Yuletide fun

It has been a very busy week getting back to our routine. Monroe is delighted with many aspects of Christmastide, her current enthusiasms being snowmen, hot cocoa, and the song "Silent Night," which she calls "Sleep in Heavenly Peace" and can recognize in any form (jazz, instrumental, you name it.) So sweet!!

Yesterday was our annual Gratifood party, a holiday tradition (only 2 years old, but holding strong.) The party falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas and is a potluck in which guests are invited to bring a food that brought them JOY in the past year. So many of life's most meaningful moments are tied to food, and so many family holiday traditions are based on foods, so the celebration seems very fitting to the time of year. And we always have a fun and crazy mix of foods--like ham and cheese sandwiches with champagne, for instance. (Those two were our contribution, in memory of foods served at our 10th anniversary party in the wine country. Aunt Naomi brought the most adorable mini-smores to symbolize all the wonderful camping trips she's taken with her husband this year.) We also use the whole thing as an excuse to take up a collection for Westside Food Bank. Very merry indeed!

I was thrilled that some of Monroe's favorite buddies came this year. Mic and Emma (3 and 6) are very sweet and fun and they showed Monroe a good time. I could tell the kids had a blast because this is what Monroe's room looked like afterward:

Nothing says "wild night" like finding a stray taquito in your dollhouse. :-)