December 2015 (Part 2--Christmas and beyond)

Our Christmas morning was great.  We got up early, as per usual with my well-trained children (it seems you can't shake waking up at 5:30am on weekdays just because it happens to be a holiday or the weekend, unfortunately!), and went down to open presents.  The boys were very happy with what they got from Santa, so happy they could hardly stand still for photos, hence much blurriness!

Yes!  A hedgehog!  (It's what he wanted!) 

And who needs an orange in your stocking when Santa will bring
you a pineapple and a coconut if you ask for them!

Both boys helped pass out presents (it's simpler that way).

The requisite small boy Legos, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa!

A game from Grandeur and Grandest!

Dr. Seuss wins every time!

After all the presents were done, we went to church for a shortened service.  Our neighbors had their German relatives in town and they really wanted to go to a church on Christmas Day, so we took them with us, even though one of them spoke no English at all and we had only met them the day before!  La la la, that's just how we roll around here!  After Sacrament, we headed to the Grand Hyatt for brunch, our one big splurge for Christmas, and it was all kinds of fun, even though it was pouring down rain in Doha, very unusually, causing the hotels to have to make all sorts of arrangements for the inclement weather at the last minute.  We were outside, under shade tents and then under an enormous circus tent that worked well for awhile, until it got soaked and started leaking!  But it was all part of the fun for the day!

E working on his first plate of food, lobster and sushi!

Chocolate fountains are my favorite! 

Yummy!

There were crackers with crowns, antler head bands, and santa hats.
It was a party! 

Our only hiccup occurred near the end.  E had been gone to the bounce castle
(there is always a bounce castle here) for a long time and I was just
about to go looking for him when he came walking back, completely
SOAKED to the skin!  I said "What happened to you?!" and he replied
"I was on the water slide, Mommy."  What?  There is no water slide!! Apparently, the tents
had not covered the bounce house and it was basically a swimming pool, into
which my child jumped in his Sunday best. Here he is bundled into my friends sweater
tied with a napkin around his waist and a beach towel provided by the hotel
on his legs.  They did take his clothes to be dried, which was thoughtful of them,
because otherwise I would have had to steal their towel.  He was embarrassed at first,
but then he decided he looked like a ninja and he recovered! 

After Christmas, the boys did some baking using the husband's
new food scale and app!

Modeling their Christmas aprons made by Grandeur.

It rained quite a lot in December, enough to break out the rain boots
and rain jackets while riding on new scooters.

After Christmas we also got to see one of E's friends who had moved away during
the summer, who came back for a fun visit.

We ended the year by going to a PSG-Inter-Milano friendly soccer match, the boys
and our first time seeing profession "football" play.  It was a fun night, though
we had to leave midway through the second period when the boys began to
fade.  But we were there for the only goal!

It was a little cold for my summer boys.

And we got a little sleepy....

Finally, we celebrated New Year's Eve all by ourselves (sans kids) with a party at our friends'
house, by their pool, catered by the Kempinski.  There were hats!

And masks!  We had a fabulous adult-only time, our first time away from the boys in ages.
The food was to die for and I hope we do it again next year!

As you can see from this post and the last, we really made the most of December.  But 2015 is dead; long live 2016, where new adventures are already happening!