Marcus and The North Pole at Christmastime

When you haven't seen a dear friend for six months, one of the awesome things that happens is the effortless ability to pick right back up from where the two of you had last left off. When you haven't seen your nephew for six months - then three months old -  one of the awesome things that happens is the complete transformation that short amount of time facilitated. What I found this Christmas, was a nine-and-a-half-month-old redheaded baby who I could not physically stop myself from kissing, and despite efforts by equally determined family members, could not take my hands off of him.

As I said, he's changed. He's not quite crawling, but he's intensely mobile. He's reached the babbling stage, and although his mother and father don't quite agree, has been heard chanting "Reee...be...kah." He loves to dance - especially ballet (again, don't know that his parents would agree), and especially in the mornings. Despite one screaming fit in the tub when his mother and I attempted to give his red hair a trim (see enclosed photo - woops), I'm confident in saying he's the happiest, most glorious and elite baby...in the world. If he was a fabric, he'd be cashmere. If he was a beer, he'd be Estrella. If he was a team, he'd be the Razorbacks. 

I'm not partial at all. And I'm also not partial to Arizona weather, or hyperbolizing when I say this Christmas was finally spent at The North Pole (at times also referred to as Columbus, Ohio). Snow fell each day and the wind blew colder than I had ever fathomed. Somehow in spite of all of that, it appeared people were actually spending time outside: scooping their driveways, going for long jogs, playing catch with their Eskimo dogs, rearranging their frozen garages. I decided to try and blend in, and after layering as best I could, braved the icy driveway with a large plastic snow scooper. Several hours later, the total cost of that endeavor was multiple hours of defrosting by the fire, two days of sore biceps and a newfound hatred for The North Pole in the winter time.