Daily Peep: Merry Christmas Eve

Peeper's about the same as yesterday, I suppose. We've added Motrin to the mix, per Shrike's sister, who is a pharmacist and a mommy.

She rallied enough to be sort of okay and semi-sociable for Christmas Eve dinner with the family, and enough to convince us that it was okay to go church.

We are, as you might have noticed, not "church people," but even I think it seems like you ought to go on Christmas Eve. For the past several years, Shrike's sister and her partner have had the family over for dinner and then we all go to their Unitarian Universalist church together.

The Unitarians have a special place in my heart, since Shrike and I held our commitment ceremony in a UU church, back home in Texas.

I didn't used to "get" the point of a church without a dogma, but over the years I've come to understand it, and to really like the idea of being able to have that sort of spiritual fellowship, without being told what to believe.

Not that I actually want to have that sort of spiritual fellowship myself, but I like that it's available for those who do.

I also like any church who doesn't think that my wife and I are going to hell for loving each other.

Anyway, Peeper was pretty fussy when we got there, but she nursed to sleep before the service started.

If I had any hesitation about that (which I really didn't) it was completely alleviated when I looked over, right after she got latched and settled, to see a two-year-old nursing across the aisle from us.

I thought we were home-free when she fell asleep, but she but woke up midway through and we went out into the foyer for the duration.

She fell back asleep on the way home, and when we got back into town, Shrike hopped into the front seat at a red light and we drove around looking at Christmas lights and talking for a while.

When we got home, Peeper woke up and cried, more or less hysterically, while we got her jammied and medicated. We nursed for a while, but she was done sleeping for the time being.

Shrike, because she is the best wife ever, ordered me into a hot bath and they are still in the living room playing while I decompress a bit more.

It's been a long few days and I am so ready for her to feeling better and back to her usual "put me down now so I can play, Mama!" self!

Of course, we took a few photos over the course of the evening.

Here we are at dinner . . .

. . . and at church.

Shrike "won" her nine-year-old niece's drawing to "get to" wear the elf hat to church.

Actually, the elf hat was second prize. First prize was a Santa hat.

Technically, Shrike's dad won the first drawing for the elf hat, but Niece said, "No, Papa can't make a fool of himself at church. It has to be one of the ladies."

To which, Shrike's sister's partner said, "What ladies? I don't see any ladies."

Which is funny, because she's the most ladylike of us all.

So, point being, here we are singing at church.

And lets say that this one is "soft focus," because I really wanted to post the one of Peeper asleep and nursing in my lap during church.

Now, if we can just get Peeper to go to bed before Santa passes us by!