Festivus

I'm just going to skip over our Thanksgiving photos.  For two reasons: I still need to back up photos so that I can upload new ones from our digital camera (Andrew, I know! I am so lame!).  Also, I had to go into work just after I put down my fork, which seriously dampened my internal holiday fire.  Like, I didn't get any dessert and felt very sorry for myself when I came home to a dark, sleeping house at 10:30 that night--a sad little social worker, indeed!

In my emboldened, albeit low-tech, state, I move onward to December and Hanukah!  Which I am enjoying immensely.  And I also just busted out the Christmas music tonight on Spotify.  Feeling very integrated, indeed.

 In the midst of all the celebrating of big holidays, we also honored my mama, who turned 65 on December 6.  Her best friends hosted a party and my brother's family drove up from Santa Ynez so we could honor this great lady.  And she wants to hang with us and the McFarlands for NYE, too!  We are so lucky!

 I just decided, during tonight's Hanukah festivities, that we would donate a night of gifts.  Avi is way into receiving gifts every night this year.  Lilit just mimics her brother, kipa and all.  The lizard is fake, BTW.

 These two are so hot and cold.  Here they are during one of their fun and sweet moments of play, clad in creature power suits made by Savta.  Such lucky kids to have, as Avi describes, "two pairs of Grandmas!" Just in case it's unclear: Avi is a bear and Lilit is a monkey.  The flashlight is because they are about to "go camping." When Avi saw this photo he decided he looked "a lot bigger than I actually am!" My revealing, sensitive boy who has been regressing lately, complete with infantile thrashing and biting.  Our sweet boy who will be 5 in February!

 Speaking of sweet, here is Lilit.  While I am lucky enough not to work on Mondays, I worked the last 3 but had this Monday off again.  The two of us celebrated with a girls' lunch at the mall.

 And she so loved playing with her old share-care buddy, Anneliese, when they came over for a super fun night of Hanukah! Thank goodness Lilit got two special strollers for her last birthday (thank you, Savta and Auntie Jen, again!) so two little girls could play side-by-side with matching tiaras! Oh, and mom, sorry I forgot to bring your clothes.  As you can see, they are still hanging in Lilit's room! Come see us this weekend!

 I just loved this photo of cousin Austin and Avi from Grandma's birthday party.  Avi looks like such a big kid.  He's the oldest of all the cousins! I remember looking up to my cousin Susan, who is the oldest of all my cousins--and I still look up to her!!

 Tonight we went to a neighborhood Hanukah party at Afikomann, a shop in Berkeley owned by one of Avi's preschool classmate's parents.  She is in his group at school and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him run around the shop with her and another little classmate.  Avi and the girls.  He can hang!

I feel sad, in my usual way about any holiday, that Hanukah is half over!! But we get to celebrate with family this weekend AND go to a holiday party.  And then it's time to plan for our vacation at a yoga retreat in Mexico . . . we leave on the 25th! Back home in time to party with our besties and ring in the New Year with our moms, too.  Filled with much love, joy, Bing Crosby and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) this festivus season!!