I had never decorated cookies before, but it was an old family tradition in Liz's family. The other years I've been here for the holidays they hadn't done it, but perhaps because now two of their three kids are married and Liz and I have the boys, the tradition came back.

Here's the first tray ready to cool in the fridge. The Ronald McDonald-looking cookie is the one that was supposed to represent me. It was my first attempt, and I had no idea what I was doing. The red, blue, and yellow star was my other one on this tray, though, and that one was a big improvement.

Here's Liz's cookie avatar, complete with babies!

I made these near the end of the night, by which point I was getting better at it. I made the faces and liked them so much that I was afraid of ruining them by trying to make clothes. Liz suggested a fig leaf, and I immediately knew that was perfect.

Ready to eat! The santa was Liz's brother Dan's creation.

I made this pine tree that I was rather happy with. It has chocolate chip pine cones and a raisin trunk.

Some more of my better creations: a farmer (that's a beard, not a giant smile) and an alien.

And one last cookie by me: a festive holiday wreath, about to be devoured by my father-in-law.

Here are Dan and Kelly's cookie selves.

Food! I made myself this grilled three-cheese with tomato and avocado for lunch one day, using cheddar, swiss, and romano cheeses.

Dan and Kelly made a homemade cheese ball for Christmas Eve dinner.

Liz invented this appetizer, which is a crescent roll wrapped around a paste made of roasted red peppers and kalamata olives, with feta cheese. It was amazing, and we actually made it twice more during the holidays!

I tried a couple of Chirstmas light bokeh shots on the Christmas tree at Liz's aunt and uncle's house. I think I could do it better next time.

Our cookies make one last appearance.

Liz's cousin Catherine dipped fondue cherries all night long. Unfortunately, the focus ended up on the fondue pot instead of her... I'll have to look into why that happened!

Dessert.

And finally, Liz's parents and her brother Matt looking at a photo album Liz made of the babies' first ten weeks.