Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night! (I wish)

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday. We had a great time up at my parents' house and enjoyed several days of laziness. Reina really got in to her "First Christmas, Part Deux," by tearing into anything that looked like wrapping paper! She was also treated to some peppermint ice cream and Christmas cookies. In all the hustle and bustle, and probably sugar highs, she has also seemed to decide to stop sleeping. That is, to stop sleeping like she used to; by herself. She has developed a preference for being rocked to sleep and also has decided to forgo one or both of her usual daily naps. Awesome. Now that most of the excitement is over, we are trying to get back to normal life; finding places to put all the thoughtful gifts, making time for thank you notes, laundry. Hopefully we'll all get back on track and go back to having a good night soon...

Buddies and Babies: Eric and Emma H. play with Bill and Reina K.

Reina and Emma again, instant friends.

RMK and Santa C. catch up from their last visit together (12/2006)

4 Generations again, this time with my Dad and Memere and Pepere

Memere and Pepere with great-grand-girls: 2nd cousins Vivienne and Reina

Happy First Birthday!

We celebrated Reina's first birthday yesterday (although it is actually today) with a family gathering and cookie exchange party. Since I'm not the strongest of bakers it was my ploy to get some home made Christmas cookies! Reina was so very good, despite missing a nap and eating more junk than she ever has in her year-old life. She babbled and played with every toy, not wanting anyone to feel left out. She smiled at everybody and scooted around all day in her tutu. Bill's vote against said tutu was vetoed. We enjoyed so many tasty different treats plus our favorite, Jimmy John's subs! Today, she's sleeping it off a bit while I try to finish with the present wrapping.

Enjoy the following photos. The small ones are from her latest portrait session and I've been eagerly awaiting posting them until today. Sorry if anyone is offended by the nudity. Bill definitely is. Tough noogies.

RMK pre-party, chewing on a farmer friend. Good hair day.

Reina and Nana

First cupcake. Liked the icing, the rest was too much work. Prefers chocolate chip cookies.

first cell phone, tastes delicious!

Sorry all of these portraits are so small. Those sneaky photographers make you think you own the pictures, but then they're teeny tiny online!

Mea Culpa

I'm sorry Bill. I had to do it.

Problem one: several days of copious nasal drainage.

Problem two: a child who looks like Cousin It. Wait for it...

Solution: a baby who's hair isn't plastered to her face every morning by her own snot!

Gorgeous! Best makeover ever!

Again. Sorry Bill. I promise it'll grow back.

Mad Skills

Reina continues to amaze us with her a-la-carte style of development. By that I mean the way she picks and chooses which milestones to meet. While she still refuses to hold her own bottle and can only stand for a few seconds at a time, never mind walk, she has seemingly mastered the ability to morph herself into other objects. For example, the photo below. My daughter, the Transformer.

With the amount of amusement she found in this box, Christmas is bound to be full of laughs. At this point gifts will be redundant. Maybe I'll wait to give them to her until 2008...

She can also take off her pants by herself. We are thrilled.

Bill's 2 favorite things merge into one. Yes, she's IN the box.

More Buddies

A couple more of Reina and her 4-legged friends:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindog

Not a terrific picture, but Reina is mesmerized by our tree. She loves to look at the ornaments but isn't quite sure of the prickly needles.

Hungry?

Shhh, I don't want to jinx our recent luck, but Reina may have finally turned the corner when it comes to eating like a normal baby. Well, semi-normal, she's now eating 2-3 jars of baby food a day (up from 2-3 a week) and seems ok with the idea of a spoon. Mostly. We've had our ups and downs, but at least she is sleeping all night again and not waking up for a bottle at 1am!

Last Saturday, Bill and Reina had a Daddy-Daughter Day where he was relentless with the feeding solid foods. I think maybe she need a change of pace from my usual frustrated food shoving. Daddy has a different technique, or just Daddy-star power. She worships him. I guess I shouldn't mind since he was so nervous about having a girl. They are best buddies. Here's a few shots of their day together:

I love you Daddy! Eat real food? Whatever you say Daddy!

Bill thought this was hilarious. Somehow that Cheerio just stuck there throughout the meal.

Still buddies despite occasional battles over self-feeding privileges.

I love my Daddy!

Have we seen this face before? (hint: see Thanksgiving family picture)