We spent a glorious Christmas with John, Nette and Mina Aldous
in sunny San Diego. Here we are with our stockings
Christmas morning.
We had a wonderful time decorating each others
stockings. Beckett and Mina shared a meaningful moment of baby-to-baby time.
Beckett loved his first Christmas orange.
Beckett loved his first Christmas orange.
Bruce chronicled in detail in a letter to his aunt and uncle.
Dear Aunt Laree and Uncle Dick,
I have a habit of trying to make people who didn’t attend events insanely jealous that they weren’t able to be there. Its my way of countering all the good will in the world by trying to induce one of the seven deadly sins in other people, so in that vein, I thought I would share with you a travelogue of our trip to San Diego.
On the 23rd, Bruce, and Jeanne intended to get an early start for San Diego, but then Beckett decided to take a nap and following the principle of “never wake a sleeping baby” Bruce and Jeanne decided to put off the drive until late in the AM. Meanwhile, Nette cleverly got herself off of work by 10:40 in the AM, so Beckett’s narcoleptic recalcitrance cost us two precious hours of Aldous-Baird-Hardy reunion fun.
We finally all met up at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Jeanne was in charge of the wedding cake the last time we were there, so we didn’t get to see much of the park proper, but John and Nette were happy to go again—it being an important place in their family lore. They even got us in for free because they are members. We got introduced to little Mina right off, and she immediately showed off all sorts of developmental skills that Beckett hasn’t yet learned such as reaching out and grabbing the chubby cheeks of newly-met babies. We also took stock of her hair. Beckett’s head seems to be growing faster than his hair, so at the moment, his hair seems to be getting shorter, but Mina made up for him, so between the two of them they have a good average.
Having worked at the park tracking the mating habits of rhinos, Nette confidentally steered us through the park on a route tailored to maximize our wild animal viewing enjoyment. This included rhinos sparing with each other (and drawing blood), Bruce trying to talk to the Macaws (and embarrassing everyone around him), and watching a full moon come up over the Californian desert while peering down into the gloaming for signs of tigers.
We then proceeded on/back to San Diego where we ordered take-out Indian food. Nette and John (being the more nearly continuous city-dwellers) thought that the Indian food was just OK, but Bruce and Jeanne (being residents of a small town) were so delighted by the taste of good Indian food that they just about cried. We then talked our way into the late hours of the night. Beckett was up first the following morning and his good cheer brought out the good cheer of his parents and together they made such a racket of nursery rhymes and songs that soon everyone was up. We had a simple breakfast of toast (fig bread, sour dough bread, and rosemary bread), and Bruce even managed to doctor up the skim milk with a little of the coffee creamer so it suited his cow-milking tastes. Both the MD’s expressed dutiful concern for Bruce’s arteries, but he assured them that in fact he hit the genetic jackpot as far as these things go and actually has low cholesterol.
The two kiddies took an AM nap while John, Jeanne and Bruce resumed the conversation of the night before. Nette finagled her way out of work again by about 10:30, and then we all took a stroll through the neighborhood to a diner for some more simple diner fare. Then we loaded up in the cars and headed for La Jolla to see the tide pools. John and Bruce convinced the women to care for the kids (sometimes a little stereotypical sexism can come in handy when you can appeal to the maternal instincts of the maternal types) while the two of them clambered over rocks and peered in small pools and watched the battle for survival of the fittest. Then the women rebelled and made John and Bruce come up to take care of the kids, but John and Bruce sneakily carried the strollers down to the beach area and came along for another round of tide pool pleasure.
In the late afternoon, John, noticing that there were only two stockings hung by the mantel with great care, made a trip to the store and brought back white tube socks, glitter, and colored pens. Much to the delight of Jeanne, it turned out that Christmas eve would be filled with a craft project—designing Christmas stockings for all the rest of the attendees. Jeanne had so much fun that I suspect that she is thinking about making a yearly tradition out of the stocking creation.
In the evening, we went over to the house of Nette’s med school mentor Sandra. Sandra is Panamanian, and her husband Joe is Italian, so they threw a fabulous Christmas eve feast replete with octopus salad, stuffed mushrooms, roast beef, black beans, fried plantains and some killer Panamanian hot sauce. The food was great, but the company was even better, and John and Bruce showed off the skill they learned on their missions of eating any and all local foods and charmed the Panamanian women into claiming them as kindred spirits.
