family party day.

When Ross and Meredith arrived back in MN after their whirlwind tour of Pittsburgh and eastern Ohio, we all went out to celebrate Ross's and my birthdays by dining at a classic Bloomington establishment: David Fong's.

(image)

Though my parents have lived in the same east Bloomington house since 1984 and I have driven past it countless times, I had never been in David Fong's before! My mom said that now that I was turning 31 I was old enough to go...so we did. For some reason, I always pictured it as being this seedy den of iniquity, with scary Chinese mobsters gambling in dark corners and sleazy cocktail waitresses giving you the evil eye. Instead, it was filled with a bunch of old guys who looked like they just left their meeting at the local Elks lodge and our waitress was the epitome of Minnesota Nice.

 (see the old guys in the background?)

Despite how it looks in these pictures, Lorelei was not happy being confined to her highchair, so everybody took turns walking her around the restaurant and showing her the fish tanks while the rest of us ate. Then we were back home for a relaxing afternoon, a dinner of my mom's famous New Year's Day hors d'oeuvres (served early before we headed to Illinois!), and Ross's favorite: tres leches cake.

get over here.

Those were the general sentiments of Lorelei the entire time we hung out at the Enebos house just after Christmas! Ellen, Scott, and Margo invited us over for a delicious lunch (provided by the lovely Beth -- if you're looking for something yummy in the Twin Cities, the spicy curried lentil soup from Turtle Bread cannot be beat!), but the only thing Lorelei wanted to eat was...Margo! She kept grabbing for her and hoping desperately that Margo would sit in one place long enough that she could lick her head a few times. Margo, who just turned one, is way too mobile for such things, of course. Cutest moment: when Margo stood next to the Jumperoo and demonstrated how to bounce up and down so Lorelei could have more fun than she was currently experiencing by just hanging there with her feet dangling. :)

Beth has a bunch of pictures on her camera, some of which are undoubtedly amazing. But here's a quick glimpse into what we did:

 Lorelei, staring in amazement.

 Jason attempting to block Lorelei from grabbing Margo.

Margo fending off Lorelei's unwelcome advances with a Sesame Street book.

christmas afternoon.

For the second year in a row, we spent the late afternoon and early evening hours out at Keystone where both my mom's parents and my dad's mom are living. Everybody brings food to share and presents for each other and we just relax, eat, and enjoy getting to be together as a big family.

Most of the pictures below are courtesy Jeb and Adria, photographers extraordinaire. Thanks, guys!

First up: the great-grandparents.

Love from cousin Adria and Great Auntie Cathy.

These next photos are especially meaningful for me -- Lorelei and I received mother-daughter aprons that my grandmother had made for me and my mom almost 30 years ago (I have many cute pictures of myself as a toddler wearing mine as I "helped" in the kitchen!), plus a lovely cookbook that will be fun to start trying with her next Christmas.

Playing pass the baby...

...and a family shot, minus Jeb who was behind the camera.

christmas morning.

Christmas Eve.

For the past 21 years, my mom's family has gathered at the Good Earth in Edina to celebrate my cousin Bret's birthday and generally make merry. Sometimes we have more people than other years, but it's been a fun tradition no matter who is able to attend.

My cousin Adria and her boyfriend Jeb have some photos from this event, as does my uncle Steve. Here's hoping they share some with me so I can pass them on to you! In the meantime, here's one picture I stole from Adria's Facebook page.

UPDATE: Jeb and Adria provided me with so many awesome pics! Here are a few favorites.

That evening, we got all dolled up and went to Chapel Hills for a beautiful Christmas Eve service.

Lorelei was a very well-behaved baby -- she only made one tiny little peep during the whole service. We did leave in the middle for a diaper change and accidentally returned during the Hallelujah chorus when everyone was turned around facing the choir loft and, consequently, us. Oops! Afterwards, it was back to 10319 for Famous Dave's takeout, crabcakes, and of course pie.

it's almost Christmas!

(Yeah, I know it's actually New Year's Day. Bear with me -- there are a lot of photos to get through!)

We arrived in Minnesota a few days earlier than we normally would have in order to enjoy time with Meredith and Ross before they headed out to Pittsburgh to celebrate with the Polley family. Lorelei loves her uncle and soon-to-be aunt and had a blast hanging out with them.

On the morning of the 22nd, we celebrated an early Christmas. Lorelei got dressed up for the occasion and loved getting to play with all of the things from everyone else's stockings.

Then on the 23rd, my good friend Beth came over to open presents and work on the mystery puzzle (a relatively new McNamara holiday tradition). Lorelei got a pretty cute gift -- and once again wowed us with her present opening skills!

(here's hoping Beth has a few pictures to share -- I know she took some! Hint hint...)