The Best Christmas Present Ever

You will agree, I am sure, that the most beautiful present under Sylvester this year is Mayumi. We thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas this year in our new home with our darling little daughter. Nate and I kicked things off with a fondue on Christmas Eve (which turned out terribly and we ended up making cheese sandwiches instead!). Mayumi slept well inspite of the prancing and pawing of each little hoof and woke up to a few fun items under the Christmas tree (mostly books and games, but a few other delightful things such as this handmade 'name sign' by my sister Linday).

Liberating Sylvester

Last Christmas, Nate and I strolled down to Eastern Market to pick out a Christmas Tree for our teensy apartment. Knowing we would need an even smaller tree to fit into our postage stamp-sized place, I was doubtful we'd find anything acceptable. And then I saw him: a potted Christmas Tree that just called out to me. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on him that he had to be a part of our family and I promptly named him: Sylvester.

We enjoyed Sylvester last Christmas and planned to employ him indoors forever more for the holidays, and let him live outside throughout the rest of year in his beautiful green ceramic pot.

The day to move from Eastern Market to our new home finally came and, as it always is, the moving process was much harder, longer, and more laborious than expected. Bizzarly, our tiny apartment yielded, in a very Mary Poppin's carpet bag-like fashion, tons more things than could have possibly fit inside...and, thus, filled up our small moving fan faster than anticipated. Alas, in the end, no room for Sylvester, and with heavy hearts we left him behind.

Two weeks ago, Nate, Mayumi and I came into D.C. to see the newly re-opened American History Museum and decided, in a whim, to see if Sylvester was still residing on the porch of our old flat. Amazingly, he was, and without a moment's thought we tree-napped him and brought him back home to D.C. Thus, once again (and forever more) we are enjoying a now taller and prouder Sylvester in our darling new house. Once we decorated him, Nate took some time to introduce Mayumi to her needly brother Sylvester and they became fast friends.

We hope you enjoy these first few holiday photos. The first is of Sylvester in 2007, the next of our darling tree in our new home in 2008, followed by a photo of us in front of the U.S. Capitol Holiday Tree (notice the stands being set up in the background for the innaguration) and the final is of the cutest stocking-stuffer that has ever existed.