Christmas morning found the Beckett alarm clock once again smiling and laughing everyone into full wakefulness. Mina pretty much charmed us for the entire trip and Christmas AM was no exception. She was just starting to stand and she would totter for a few seconds at a time before finding something to grab to steady herself. Sometimes she even availed herself of the nearby head of a younger cousin who hasn’t yet learned how to walk. He apparently found the attention so pleasing that he was glad to serve as a kick stand for Mina.
The Jim and Betsy Bairds have always insisted that Christmas must wait until late in the morning after the cows are milked and the breakfast dishes are washed and put away, but we always heard of other people who rushed into the living room at 5 AM to rip open all the presents with glee. So we didn’t know how the Aldous’s conduct themselves on Christmas morning, but it turned out that one thing lead to another and we didn’t have Christmas until around noon after Nette had already fetched Grandma Emma and Grandpa Dickson from the airport.
Apparently Santa has decided to turn little Mina into a materialist who supports the American capitalist system, because she clearly made out like a bandit, but Santa managed to leave behind some loot for Beckett, and the six adults as well. How Santa managed to track little Beckett and his parents from Massachusetts all the way to San Diego is of course one of those holiday miracles not fully comprehensible to mere mortals such as myself, but however it happened, Santa even delivered a photo album to Bruce and Jeanne filled with cute photos of Beckett taken by Nette the previous day. One can only marvel at the wonders of Santa’s technological abilities these days.
John then conducted the out-of-towners on a neighborhood architectural tour of the Mission and Craftsmen style houses. Despite the fact that John was the leader of the tour, Bruce pontificated about Japanese architectural elements in Craftsmen style houses, so he likes to think that at least he left his hosts slightly smarter than he found them. Then Bruce marshaled an army of willing sous-chefs for another dinner featuring roast beef—this time accompanied by a salad with grapefruit, orange, mixed greens, and seared ahi tuna, Jeanne’s Yorkshire pudding, stir-fried garlicky kale, mashed potatoes and gravy. So Bruce likes to think he left his hosts fatter than he found them as well.
So it was a good Christmas, and Nette dropped subtle hints about the availability of their house for next Christmas as well, so we might make it a habit. Maybe you can make it next time.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Love,
Bruce
Dear Aunt Laree and Uncle Dick,
I have a habit of trying to make people who didn’t attend events insanely jealous that they weren’t able to be there. Its my way of countering all the good will in the world by trying to induce one of the seven deadly sins in other people, so in that vein, I thought I would share with you a travelogue of our trip to San Diego.
On the 23rd, Bruce, and Jeanne intended to get an early start for San Diego, but then Beckett decided to take a nap and following the principle of “never wake a sleeping baby” Bruce and Jeanne decided to put off the drive until late in the AM. Meanwhile, Nette cleverly got herself off of work by 10:40 in the AM, so Beckett’s narcoleptic recalcitrance cost us two precious hours of Aldous-Baird-Hardy reunion fun.
We finally all met up at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Jeanne was in charge of the wedding cake the last time we were there, so we didn’t get to see much of the park proper, but John and Nette were happy to go again—it being an important place in their family lore. They even got us in for free because they are members. We got introduced to little Mina right off, and she immediately showed off all sorts of developmental skills that Beckett hasn’t yet learned such as reaching out and grabbing the chubby cheeks of newly-met babies. We also took stock of her hair. Beckett’s head seems to be growing faster than his hair, so at the moment, his hair seems to be getting shorter, but Mina made up for him, so between the two of them they have a good average.
Having worked at the park tracking the mating habits of rhinos, Nette confidentally steered us through the park on a route tailored to maximize our wild animal viewing enjoyment. This included rhinos sparing with each other (and drawing blood), Bruce trying to talk to the Macaws (and embarrassing everyone around him), and watching a full moon come up over the Californian desert while peering down into the gloaming for signs of tigers.
