first christmas

Aren't my daughties cute? I don't even know why Christmas is so special. But it seems that from mid-November through the first week of January, there's an extra special "Yule" feeling in the air. Is it Christ the Savior's birthday that gets us worked up? Saturnalia? The solstice? Mannheim Steamroller? All of the above?

I don't know if Anna figured any of it out. She mostly is happy to put anything in her mouth and say "ah ah". I am also not sure if Marta really "gets" Santa. I mean I think she is vaguely familiar with the idea, but does she really understand the full package -- Santa living at North Pole delivers elven-made toys to all the girls and boys via sleigh? Only Marta knows.

Today was Marta's fourth birthday. Four years of Daddydom. I like being a Dad. It's fun. We are watching Sound of Music though and I am not sure if I could be a father like Captain Von Trapp. two or maybe three is ok with me. Not seven. Right now I am content with my daughties. No reason to get biologically greedy. Now all I need to do is to get them to sing.

Anyway, speaking of Christmas, here's a shot of me from my first one. Like Anna, I don't remember the last Christmas of the 1970s ... at all. But I was there apparently, and here's the proof: