3 Days of Christmas

Renee was born into a VERY large family.  So, in order to see as many people as we can, holidays are always a little hectic.

Our usual tradition is that we have Christmas Eve dinner with my mother's side of the family.  Then on Christmas morning we have breakfast at my Aunt Barbara's house and dinner with my dad's side of the family.  We have lunch with Jeff's family on either Christmas Eve or Day, depending on what side of the Bay each of the dinners are being held that year.

This year though, with Renee in tow, we decided to make things a little bit easier on ourselves and only do 1 family function per day and then visit Jeff's family the day after Christmas.

So, on Christmas Eve we went to my Aunt Lea (my Mom's sister) and Uncle Dave's house in Novato.  Always a loud bunch, my mom's side of the family knows how to have a good time :D  Tons of great food, great people and gazillion presents!!!

Renee got to meet her cousin Erin, who lives in Long Beach, for the first time.

Erin, Me, Loren, Renee & Olivia

She got to play with my mom's dog, Pearl.  Renee LOVES dogs and is very happy when they let her "pet" them.

She got lots of play time with her Grandma Denise (my mom).

My mom thought is was hilarious when she squished Renee's face in her hands, Renee thought it was pretty funny too... I had to get a picture of that silliness!

And she had an absolute blast chasing around her cousin Credence.  Of course there was no way she could keep up with his 3 year old energy and speed, but she tried her hardest!

Credence, Jennifer & Renee

By the time presents were being opened, Renee was exhausted!!  But, to our surprise, she held it together quite well.  There were so many distractions and new things to play with, there was no way she could be upset for long.

Renee and her Daddy playing with some of her new toys.

She even let us put her in this cute box so we could take a picture of our little angel on her first Christmas :D

On Christmas morning, Jeff and I didn't have any exciting plans for her, we knew she would be exhausted and have a million new toys, so we only gave one small gift: a wooden shapes and colors puzzle - which she loved :D

Then we decided to try out one of her gifts from my parents and went on a walk in her brand new stroller.

Kirby, Sophie, Me and Renee.

I had previously borrowed a stroller from a friend when Renee was younger.  It wasn't quite the right fit for us at the time, but after using that for a few months I was able to come up with a list of features I wanted to have for the next stroller we got.  Things like: a single handle bar, easy and compact folding, easy steering and a really good canopy to protect my angel from the elements.  This stroller fits the bill perfectly, and Renee loves it too :D  It started pouring rain about halfway through our walk; Jeff, the dogs and I all got soaked, but Renee was snug as a bug in a rug!

When we were getting ready for our next gathering I put Renee in a very pretty Christmas dress, a hand me down from some friends of ours.

And as pretty as it was, it made me and Jeff uncomfortable just looking at her in it, we're just not fancy-dress-on-baby kind of people I guess.  So, instead she wore a "Baby's 1st Christmas" onesie I got her at Target, much more our style :D

We went to my Aunt Julie (my Dad's sister) and Uncle Mario's house in Petaluma for dinner that night.  And again Renee had a great time playing with the doggies!

Renee getting Christmas kisses from Piccolina.

My Aunt Julie has kept the high chair she used with her children, now in their 30's.  It has been quite well used over the years, Auntie Julies has used it for her grandchildren and now gets to use it for her great nieces and nephews.  She also let Renee play with a Santa Clause Rattle that was over 30 years old.  Renee loved it, but was treating it a little too rough for my comfort, so I eventually took it from her and put it safely back on it's shelf!

Renee got to visit with lots more family:

Great Grandma Ferguson (aka "GG") and Renee

Uncle Jerry and Renee

Renee and cousin Ashley

 And again there were lots of presents for Renee to open; she seemed to enjoy the paper more than the gifts inside though :D

On the day after Christmas we went to Jeff's parents house to visit and open a few more gifts.  Then we all went to lunch at the Hunan House in Dublin.  There's nothing like eating some good Chinese food after all that American holiday fare :D

Jeff's Dad, Earl, calls Renee his little light bulb because she always lights up the room.  I love watching him play with her; he's so big and she's so small and they always have such a great time together.

Grandpa Earl helping Renee drink from a cup.

Happy baby Renee with her Grandpa Earl :D

After lunch, we went to Pleasanton to hang out and have dinner with my brother Sam, my step-mom Lynne and their family.  There were more presents to open and more family to shower her with love and attention, so Renee was a happy camper!  

Pete (a very experienced dad of 4) giving Renee a bottle.

Renee also showed off her new talent.  When someone says, "Uh Oh!!", she puts her hands on her head, it is sooo cute :D

And of course, she had to have lots of doggie play time.  She is becoming our little Elmyra, which is exactly what I was when I was a kid.  Animals ran with fear from all the "love" I wanted to give them :D

Julia, Lacey and Renee.

And that was Renee's first Christmas, and our first together as a family.  A very busy and exhausting 3 days, but filled with great memories.