Happy New Year!

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted an entry ... Christmas was chaotic but fun (well, except for Xavier's asthma, which was an uninvited visitor.) We saw my parents, my brother, my sister-in-law, and my niece on Christmas Eve, and that was really nice ... my parents stayed on through Christmas, and we had a wonderful time, though we were disappointed to get no snow (well, my parents probably weren't, but I was.) The kids have been asking Adam every morning, "Can we build a snowman today?" They seem to be missing the point.

Anyway, it is New Year's Eve, and Xavier's asthma is behind us for the moment. We will be spending the evening with my next-door neighbors, which should be a good time. But the part of 2007 that the kids are looking forward to with the most anticipation is ... Shrek the Third. (That and the Transformer's Movie, but there is no chance Xavier is going to get to see that movie this year, no matter how much he begs.) We saw the trailer for Shrek the Third for the first time on Friday night, and approximately six million times since then. Xav and Gwen can quote lines from that movie on queue (in fact, even though they can't read, they recite the opening lines as they watch the preview from memory.)

I had no idea how ingrained this movie was in their little brains until 1:30 this morning, when Xavier burst into my bedroom, Bear in hand, and climbed into my bed. Before Adam could even get out of bed this time, Xavier had already pulled the covers up over himself, closed his eyes, and started playing with Bear's tag (always a precursor to sleep for him.) I got him up and walked him drowsily to the bathroom. He sleepily put Bear on the counter, put the lid up, and started doing his thing. Midstream, he turned his face toward me, suddenly alert, and said, "Mom, do you remember in Shrek the Third how, when Shrek put Puss in Boots out of his bed, Puss made a face that looks like this ..." and he put on the expression Puss in Boots always puts on when he is trying to manipulate people, the big-eyed-poor-cat look. (I still wouldn't let him come back to bed with me.)

It is going to be a long time until May when Shrek the Third comes out. Maybe in the meantime, they will concede to watch the first two movies, which until now they have deemed "too scary."

Well, we're off to Office Max to get supplies we need to finish our holiday letters. We hope you have a wonderful New Year and that 2007 is wonderful -- and funny -- for you and yours. I'm sure it will be funny (at least) for us.