Right after Christmas, Alex was sniffling a fair amount, and coughing occasionally. At that time, my biggest fear was that I was going to get sick while preparing for my January 6 oral argument for DIRECTV. What we didn't bank on was a respiratory infection that was reducing Ella-Anne's "O2 sats" (I thought I would only hear that term on "ER" and other medical shows) down to 92, and had her on the cusp of hospitalization. Fortunately for us, antibiotics, repeated nebulizer treatments, and our outstanding pediatricians kept us from the ER, and now Ella-Anne is on the mend.
(For the record, I did get her cold, the day before my argument, but adrenaline and Vitamin C powered me through, and we achieved this victory, only two days after the argument -- for all practical purposes ending a five-year patent battle in which the plaintiff's suit at the beginning threatened the very existence of DIRECTV, and ended with all of its patent claims invalidated by the courts and by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.)
But Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. Ella-Anne got a new bouncer-seat:
And Alex got Cinderella's Castle:
And some new Disney Princess jammies:
And a Tiana dress (from "The Princess and the Frog"):
In which she danced with her Daddy:
Until she fell asleep:
Mommy got a sous vide machine:
In which she made this delicious beef tenderloin for Christmas dinner:
Which she served at this table:
With these girls (and Daddy, and Papou) present with Mommy:
It was the best Christmas ever.
One of the best parts of the best Christmas ever was having Papou with us for a whole month (December 2 to January 2). He'd probably still be here if he didn't miss his doggie, Brittie. We look forward to having him back for another long stay.
