Busy New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve was busy, busy, busy. Sean got his birthday present from Dad early, a new Radio Flyer wagon! We put it together at Dziadziu and Grandma's house. Afterwards Dziadziu and Dad put together a treadmill, much more complicated. Sean spit out his New Year's black eyed pea (too much jalapeno!)

Sean and Grandma help hold the wagon up

Sean tries out his new toy (just before seatbelts are installed!)

We stopped by the Hofmans' for their New Year's Eve party, but they were at Texas Woman's Hospital, having handsome Alton - a little bit early, all 5 lbs. 6 ozs. of him.

Christmas (Part 3 of 3)

On the 26th we celebrated Christmas at the Pasta's.

Sean and Dad got a big box of Goldfish!

Grandma helps Sean read a book

Sean steals Grandma's nose while Uncle Joe looks on.

Joanne forces other family members to play a game.

Christmas (Part 2 of 3)

Monday night we went to the 5pm candlelight service at 1st Presbyterian - it was beautiful and moving. After dinner we followed both Boyce and Pastalaniec tradition and each opened one gift. We all went to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads.

Christmas morning, after coffee was arranged, we opened presents. Sean made out like a bandit, thanks everyone! After we finished with presents Barbara ran her 13 mile training run for the half-marathon in a few weeks. I am sure Aunt Joanne did her 13 mile walk, but have yet to confirm! Sean and I are proud of both of them.

In the afternoon we went to a nearby park.

Complete pictures are HERE

Sean making sure the gift bag is empty

Sean on Christmas morning

Father Christmas wearing his new robe-type thingy

Sean gets in some Christmas swinging

...And Sliding

And See-Sawing

Christmas (Part 1 of 3)

Saturday we drove to Kerrville for Christmas. Nick, Heather, Elissa and Tadd were already there. The junior Boyces were headed back to Heather's family for Christmas day, so we had our 1st Christmas on Saturday night. Monday most of the group went to Boerne for the day, including an almost 2-hour visit to the Dodging Duck Brew Pub - they way underestimated the Christmas Eve crowd. So, we resorted to crayons and Wikipedia to entertain ourselves and learned all about Lilliput, Transubstantiation and Heinz, among other things. Monday night we attended the candlelight Christmas service at 1st Presbyterian.

Sean and Elissa watch as the Pasta car is unloaded

Elf Sean and Elissa

Elissa and Barbara help Sean unwrap a gift from Nick and Heather

Grandpa keeps watch over Elissa and Sean and their new toys

Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Grandma, Dziadziu and Aunt Joanne came over for dinner to see us off to Christmas vacation in Kerrville.

Sean helps Dziadziu put together his Christmas present from the frozen tundra of Colorado

Pre-Christmas Dinner (with centerpiece from the Boyce's!)

1st thing the next morning, Sean heads straight for his new toy (only half-awake)

Bible Study Christmas

Yes, it has been many moons since the Bible Study group met, I think since Jillian pushed the child / adult ratio in favor of the children. We still get together as best we can. This year 4 couples made it. Collectively we had 2 children when the study group got together in 2001-03, now there are 9, good Catholics all.

David with Sean (11.5 months,) Mark with Joshua (7 months,) Todd with Morgan (5 months) and Jewels with Gillian (2 years.)

The aforementioned with Keri (left,) Mackenzie (foreground) and Madeline facing the camera

Gillian with a present

Johnson Christmas Party

Sunday was clean-up time after the party. In the afternoon Mom ran 11 miles in preparation for next month's half-marathon. Aunt Joanne put in her 11 miles yesterday!

Sunday evening the Johnson's hosted Christmas at their house, with a real hay ride!

Getting ready to go to the Johnson's, Sean plays on his walker loaner from the Johnson's

The first hay ride prepares to take off

Tiffany and Abagail caroling on the hay ride

Sean in his outfit from Aunt Tiffany

Christmas Ale Tasting Party

Saturday was the 9th Annual Pastalaniec Christmas Ale Tasting Party. Dziadziu was in charge if picture taking, so official pics will be up later. This year we mixed it up by splitting the tasting into three parts: 1) match the Downstream Wimpy Industrial Beer description with its name, 2) match the Downstream Wimpy Industrial Beer by tasting it, and 3) match the Christmas Ale by tasting it.

Sean helps decorate

Sean is temporarily distracted from decorating

Grandma helps on Saturday by watching Sean while Dave gets ready. Sean thinks he is a cat...

Kerry shows Sean that Texas is bigger than France

Grandma with Ike Heider

Collin, Abagail, Morgan and Mackenzie (Sean is in the background)

Carol massages Jenn's feet - Alton is due next month!

15 Days Until Christmas

This is where I go to get fed, right?

