Christmas 2009, Part V

The remainder of our Christmas holidays and NYE vacation was spent in Atlanta visiting family and friends. It was a lovely week and an almost easy drive. Dealing with Luz was a breeze thanks to endless dvds. James, on the other hand, was a little tricky. The crying seemed to make Christian drive faster, which made the trip shorter, but I am not sure that was a good thing. Once he is entertained by movies, like Luz, it will be a piece of cake. Until then, we have to plan for frequent stops and tons of distractions.

Luz and James spent most of their time in Atlanta hanging out with Nana and Papa-T and my adorable nephews, Liam and Wes:



Wes (aka, Pete), Luz and Liam:


Christian and I took advantage of the opportunity to have a few nights out together and spent one night at a movie - Up In The Air - which I liked, but didn't love. The second night out we spent at Woodfire Grill, something I had planned months ago, something I was waiting for with great anticipation, something that was well worth the wait. More on that soon.

We also took Luz to Little Five Points in Atlanta, an area where Christian and I used to shop for records and books and drink coffee for hours on end when we were footloose and fancy free. We followed that visit with a trip to Ikea to stock up on all sorts of things whose names I cannot pronounce, and The Varsity where Luz got to experience her first Varsity Dog. I think she loved every minute of it. But mostly we just hung out around the house, enjoying some quality time with family and friends, making lots of noise and causing a commotion and doing things like this:


I am sure Nana and Papa-T could not believe how quiet the house was once we left!

There was also lots of vying for Nana and Papa-T's attention. I don't think they had a minute without someone on their lap or in their arms:


James and Aunt Susan snuggling:


Luz and I took advantage of Susan's excellent baking skills and decided to make cookies while she was around to supervise:



We also celebrated NYE together. It happened at around 9 p.m. and involved lots of banging pots, sparklers, and poppers in the front yard:


I attempted many photo sessions with all of the kids and, sadly, didn't manage to capture that one great shot:


I am determined to make it happen and hope to have another opportunity soon - Mardi Gras, perhaps?