So much has been happening recently. My writing urge has been satiated by two articles that I had due for Purina. Instead of regaling the internet world with adventures from The Real World - Miller Edition, I've been writing about Obsessive Compulsive Disorders in Doberman Pinschers and mapping of the canine genome specifically related to Portuguese Water Dogs.
In the past few weeks, Alex celebrated his second holiday. The first was Halloween which passed with an uncharacteristic lack of hoopla. Alex donned his Piglet costume (yes, I dressed my son up like a tiny pig who derives all sense of self-worth from an overweight sugar-substance obesessed bear) for about five minutes, and then Halloween was finished for the year. We had two groups of trick-or-treaters all night so I dumped most of the candy into the basket of the two middle school aged boys who showed up at my back door.
Holiday #2, Thanksgiving, (Yes, I know it's not really his second holiday -- he's had July 4th, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day. But c'mon, it's his second REAL holiday.) had a lot more of the requisite celebratory hoorah. We spent the day at my parents house just down the road. The cousins were there and a great time was had by all. Alex's first Thanksgiving dinner consisted of Gerber Turkey & Vegetables, Cheerios (of course - we go nowhere without the O's), and lots of nibbles of my mom's homemade noodles and the green beans from the grean bean casserole. Only one bout of tears when Alex rolled off the couch onto the floor (Bad, Mommy, bad!), but he managed to recover quickly and thankfully landed on the soft rug on his well padded tush. No permanent damage.
The day after Thanksgiving we continued our tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree. I bundled Alex up and we hiked into the woods with our permit and trusty handsaw to find the perfect tree. After about an hour the poor little guy had had quite enough of his parents debating the merits of the "bulbous tree" vs. the actual model for the Charlie Brown tree. Kevin and I quickly picked the closest tree and were pleased to see when we got home that it actually looks beautiful.
Decorating the tree and the rest of the house took several days to complete. We played all of our Christmas CDs and tested each ornament to make sure it wouldn't rip the delicate branches off the top of the tree. I was pretty teary-eyed throughout most of this process. It's simply surreal to me that I have a family. Not that Kevin and I weren't a family before Alex, but having a child makes everything about the holidays (everything about life, really) seem more fun, more alive, more hectic and much more important. I can honestly say that I've never been happier.
Now I just have a few days left to get the Christmas presents finished and we're off to the Midwest for six days. Let the holidays begin!
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