Times are a changin'

I have been pretty lazy the last few weeks, which is why I haven’t updated you on the happenings, of which there have been plenty. I’ll just blame it on my conspicuous consumption of eggnog during the holiday season. It makes me shreepy.

The Winns spent the last few weeks hanging out in Cleveland enjoying the company of a great many Hegewalds. Abe was home, still semi-fresh off his mission and willing to break out his camera and share pictures with anyone who was even remotely interested in seeing them (very few takers.) Zak and Sam broke the news that there would be a second Hegewald grandbaby arriving this summer, which makes Jenna very excited. The official game of Hegewald family gatherings, Settlers of Catan, was played far more than was healthy, and Jarom and Alixa spent many mornings playing tennis while Sam practiced her child care skills with Jenna. For Christmas, Alixa got a sewing machine, which she has been wanting for several years. Jarom got some golf shoes and some nice clothes that he can wear to work now that he will have a job. Jenna got some hand puppets and rattles and stuff, but was mostly excited about all the wrapping paper that people were discarding around her. Crinkly things are her favorite, so she was in heaven.

Tearing into her first Christmas gifts

Jenna’s new trick is that she talks to herself for about an hour every morning when she wakes up. Jarom and Lix enjoy listening to her, which can be done from just about any room in the house since she has inherited her mother’s inside voice. Mostly she says “da da da da da” but Lix is working with her to try and get a “mama” out of her. We’ll put it on her list of New Year’s resolutions. Jenna also has a new hairstyle. Her curly Q was getting a little too long and wouldn’t stand up anymore, so she got her first haircut and now sports a little fauxhawk. It kind of makes her look like a boy, but I think it is cute.

Bundled or naked, Jenna stays pretty happy

Jarom and Alixa’s fantasy football season wrapped up, with Jarom knocking off Alixa in the semifinals and going on to capture the championship. Unfortunately, Big Baby Bruce has latched on to a slight scheduling hiccup that had to be changed and has been crying to anyone within earshot that Jarom’s victory is tainted and should include an asterisk. He feels so strongly about it that he has even resigned from the league in protest. I say good riddance.

Thanks to Mars for being such a gracious host for so long

Please take note of the cute mittens on Jenna's hands

Another highlight was spending time with Abe’s Colombian friend, Rudy. He came to town for a few days before going with Abe to New York City to watch the ball drop. He was a fun guy to get to know, and it gave Alixa a chance to practice her Spanish skills on a real live southern Mexican. So one night we played games, splitting into an English and a Spanish group, and Lix got to use all of the phrases she knows. She even reprimanded Rudy for asking for a cookie instead of a galleta.

Jenna, hanging out with her godparents

Finally, after spending three great weeks in Ohio, it was time to go. So we packed the car with boxes of Christmas presents, my cage, a car seat, and a snuggie-wrapped Lixi and headed back east towards Delaware. To celebrate the sixth anniversary of their first date, Jarom and Lix spent New Year’s Eve playing life with Grandma and Grandpa, which I think pretty much cements their status as huge losers. Tomorrow morning they will leave me in this wintry cold and jet off to the Cayman Islands to spend a week enjoying the sun and the sand and the beautiful fishes. Not that I’m bitter or anything, but I hope they all get severe sunburn.