Today we made sure to attend the 11pm Mass at Sacred Heart. After Mass the blessing of the new Co-Cathedral's great bells was scheduled, along with the last tour of the new church prior to its opening in April 2008. The bells, named after the founders of religious women's orders in the Houston area, did not arrive on time - held up at customs in the Port of Houston. All 4 bells weigh about 2-tons! As Father Troy said - it was not so much a problem for the clergy, the scheduled bishops or the parishioners as it was a disappointment for the 100+ nuns who came! The tour was great. Most impressive so far were the 2 installed statues - click here to see the Shrine to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ - a painted wood statue with a gilded gold rippled wood background. The picture does not do it justice!

After Mass Barbara ran the YMCA Jingle Bell 5 mile run - Christmasy, but 85 F and humid!

Who needs lead contaminated Chinese toys when I can have tennis balls?

Yesterday Barbara and I finally played tennis, after talking about it for 6 years. "Played" would, however, imply something like a volley back and forth. Usually the ball got to my side and was either 1) missed, 2) hit awry or 3) hit back to Barb but out of bounds. At first she thought I was trying to be funny - she finally became convinced that I have no eye-hand coordination whatsoever - the truth! The fact that I just switched form -7.5 to -8.0 contacts just supports her conclusion. Basic web research shows that -8.0 means I see the same thing at 20 feet as a "normal" person sees at 1,000 feet. Yikes!

Sean loves the tennis balls in a can!

Nemesis II

Today we finally broke down and bought a new Roomba 560. Our old 3rd generation Roomba's, Nemesis and Dr. Doom, were starting to show major signs of old age. This 5th generation Roomba rocks. It is much quieter, navigates obstacles even better, and even slows down before it bumps into things. Amusing: because it sounded different Barley followed it around with her claws unsheathed for quite a while!

Welcome to Houston

The new Roomba's "lighthouses" require C batteries, something we have no other use for. I went to grab batteries from our battery storage unit in the garage and found the above (excuse the out of focus picture.) Apparently storing batteries for 2+ years in a garage in Houston is not a good thing - 7 out of 8 were bad.

11 Months Old Today!

Christmas means... new things to eat?

First, please pray for our next door neighbor, Howard Pool, who passed away Monday, and his wife, Mary. Howard was almost 82 and and an inspiration. He biked the MS-150 13 times, I believe, including several since we have lived next door. He served in the Pacific in WWII. He actually made me into a willing, talkative, neighbor - much to the surprise of many. Barbara was able to go to his memorial service today at South Main Baptist Church, which was filled to the rafters with his friends and family. Obituary

A cat and her boy!

Sean enters the final month of his first year full of laughs and smiles. He crawls to the front door when I come home - from wherever he is. He seems very satisfied with crawling and not walking yet, but does stand on his own when it suits his purposes (usually trying to reach something) and has good balance. Over the holidays he had plenty of time to hang out with other kids and he is pretty social. I think he just had a growth spurt as he can now spread his chaos to things on the dining table that he could not reach 2 weeks ago.

Sean the cat tamer uses a frond from Palm Sunday (not realizing it is Christmas now)

Kraft Sharp Cheddar Shredded Cheese Breakdown

Kraft's Sharp Cheddar Shredded Cheese is packaged in Zip-Pak Resealable packaging - a division of Illinois Tool Works. Their Hi-Cone division invented the 6-pack plastic ring beverage carrier in the 1960s!

Interesting ingredients:

• Annatto: from the lipstick-tree, a color agent
• Potato Starch: Per the International Starch Institute - Denmark produces more potato starch per capita than any other nation!
• Cellulose Powder
• Natamycin: A "natural" mold inhibitor
  

Thanksgiving Part II

A cold bug brought down from Denver is slowly doing in this branch of the Pastalaniec Family. Sean first, then Dave and now Barbara. Dave blames this for accidentally deleting most of the photos of Thanksgiving in Kerrville - we will rescue those from other cameras and post later. Summary - a very nice time with all the Boyces. Sean and Elissa continue to get along famously. It was cold and rainy all weekend in Kerrville, but we had fun inside talking and watching football just the same - congrats to the Ags...

Sean's first cold! He has a runny nose and everything else - even though he does not understand it he has been a trooper. However, he will not sleep more than 7 hours or so at a time - ouch!

Sean's new trick is opening and closing doors - mainly closing since he can't reach a doorknob yet. Right now you cannot ever open a door without assuming the he is right behind, waiting to close it.

As stated in the last post we spent the first Sunday of "Thanksgiving Week" with the Milby clan. Pictures:

Eric and Dave watch Rachel and Sean

Cousin Kayla watches Daniel while massaging Anida's back

Sean and Daniel playing

Rachel, "Patient Zero" for the current Pastalaniec cold epidemic, gets some much needed rest!