Merry Christmas!

Kristen's very first Christmas included her very first trip to the Emergency Room! (Because, you know, there's just never enough excitement around here.) Somehow, in the first few moments after awakening on Christmas morning, shortly after being placed in the center of the living room floor among the many treasures brought by Santa, Kristen began screaming, and screaming, and soon, she wouldn't even open her eyes. Sufficiently scared, we called the on-call pediatrician, who advised us to take her in to the ER right away in case she had suffered a corneal abrasion, which, he said, could quickly become infected if left untreated. Poor Kristen! Her first Christmas, spent in the waiting room of the ER! Sure enough, though, she had somehow acquired a nasty scratch down her right cornea, which Darren said glowed a garish orange under the black light with which they examined her eye.

But by evening, after a dose of Motrin and a couple applications of antibiotic ointment, she was feeling well enough to finally open her gifts in the darkened living room. (You can see in the photo below the hospital ID band around her right ankle. We forgot to take it off until we were getting her ready for bed!)

Happily, she seems to have recovered remarkably well, and shows no distress at all, even in full light. She was rechecked yesterday morning, as per doctor's orders, and we were advised to continue the ointment through the weekend, though she shows no signs of complications.

Other memorable moments, and a few favorite photos, from our unforgettable Christmas:

I pray you all had a very blessed and joyous Christmas!