You wouldn't know it by this photo...

Not happy about the nose, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

...but we did have a lovely Christmas. Davey just wasn't fond of wearing his blinking Rudolph nose. Great shot tho, eh? :-)

Dave and Dee came over for supper on the 23rd but, unfortunately Mark started coming down with a stomach virus an hour or two before they arrived. By the time they got here, Mark warned them to not get close and we could see him getting more and more ill.



We quickly did a gift exchange, I packed up a big container of dinner to go and they headed back home, hopefully before contracting what Mark had.



Now, likely, Mark came down with the same stomach bug that Davey started having symptoms of on Thursday afternoon. By Christmas Eve, Davey was eating a little big again and was still a bit clingy, but on the upswing. Mark, unfortunately, was hit hard. He spent a lot of time in the bathroom and was so so weak. At one point he was lying on the hallway floor, next to the heater, cold, cold, cold. I brought him a pillow, a glass of water and two blankets, and he lay there until the next trip to the bathroom. He's said he's never felt so sick in his life. Poor guy!

By the next morning he wasn't having to hug the toilet anymore, but he was still under the weather. By lunchtime, however, he was at least sitting up on the sofa and reading his email. I figured if he read email, he had to be doing a bit better.

Bonnie came over on the afternoon of Christmas-Eve and played with Davey while I wrapped some gifts, made a pear/apple (papple) pie and got our dinner in the oven. She stayed for supper with us, though Mark ate only a tiny bit, and we had a gift exchange. Davey was again doing better, a little clingy, eating a little more than the day before, but still had less appetite than normal.

By Christmas morning, Mark was feeling a bit better and Davey a bit better as well. And I was still feeling well. Phew -- looks like I dodged that bullet!

Davey woke to find that Santa had visited and filled up his stocking, left him a pile of gifts, a new big-boy car seat and a TRICYCLE!



Weeee! Of course, we had to help him open gifts, but by the end of the day he started getting the hang of it.



Mom, Michael and Jack came by around 1 on Christmas day to hang out a bit and exchange gifts. Santa left a stocking for Davey at their house too -- they were nice enough to deliver it to Davey on behalf of Santa. That's where Davey found the flashing Rudolph nose. Believe me that he does like the nose when it's blinking on someone else's face. LOL

THEN, Mark, Dave and I headed to Polly's house for a Freiberg family gathering. Jon made bbq ribs that nobody could resist, Laureen made delicious cranberry relish, Polly roasted a beautiful turkey, Linda made luscious mashed potatoes and I made braised fennel bulbs. And, of course, Polly made berry and cherry pies, chocolate crinkle cookies and fudge, Gregg made poppyseed bread and I brought papple pie. *urp*

Then today, Boxing Day, Mark was feeling considerably better and Davey finally was back in his usual fine form. Davey's appetite was back with a vengeance and he ate a BIG breakfast. Then we played all together through the morning and, after Davey ate a BIG lunch, we went to the Northgate mall to exchange some shoes I received for a different size, pick up some tree ornaments for next year (on big sale, of course), get a gift for Linda's birthday (January 2nd, people -- don't forget!) and let Davey run around. And boy, run around, he did! Back was his energy and joyful attitude. He walked and ran and walked and ran and walked... wow, boy did he walk!! Plus he downed a full bottle of soy milk and, when Mark and I got Thai food for our late lunch at 3, Davey ate a very large portion of my chicken and carrots as well as most of the baggie I'd brought, filled with his favorite dried fruits. The boy ATE.

Then, we came home and Davey ate a bunch of cookies (his cookies -- they're actually quite nutritious) and a bunch more soy milk, and a lot more play. Heck, the boy only napped for 15 minutes today. He had energy bursting out of his ears!

6:30 and it was time for a bath:


You can see by the look on his face: Sick boy was banished and happy, healthy boy was back in the game.

After a good bath, lots of fun with bubbles and bath toys and reading one book, Davey was out like a light, ready to rest up for what I can only expect will be another fun-filled and happy day tomorrow.

This year we all got a lot of great gifts -- Santa and family were all really generous this year. I feel really lucky to have such great family and good fortune. And, it must be said, my favorite gift I received this Christmas was from Mark -- an iPhone!