And it was good.

Oh yes, I so went there...

Because if you can't dress your son up like his sock monkey, who can you dress him as? The sock monkey is sporting a sock-monkey size version of one of my Last Minute Hats- Ian delightedly wore the Baby size all day after Santa delivered it. Who knew Santa was busy looking up patterns on Ravelry? I personally am impressed.

Now I'm a Fireman!

Check out Ian sporting the hat mommy knitted for him and trying out his new Fire & Rescue Cozy Coupe from Rama and Raba- apparently you can play with this toy until the wheels come off, and then some... he didn't even wait for it to be assembled before he started to enjoy it.

What Ian thinks of Christmas

Ian really enjoyed Christmas Eve. I don't know how we ever managed to have a Merry Christmas without him... here's a sample:


Note the smear of pasta sauce on his head...

Happy Holidays from the Gray/McNamara Family

Click on the image for a large, download ready version. (If you didn't know, you can right-click the image and choose "Save Picture As.")

I realize it is not, strictly speaking, traditional to distribute one's holiday card via email and blog, and I offer my apologies to those of you who feel it's "just not the same." Please console yourself with the thought of how many copies of this card will NOT end up in a landfill, and feel free to print it if you would like to place it in the company of the other cards you have received this year. I will not write the ubiquitous Holiday Letter, but if you want to bone up on the Gray/McNamara Family high points from 2008, you are welcome to browse this blog.

I hope you are all enjoying a VERY Merry holiday season and are looking forward to an outstanding year in 2009. I look forward to hearing from you all!

The background text, if you are wondering, are all things Ian has said lately. I realized later that I probably should have included "cookie cookie." He's getting a lot of use out of that one lately...

Love,
Meghan, Michael, and Ian

PS- I did my own card, but you can get a custom card for any occasion and distribute it via email. Just visit the Finecards website for examples and details. This is one of my friends and a fellow "momtrepeneur" who does great work and has reasonable rates- and if you plan to pay her to design your card and distribute it via email, you'll actually save money over going with a generic, pre-printed card anyone could buy, but it's totally exclusive to you!

Nice shoes, Rama!

Those teen years keep coming sooner and sooner...

Here's Ian burning up the cell phone minutes and preparing to borrow the car...



Love to all- yes, he really does pick up the phone and say, "who is it?"

He's also been singing Christmas Carols... walks around the house going "ho ho ho, ho ho ho" to the tune of Up on the Rooftop.

As for knitting, I'm busy turning out some hats for The Joy Troupe's Adopt-A-Family project... look for more here later...