Christmas With Alexander

As December drew to a close, it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Actually, it begins to look like Christmas shortly after Labor Day. By late December, it is possible to feel Christmas breathing on your neck like a hot savage beast. Be that as it may, Alexander gathered with his mother's side of the family for Christmas, which, in 1997, fell on December 25. This joyous holiday is typically marked with egg nog, Bing Crosby music, figgy pudding, (whatever that is) visions of sugarplums, (whatever they are) and stories of reindeer with congenital nasal deformities. This Christmas would be no different.

The entire group, totaling fourteen people, assembled for this historic photograph. Alexander’s mother has four brothers, two sisters-in-law, two nephews, one niece, a mother, and a grandmother. Pictured are:
Top row, left to right: Alexander’s uncle, his aunt, his cousin Joey, another uncle, and Alex’s dad.
Middle row, left to right: Alexander himself, his grandmother, his great grandmother, his aunt, and his uncle.
Bottom row, left to right: Alex’s mom, his cousin Joshua, his cousin Lisa, and yet another uncle.

Above left, Alex with his cousins Joshua, 4, and Joey, 11 months. On Christmas morning, Joey was dressed like an elf. Joshua, meanwhile, was dressed as Robin, the Boy Wonder, the junior half of the Dynamic Duo, teen sidekick to the Caped Crusader -- Batman himself! Unfortunately, Joshua, er, Robin, forgot to put on his bright yellow cape. Alexander, meanwhile, had no costume to wear on Christmas Day, so he simply wore his pajamas.

Alex enjoys relaxing in his car seat with a good book. At far right, Alex poses with his mother and Joey.

Alexander with his mother and cousin Joey

With the entire family together on Christmas day, many photographs were taken, with many different combinations of people. Here we see one such photo, featuring Alexander and his cousins with their grandmother.

Alexander with his grandmother and his cousins

Alexander with his grandmother and his great grandmother

Alex has now met all three of his living great grandmothers. Here we see him with his maternal grandmother and her mother. (Alex is the little boy in the middle.)

Of the gifts Alex received on Chrismas day, his favorite may have been this plastic lawn mower. The mower would have been blowing bubbles if Alexander's mother had not spilled the bubble soap all over her mother's carpeting. Dishwasher detergent proved to be a rather inadequate substitute. It mattered little to Alexander, pictured here mowing a hard-to-reach corner of his grandmother's kitchen floor.