Kyle received an iPod nano and a large selection of Indianapolis Colts fan wear.

Nicolai’s big present was a compound bow that was carefully selected by his Uncle Mark. I am seriously concerned for the safety of all squirrels in the neighborhood.

Nicolai does his best tough guy impression to go with a toy he has converted into a helmet.

Maya’s big present this year was a baby guinea pig. Other than a horse (which is never going to happen) nothing could have made this child happier. Maya is a little nature girl just like her mother, and she loves all sorts of critters.

Christmas service at First Parish. Wishing you all love, peace, and joy.

Maya is taking our neighbor’s dog, Daisy, for a walk on Mattison field.

Sophia (a distant cousin from Sweden) has joined us for Christmas. After playing some of her concert pieces for Sophia, Maya has begun giving her lessons.

It did not take long for Aunt Susan to get pulled into a craft activity with the kids.

Kyle with Aunt Susan and Rose getting ready to head out on a last minute shopping excursion. Meanwhile, Maya waits patiently in the car. Susan and Rose drove down from Burlington and will be staying with us for the holidays.

A very big day for Maya. This morning, she lost her first tooth. After discussing various techniques, she opted for the “twist and wiggle” method and proceeded with her own extraction.

This is one of several gifts I received from my boss at the Christmas party he hosts for his staff. He likes to poke fun at me whenever I wear my Stanford sweatshirt and asked if I would wear it today. Everyone else received equally humorous gifts, and the party was a very welcome break from the recent intensity of the new job.

Nicolai takes a little break from drumming practice. He is really starting to sound quite good. He uses his left foot to operate the bass pedal and has positioned the hi-hat pedal underneath his chair (proper drum term is the “throne”) which he operates by leaning forward and back. I have a day trip to Madison, WI tomorrow (leave at 5am, back by midnight) and probably will not post again until later in the week.

While at the basketball game, Maya borrowed my camera and snapped this shot. Normally I wear this hat to keep warm. I have now taken to wearing it indoors at the games to muffle the sound of the referees. I think these guys must get paid by how loudly they can blow the whistle.

Kyle driving hard to the net helping his team to another win. Kyle is extremely strong defensively but has been somewhat tentative on offense. His determination to improve is something to admire, however. After missing a lay-up in yesterday’s game, he stayed after and practiced until he made 50 lay-ups at game speed. Observing that he was now thoroughly exhausted, I thought it an opportune time to challenge him to a little one-on-one. Let’s just say that I got the spanking I deserved (although for the record I was wearing my climbing boots).