Charlie Does Holidays!

Charlie's first Christmas has come and gone...

(Charlie with Mommy on Christmas Day 2010)


So has her first New Year's...

(Charlie with Daddy on New Year's Eve -- Photo by Becky Custer)

We celebrated Charlie!

For both holidays, our home was filled with people and food and noise and laughter. And Charlie loved it all.

Her nap schedule was disrupted, but then she's always done well with a 20-minute power nap in a pinch. (A short ride in the car may be necessary to accomplish this, but it's worth the gas.)

It still takes a couple of minutes for her to size up someone that she hasn't seen in a while (a little longer than that for Uncle Dj, who is apparently in a category all by himself), but the baby obviously enjoys a party! (She certainly enjoys laughing, and making other people laugh!)

Charlie loves trying new foods. On New Year's Eve, she demonstrated that she'd eat an entire dill pickle slice (but you should watch her carefully)!

Charlie approaches adventure with caution...On Christmas, we discovered that although Charlie loves going through Grandpa Greg's homemade Sofa Tunnel, she's somewhat intimidated by the pre-fab tunnel/tent combo that Santa brought...

Charlie appears concerned as she eyes the nylon tube that Grandpa is encouraging her to crawl through...


...perhaps because she has just seen Mommy disappear into it, leaving only her striped feet behind!

All in all, Charlie's first holidays were exactly what I wished for. She brought a new level of cuteness and excitment to our family celebrations, and introduced some new traditions (such as eating dill pickles on New Year's Eve and driving around in the car until you fall asleep).

She even almost had her first Christmas wish granted...

(Charlie with one and one-half front teeth -- Becky Custer)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Sweet Charlie! You put a little Christmas in all of our days, and we are blessed!