November through December Update

THANKSGIVING
November began with the excitement of the upcoming holidays. As usual, we had Thanksgiving at our house. The usual suspects enjoyed the day with us: Cousin Larry, Gail, Kara, Cousin Donna, Judith, Jessie & Ben. As an added treat, Aunt June was with us. This was the first time she had Thanksgiving with her children since moving to Florida 10 years ago.



MOUSE

Katerina has fallen in love with Mickey Mouse! And this was just from a coloring/sticker book. She had yet to see an animated cartoon. She became obsessed with "Mouse" as she calls him. We began taping the Mickey Mouse clubhouse cartoons and no matter how many she sees, it's always "More Mouse". I got a Mickey Mouse Christmas DVD which she wanted to watch over and over again. I took her to the Disney Store in the Westchester and she walked in with her mouth open, looking upwards where Disney characters were dangling from the ceiling and let out a whispered, in awe, WOWWWWWWWWW. She certainly is my daughter! Can't wait to go to Disney World with her.

SWING
Constantin felt that Katerina was not able to get enough exercise during the chillier months because she could not play in the park. So, how do we resolve this problem? We purchase a swing/rings/trapeze contraption and hang it between the kitchen and dining room. Doesn't everyone?

CHRISTMAS
Returning from Florida on December 15th it was a mad rush to prepare for Christmas. I decided to put thoughts of everything else on hold prepare for Katerina's first Christmas. We decorated and she loved the tree. She was fascinated with one particular ornament of a panda bear which my mother purchased for Katerina in China when we were there to pick her up in March.

Keeping with tradition, Joan & Dan arrived from Florida a few days before Christmas and Joan & I had our annual last-minute shopping adventure along with our annual Christmas lunch at Epstein's Kosher Deli (go figure). Katerina joined us the next day and had a ball at Bloomingdales. From that day on, every time I pull into a parking lot near stores, she says "shopping".

As usual, we celebrated Christmas Eve with George and Deb. It was a lovely relaxing evening. And as usual, we went to Uncle Bobby and Aunt Susie's the next day. Because Bobby was working that day, the festivities did not begin until 4pm. Joan & Dan and Teri were there as usual and George & Deb came late after visiting her family in Long Island. Special this year was that Len & Diane joined us. They were in Pennsylvania (her family) and around NY (his family) and worked it out to spend Christmas with us.

To say she was overwhelmed with gifts would be an understatement. There were so many that we decided to save some for New Year's day which is the traditional gift opening day in Greece.

VISIT FROM GABRITSOS COUSINS

What a treat. Cousin George & Iliya with kids, Christos and Sylvia were visiting from Greece. They spent an afternoon with us which was incredibly enjoyable. I had never met the kids before and none of them had yet to meet Katerina. It was very special for Constantin, because it was the first of his family, with the exception of his sister Popi, to meet Katerina. They adored her. How could they not? The kids were particularly taken with her and asked their parents on the drive back to NYC if they could have a little sister from China.

NEW YEAR'S
We had a quiet evening at home. I stayed up for the Times Square ball to drop, but Constantin was out by 10:30am. Joseph worked at Briars and came home at 12:30am sporting a shiny hat and noise makers! His first grown-up New Years celebration.

MORE GABRITSOS COUSINS
Alatia & Sevi were visiting from Greece and spent a day with us and stayed until the next morning. Georgia came up with them but took the train back to NYC in the evening. Again, Constantin was delighted that his cousins were able to meet Katerina and she was in rare form. Georgia had her dancing all over. I've got some great videos.

SPEECH
First full sentence: Come on, follow me! Cute moment: When she spotted Aunt Susie she started asking for Uncle Bobby. "Uh Bobby", "Uh Bobby" in escalating tones. When responding in the affirmative it's "Uh huh"; wonder where she got that from.

HEALTH
During December, while I was in Florida, Katerina came down with pneumonia. Unfortunately, this prevented her and Constantin from coming down for Dad's service. She had a high fever and was very listless for days. We were warned by Dr. Traister that we could expect her to come down with everything this winter since she has not yet built up immunities for germs in the US. Apparently, they have different germs in China!