Winter Holidays
Raina celebrated December with lots of family: two rounds of Comptons and one round of Whites. We traveled to Owensboro for a whirlwind adventure. We arrived at noon and had lunch with Debra Lanham, then proceeded to the hotel, then on to Grandma and Papaw's house, then back to the hotel, then to Krystal and Samantha's favorite childhood park, then back to the grandparents', then on to Josh and Amber's house, then finally to the hotel to sleep. Day 2 involved seeing Grandma Lillie again at the farm, another trip to Grandma and Papaw's house, on to Grandpa Don and Lucy's house, then finally to lunch and escape. While at lunch, we were seated next to Krystal and Sam's aunt Sharon, and Raina was able to meet her family as well. Those were a busy 24 hours in Owensboro.
Here is Christmas dinner at Josh and Amber's house. Raina was overjoyed to meet her cousins again.
They had really cool and somewhat frightening toys. This is a miniature-sized pony that you can ride, pet, and feed. Raina was both entranced and confused by it. Gabrielle is showing us how it's done.
Raina's bravery emerges and she feeds the pony. The pony actually moves its head and mouth in response. Creepy. I bet it takes a TON of batteries.
Raina thoroughly delighted in the pony. Adults remained cautious.
Samantha was mobbed by her nieces and nephews. Raina, Gabrielle, Hannah, and Noah posed with Sam for the shot. Nephew Memphis chose to clutch at his mom instead.
Gatherings at Owensboro are overly stimulating. The first two years of Raina's life involved being completed stunned and then progression to blind panic each time we were in Owensboro. This trip was much better for her. The stimulation stayed the same, but now she could participate in the craziness. It was Memphis' time for panic.
During winter at the Whompton abode, all sane people keep their toes covered under multiple pairs of socks and blankets. Not Raina, though. Here she's proudly showing off her Compton feet. Nice wide platform and uniform toe length. She's destined to be a dancer or a runner with those feet.
The Comptons came to Saint Louis to do a late-Christmas and early-New Year celebration. A rousing time was had by all. We opened many gifts, played a Compton/Whompton/Monaco trivia game, had a Dirty Santa gift exchange, performed Charades, ate lots of food, and engrossed ourselves with hours of board games. The blanket monster emerged on occasion too, much to Raina's delight.
Emily and Jerry rang in 2008 with the Whompton clan, and Emily brought props! Raina adored her new "sunglasses."
Eric was mostly disconcerted by his :)
Here is Christmas dinner at Josh and Amber's house. Raina was overjoyed to meet her cousins again.
They had really cool and somewhat frightening toys. This is a miniature-sized pony that you can ride, pet, and feed. Raina was both entranced and confused by it. Gabrielle is showing us how it's done.
Raina's bravery emerges and she feeds the pony. The pony actually moves its head and mouth in response. Creepy. I bet it takes a TON of batteries.
Raina thoroughly delighted in the pony. Adults remained cautious.
Samantha was mobbed by her nieces and nephews. Raina, Gabrielle, Hannah, and Noah posed with Sam for the shot. Nephew Memphis chose to clutch at his mom instead.
Gatherings at Owensboro are overly stimulating. The first two years of Raina's life involved being completed stunned and then progression to blind panic each time we were in Owensboro. This trip was much better for her. The stimulation stayed the same, but now she could participate in the craziness. It was Memphis' time for panic.
During winter at the Whompton abode, all sane people keep their toes covered under multiple pairs of socks and blankets. Not Raina, though. Here she's proudly showing off her Compton feet. Nice wide platform and uniform toe length. She's destined to be a dancer or a runner with those feet. 
The Comptons came to Saint Louis to do a late-Christmas and early-New Year celebration. A rousing time was had by all. We opened many gifts, played a Compton/Whompton/Monaco trivia game, had a Dirty Santa gift exchange, performed Charades, ate lots of food, and engrossed ourselves with hours of board games. The blanket monster emerged on occasion too, much to Raina's delight.
Emily and Jerry rang in 2008 with the Whompton clan, and Emily brought props! Raina adored her new "sunglasses."
Eric was mostly disconcerted by his :) 
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