Busy and calm — a typical Christmas for us, I suppose. Days of preparation and cleaning, and finally, the table is set, the barszcz is ready, and the guests are all making themselves comfortable.

Barszcz, mushroom soup, cabbage and mushroom pierogis — the courses tumble onto the table, one after the other, and I’m thinking the same thing I always do: so much time spent preparing this food, and yet it’s just disappearing. No matter how slowly we serve, it never seems to be slow enough truly to savor the food and the conversation. It’s like eating one’s favorite cookies as a kid, with the conflicting urges: devour them yet save them.

After dinner, we head to the living room for gifts and a Belgian ale sampling. First up, the king of Belgian ales: Chimay.

Gifts for everyone, but K and I are waiting for a couple.

L, having had a birthday less than weeks ago, has few surprises in an effort to keep from “spoiling” her. The truth is, she already has so many toys that we can hide many and she doesn’t notice. But she was thrilled with her DVD: Horton Hears a Who. We’ve been reading it before bed for weeks now, and she adores the story. Any time the Wickersham brothers appear, she starts yelling, “No! Not nice!” She might attack the TV when we show her the film.

Nana and Papa get our new obsession: hardcover photo books from Blurb. One was a book of pictures of the Girl throughout the last year; the second was a photo book about Nana and Papa’s trip to Central Europe for our 2004 wedding.

Christmas Day begins with some swinging and time with our guests’ dogs, who have been relaxing in the basement. Throughout the week, whenever we would ask L who’s coming, she would squeal, “Doggies!” Four friendly dogs and she was absolutely in heaven.

Christmas Day brought new guests and new adventures. L had a couple of playmates, one of whom having L’s temperament and energy level. There was lots of climbing, chasing, and screams of laughter. It gave us a chance to see what it would be like to have more children. Someday. Right now, L is enough to keep four adults busy.