January...a relief and a let-down all at once

Well, we wrapped up our family Christmas gatherings with even MORE partying this weekend. Olivia had a grand time. It was almost worth the horrible time we had wrestling an overtired, grumpy toddler all through Mass today. Almost. I'll be glad when she's caught up on her sleep and is acting more like her fairly-agreeable self.

Many of my cousins started having kids around the time Olivia was born, so she has several second-cousins of the same age to play with at these gatherings. I took this picture yesterday...it's a picture of Olivia with one of her second cousins. I've been trying to get a postable picture of the two of them for awhile (in keeping with my policy not to post faces of kids who aren't mine unless their parents tell me to do so). They are just 17 days apart in age. I'm not kidding. And although Ashleigh is on the short end of the child-growth spectrum, I think this picture is proof positive that we are raising an Amazon.
Um, yes, Olivia is tall for a 2-year-old. Do you think we'll have any trouble convincing Local Theme Park that she still falls under the "kids age 2 and under are free" rule this summer? We may have to carry a copy of her birth certificate.

So, January. I love the holidays, but I've actually been looking forward to getting back into the day-to-day routine around here. We've barely been home, except to sleep, for two weeks. It's exhausting. January brings the relief of the ordinary.

But, also, January is a HUGE let-down. We spend MONTHS gearing up for December and holiday fun. Then it's over and you hit...January. Thirty-one straight days of cold and dreary, uninterrupted by anything. No major holidays, no planned events. In most years, January is just plain DULL.

So, on we go to January. Dull as it is, I'm sure it will fly by.

Merry Christmas (I can still say that for one more week!)