We then proceeded on/back to San Diego where we ordered take-out Indian food. Nette and John (being the more nearly continuous city-dwellers) thought that the Indian food was just OK, but Bruce and Jeanne (being residents of a small town) were so delighted by the taste of good Indian food that they just about cried. We then talked our way into the late hours of the night. Beckett was up first the following morning and his good cheer brought out the good cheer of his parents and together they made such a racket of nursery rhymes and songs that soon everyone was up. We had a simple breakfast of toast (fig bread, sour dough bread, and rosemary bread), and Bruce even managed to doctor up the skim milk with a little of the coffee creamer so it suited his cow-milking tastes. Both the MD’s expressed dutiful concern for Bruce’s arteries, but he assured them that in fact he hit the genetic jackpot as far as these things go and actually has low cholesterol.
The two kiddies took an AM nap while John, Jeanne and Bruce resumed the conversation of the night before. Nette finagled her way out of work again by about 10:30, and then we all took a stroll through the neighborhood to a diner for some more simple diner fare. Then we loaded up in the cars and headed for La Jolla to see the tide pools. John and Bruce convinced the women to care for the kids (sometimes a little stereotypical sexism can come in handy when you can appeal to the maternal instincts of the maternal types) while the two of them clambered over rocks and peered in small pools and watched the battle for survival of the fittest. Then the women rebelled and made John and Bruce come up to take care of the kids, but John and Bruce sneakily carried the strollers down to the beach area and came along for another round of tide pool pleasure.
In the late afternoon, John, noticing that there were only two stockings hung by the mantel with great care, made a trip to the store and brought back white tube socks, glitter, and colored pens. Much to the delight of Jeanne, it turned out that Christmas eve would be filled with a craft project—designing Christmas stockings for all the rest of the attendees. Jeanne had so much fun that I suspect that she is thinking about making a yearly tradition out of the stocking creation.
In the evening, we went over to the house of Nette’s med school mentor Sandra. Sandra is Panamanian, and her husband Joe is Italian, so they threw a fabulous Christmas eve feast replete with octopus salad, stuffed mushrooms, roast beef, black beans, fried plantains and some killer Panamanian hot sauce. The food was great, but the company was even better, and John and Bruce showed off the skill they learned on their missions of eating any and all local foods and charmed the Panamanian women into claiming them as kindred spirits.
Christmas morning found the Beckett alarm clock once again smiling and laughing everyone into full wakefulness. Mina pretty much charmed us for the entire trip and Christmas AM was no exception. She was just starting to stand and she would totter for a few seconds at a time before finding something to grab to steady herself. Sometimes she even availed herself of the nearby head of a younger cousin who hasn’t yet learned how to walk. He apparently found the attention so pleasing that he was glad to serve as a kick stand for Mina.
The Jim and Betsy Bairds have always insisted that Christmas must wait until late in the morning after the cows are milked and the breakfast dishes are washed and put away, but we always heard of other people who rushed into the living room at 5 AM to rip open all the presents with glee. So we didn’t know how the Aldous’s conduct themselves on Christmas morning, but it turned out that one thing lead to another and we didn’t have Christmas until around noon after Nette had already fetched Grandma Emma and Grandpa Dickson from the airport.
Apparently Santa has decided to turn little Mina into a materialist who supports the American capitalist system, because she clearly made out like a bandit, but Santa managed to leave behind some loot for Beckett, and the six adults as well. How Santa managed to track little Beckett and his parents from Massachusetts all the way to San Diego is of course one of those holiday miracles not fully comprehensible to mere mortals such as myself, but however it happened, Santa even delivered a photo album to Bruce and Jeanne filled with cute photos of Beckett taken by Nette the previous day. One can only marvel at the wonders of Santa’s technological abilities these days.
John then conducted the out-of-towners on a neighborhood architectural tour of the Mission and Craftsmen style houses. Despite the fact that John was the leader of the tour, Bruce pontificated about Japanese architectural elements in Craftsmen style houses, so he likes to think that at least he left his hosts slightly smarter than he found them. Then Bruce marshaled an army of willing sous-chefs for another dinner featuring roast beef—this time accompanied by a salad with grapefruit, orange, mixed greens, and seared ahi tuna, Jeanne’s Yorkshire pudding, stir-fried garlicky kale, mashed potatoes and gravy. So Bruce likes to think he left his hosts fatter than he found them as well.
So it was a good Christmas, and Nette dropped subtle hints about the availability of their house for next Christmas as well, so we might make it a habit. Maybe you can make it next time.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Love,
Bruce
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