HO HO HO

*SIGH*Ah Christmas- the roar of a birchwood fire, the smell of a fresh frasier fir, and the sight of your 9 month old baby puking all over her brand new, shiny, red piano.

So it was a great day until the piano incident. And even then, Helena was just smiling away. I will thank her someday, for helping us to create the most memorable Christmas of our adult lives, and for living up to all the cliches about babies and holidays.

In the meantime, our condo has turned into kid-crap-central. You name, we have it. Huge, oversized, stuffed animals? Check. Loud toys? Check. Toys with a million pieces that are impossible to contain? Check, check and check. Helena's thoughts on this transformation? She's busy playing with her shoes and some junk mail, let me get back to you on that.

We made it!

Our Thanksgiving adventure was a success: I gained multiple pounds and Helena did not have an in-flight meltdown. The only moment of frustration I encountered was at O'Hare when the security guy told me that Helena needed to take her shoes off too. Um, really? Because you think that 1) she looks suspicious and 2) that you could really squeeze some harmful materials into two inches of rubber? Normally, I would have questioned his judgement but I let it go and Helena went barefoot on the way home.

So it was good, but I can see why people with babies aren't earning a whole lot of frequent flyer miles. I'm holding out for that 'beam me up' technology for our next trip.