A Very Ren Christmas

Christmas came and went at our house on the 27th, with everyone except my sister there, plus Hiroko's mom. Most of the gifts between adults were handed out at the Christmas celebration at my sister's, so the remaining gifts were for myself, Hiroko, and Ren. Especially Ren! There are a lot of pics in a set here, which include:

• Santa Joe handing out gifts

• Beautiful pictures of the intricate child's kimono which Yasuko brought for Ren
• I purchased a Dr. Seuss compendium for Ren, and a set of books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The picture set includes pictures of Yasuko and Hiroko reading the latter.

Every year we also get a set of stockings from my mom (hung by the staircase with care) and this year she included a stocking for Ren, packed with delightful baby's toys. Mr. Lion, who had already been lamenting the lack of gifts for him, immediately decided these were meant for him and has been playing with them ever since. He hasn't come to bed for the last two nights, opting to stay in the nursery crib and play with the toys in the crib, as you can see in the attached picture. I haven't the heart to tell him they're meant for Ren, so I think I'll let him keep "his" toys.

Health update: We've been on two more doctor's visits in the last two nights. Hiroko is very very ripe, and everything is proceeding well. I really think the baby's due almost immediately. In fact, last night we thought for a while Hiroko was in labor before it died down. Next time you see me, I'll probably have a kid!