Merry Christmas from Maximus!

Santa Handsomer on Christmas Eve.

This is the New York style cheesecake I created the day before. Jesse and his brothers get pretty ridiculous about this stuff, but I personally can't stand the taste of it. I'm glad I made it because I got many "ooh's" and "ahh's" over it. This is the cake naked...

...and this is the cake scored and dressed.

This is really just a picture of our beautiful new tv. It's a Samsung with the red frame. That's all I care about. Contact Jesse for all the specs. But I do like this picture of our little family. (Why didn't anyone tell me that my hair looked like ass?!)

After Maximus went to bed, Jesse built the wagon that "Grandsanta" got him and we filled it with gifts. I never thought I'd say that Christmas is 100 times more enjoyable when you have a kid, but it is. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

And here's what makes it worth it. That's a smile and giggle behind the dodo! (That's what we call pacifiers.)

And here's Jesse and Handomer opening his first basketball hoop.

Max got a popper toy thing. His Grandma bought it before Halloween and it's been hiding in his closet since then. He wouldn't let go of it the whole morning. He held it so tightly while he opened his other gifts. Today, he walked around with it squealing.

Those who know me know that I love my wine. I'll talk to anyone about varietals and vineyards who wants to listen. I'm growing a collection of wine that are too expensive and special to open. I had about 12 bottles stacked on a small 6 bottle rack...not good! Jesse's parents went overboard and bought me a chilled wine cellar. I unwrapped the box it came in and honestly fought back the tears. I turned off the lights in the kitchen tonight and turned on the one to the wine refrigerator. Oh god, I broke out in song. Max was running around naked before his bath and was drawn to the glow of my collection. And yes, that's a pink Rabbit wine key on top.

Christmas was truly awesome. Seeing Maximus' smile made it the best ever. It was such a wonderful morning. We woke up and did the typical gift thing, but then Jesse made Maximus and I breakfast and we just hung out. I could cry with happiness thinking about how happy I am to have our little family. We hung out in our pajamas all morning and then Jesse and I played Trivial Pursuit and drank coffee while Max napped. We met up with Jesse's family later that afternoon. It was the best Christmas ever and I look forward to many more. Can I just say that I truly love my family?!