OK, last part, I promise! Hey, at least there are cute pictures to look at!
The tree and the stockings.
Gabby getting her stocking.
And opening her loot.
She loves to "nap" on her blanket on the floor.
In her fancy Christmas dress.
Opening presents.
Oh my gosh, Gabby got Christmas pajamas she'd been wearing the week before!
She does not share my love of bows on her head. Give her time.
Audrey and Olivia opening their gifts.
All the girls (except Anne) opening presents.
There's Grandma!
Gabby swore there were more presents in there.
She had to settle for helping Uncle Joe with his.
3 bows for me!
More opening.
Gabby even handed out some presents.
Brian got into the bow action too.
Gabby didn't care what was inside--she just loved opening everything.
Happy Grandma.
Upstairs with the loot.
Setting up to play.
3 girls in matching jammies!
Some things just need a video for full effect:
I'm pretty sure Brian won, although we have disqualify him for not wearing his matching PJs.
Watching TV with Grandma.
It was a good day.
Brian's dad was certainly missed, but I'm sure he looked in on us that day!
Finally, the day after Christmas, we went to the park near Grandma's house and played. Gabby surprised me by being way more independent there as well. She's finally starting to play on her own some!
There were so few kids there that she got to go on the big kid stuff!
Whee!
I love how her hair is sticking straight up.
Swinging with Mommy.
And with Daddy too.
We had a great holiday, and I hope you all did too! I'm currently getting trained up on the new University of Phoenix online classroom, and counting the days until my ARC classes start on the 21st. I have an overnight trip to Calistoga planned with Stephanie, Elizabeth and Judy this weekend (the first time Brian's had Gabby overnight alone), and I'm so looking forward to the mud and massages! Not to mention the dinner at Mustard's--one of my favorite restaurants! I can't wait!
On the 22nd, we opened the presents that my parents and sister sent. We decided to do it in front of the Christmas tree and have our own little pre-Christmas morning, since we were headed to LA the next day. It was a great idea!
She didn't need help with paper by this point.
She would pull things out and say "oooh"
Elmo.
Just Elmo.
Trying to get a smile for the camera!
As I said, we flew down to LA for Christmas. Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Joe and Audrey and Olivia came over on Christmas Eve, and Brian cooked his traditional dinner of prime rib.
Grandma had some fun decorations.
Talking before dinner.
Gabby on the Big Bird Chair (which Brian is quick to point out is his; must be a younger child thing).
Cousins on the couch. Note, this is a depressing photo.
Olivia being silly.
Audrey and Gabby coloring.
Vino.
Everyone coloring.
Audrey and Joe.
Gabby and me.
I got roped into reading the longest book there. Seriously, it was the War and Peace of children's literature.
Aunt Jennifer helping Gabby draw.
They opened 1 present Christmas Eve.
Gabby had to open one too. Despite Brian trying to tell me she wouldn't notice what was going on. Yeah, no.
Matching blankets for the girls.
And a ton ton for Gabby!
Fun fact: Gabby loved opening presents so much that I had to rewrap this ton ton, and also some Christmas pajamas (that she'd already worn) for her to open the next morning. We didn't want her to get mad when she ran out of things to open and Audrey and Olivia weren't done. It worked!
So while I was going through the Christmas pictures, I realized that there are just too many to fit into 1 post. So we're going to have 3. I know, it's a lot to read, but Brian got a new camera, so he went a little bit crazy on the picture taking. And I may have contributed a video or 4!
Needless to say, Christmas with Gabby this year was so much fun! She was so much more aware of what was happening (last year she just ripped paper; this year she understood paper=presents). We had a full week of Christmas activities, and here is the first part.
First, Gabby is officially in love with bounce houses. She didn't even hesitate to run around in the one we found in West Sac. It didn't matter that it was a bit cold!
Don't worry--she was fine. She actually climbed right back in!
Gabby's daycare did their annual holiday lunch with the parents. Before the official start, they were playing one of their fun games to show the parents.
That was Christina. Gabby loves watching that video and saying "Tina!" when she steps in front. As you can tell, Gabby was more worried about me leaving than performing!
And then right before lunch, her whole class performed for us. I'm on the side since Gabby refused to sit in her chair.
It was so cute.
Now for some photos from Brian's new camera.
Naked baby
For about a week, she loved sitting in this small pink bin.
And piling her toy on top of her.
She was also enamored of Frosty.
Sometimes she just chilled.
Brian can tell you all the fun facts about his new camera. All I know is that it's bigger and the picture files are larger.
On the 21st, the Berrys had a Christmas party with a bunch of our friends.
Gabby wore the Santa hat briefly, and it was cute.
Lots of little kids at the party!
Charlotte being her usual ham.
Samantha and Phoebe enjoying a snack.
Phoebe eating the paper while holding the sucker.
Gabby and I enjoyed a snack too.
We went for a walk to Candy Cane cul-de-sac where everyone had tons of light. Gabby loved it.
It was a blistering 50 degrees outside--winter coats were needed.
Again, such a ham!
Charlotte and Amelie hold hands, while Eric pushing Samantha along.
I'm pretty sure this is when Gabby discovered how awesome presents are.
