Christmas

The greatest delight of this Christmas season may have been the visits by all four of Riley's grandparents. It makes me feel so relaxed and happy to be around my parents. During the holidays, in particular, they are like a huge serving of comfort food. And Andy's parents are fantastic; they are great conversationalists, positive spirits and incredibly helpful with baby wrangling and managing our household.

This year, we discovered a second great delight of Christmas: watching Riley open presents.

Cautious at first, he quickly learned how to tear right into the wrapping in order to uncover the good stuff.

Every gift was a new delight.

One of my favorite gifts, which Riley also seems to love, resembles a dragon costume: a gorgeous dragon head scarf made by Andy's mom and these cute little dragon feet which Riley has been delighted to wear for the last two days.

Did I mention how much Rilz loves the Christmas tree? He was not too pleased to realize that his efficient mama had stripped it of ornaments by midday on the 27th. He climbed into it searching for his favorite bird ornaments.

My own favorite gift this year comes down to a tie: Riley's nonstop smiles and wonderment or the warm feelings of being surrounded by family. I'll call it a draw and also call it a perfect holiday. Thanks to everyone who helped make it so.