Christmas past

Now that it is all over for another year - here are some highlights.

Lion taking seriously the job of decorating the Dragonlady Grotto tree.  He held his arms way back for a big throw and follow through with the tinsel.  And here is the result. . .

Not bad, was he?

Of course everyone wants to see how much Monkey has grown.  With so many rellies to fight over him, his feet didn't touch the ground all day.  Since he is a long way from walking that doesn't seem right, but you get the picture.  Grandad got in plenty of cuddles.

Big cousin, Cheetah, is always special but since he got a cool iPod from Santa he got extra attention.

Cheetah also did a great job as the official gift distributor.  The tree is to his left around the corner.

It looks like Monkey approves of Grannysaurus' gift from Romeo and Juliet.

The McTavish boys looked cool in their Christmas shirts made by their creative mum.

Dragon couldn't believe his eyes when he unwrapped his gift from Cheetah, Aunty Chimera, Uncle DH and Little Bear.  He had drooled over this in the shop and never thought he would own it.  It was serendipity.  His smile says it all and he didn't forget to say thank you.

After waking up with a fever (yet again) Little Bear was given her new medicine that worked like magic.  Christmas day was saved for her.  Later Christmas night she practised her feminine wiles on Uncle Romeo while Monkey, very discreetly, had his Christmas tea.

By half way through the day, Monkey looked like he was sooo over smiling for the camera, but he didn't mind Uncle Romeo getting in lots of baby minding practice.

A little bent

This is our Christmas tree - completed. Decorated by Lion and Dragon McTavish with a little help from Grannysaurus. See that gold star. Just behind it is a gold wire angel with bead decoration. They are on the top of the tree. Star and angel together. I know they don't look like they are on the top of the tree, but they really are. It's not an optical illusion. It's just that the top of the tree is no longer at the top of the tree.

You see after the tree was complete, Lion got his little stool, stood up on it and reached up to the top of the tree. He very purposely and carefully bent the top over so that he could reach the star and the angel - maybe to make sure they were secure or maybe just to have them within reach. Who knows. It took him a few minutes to get it just right. So that is the way it stays.

I'm not sure why I'm happy to have a tree that looks a little bent and lop-sided. I just know that if it was so important for Lion to take such care getting it like that, it would feel wrong for me to go and change it. Maybe I'm a bit strange, but it kind of makes it special. So that is the way it will be till it gets packed away for another Christmas - a litttle bent.

Oooooh Christmas Tree

Today Lion and Dragon McTavish came to help Grannysaurus decorate the Christmas tree. Mummy McTavish assured me that it would keep them busy for hours and I would still be able to write Christmas cards while they still had some chance fo arriving in time for Christmas 2008. It sounded like a good plan.

It kept them busy for about 5 minutes. That was how long it took to throw the "balls" on the floor and find out that none of them bounce. Then they discovered the tinsel in the picture. It was dozens of little pretend gifts about 2cm square hung on tinsel that could be draped around the tree.

Christmas gifts are exciting and enticing even if they are smaller than your big toe. You simply have to find out what is inside. The first lump of styrofoam masquerading as a gift doesn't mean that every single one has a lump of styrofoam inside. Little boys don't give up that easily. They had to keep opening the little gifts just in case it paid off. It didn't. Grannysaurus ended up doing most of the decorating alone, although Lion chipped in and helped after a bit of emotional manipulation. Two year old Dragon kept insisting he couldn't help because he was "too busy".

No gift in here either.