. Anastasia was screaming due to lack of a nap and an oncoming cold. I know everyone in that plane was thinking what were we doing to have such a screaming toddler on our hands. Once she napped, though (after about an hour of screeching), we had a different child. Even the flight attendant commented "she sure had a rough beginning but what a doll she is now..." All I can say is take lots of snacks and plenty of entertainment if you're going to fly with a little guy or gal under two.

Two more things to mention....we just completed day 1 of a new roof installation. We're getting a fake slate tile put on - and boy does it look great. Big change from the old asphalt roof we've had. The roof replacement is just in time - had some rotten boards in the front near our dormer.

Lastly, not to end on a sad note, but we have a great friend who is struggling with peritoneal cancer right now. Mary went into hospice just a few days before Christmas - so pray for Mary, Jason, Molly, Philip, and Michael Fox if you think of it.

Hope all is well and we will post more later - next time a shorter post.

The Wixsons