Shannon took this picture of Calvin and I lying in the sunshine.

She loved the bird and blanket from her cousins - now she has a soft blanket to take to school and one to leave at home. And what is Christmas without the ability to make edible zombie parts?

Shannon's favorite presents were probably the Playmobil zoo set, her new Zhu Zhu pet beauty shop, and her princess dress and cloak. Try not to pay too much attention to the lovely pale blue sweater paired with raspberry pants.

We had a great Christmas. Tom's parents came down for Christmas and I had to work the whole weekend so Santa came a few days early. Shannon got some great presents, and Calvin even got his own stocking. No stocking for Alex though - I think Santa is going to skip him for years!

So I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and ended up sleeping on the blow up mattress. Then in my sleep deprived state today it seemed like a good idea to let Shannon play on it. The only problem we had was that Calvin eventually had to be put in his kennel because he insisted on playing on it too, generally while Shannon was in mid-jump.

So right before I took this picture Alex and Calvin were having a great time playing. In this picture they just look like they are causing trouble. And the reason there aren't any more pictures? Because Calvin had just backed Alex into a corner and smacked him with a paw.

I had several pictures of Shannon decorating the tree (and of a Christmas puppy) but for some reason they all came out blurry. So this is all we have.