Christmas spent at Mark and Anne's house in California was a lot of fun! Those in attendance included Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Mark and Aunt Anne, Aunt Karen, Grandma and Grandpa Hopkins, and cousins Rohan (2 years) and Fynn (2 months). We musn't forget Tucker the dog, who Delaney immediately befriended.
Christmas Eve we went to a candlelight mass at the church where Anne plays piano. Christmas carols reminded me of many Christmas Eves gone by from my own childhood. Delaney made her debut in Christmas outfit number ONE, which was a "Jackie O" style sleeveless dress topped with a red velvet jacket with a faux fur collar, and purse to match! Can you tell I was going to have a blast just playing dressup every day.....
On Christmas Day, she made her debut in outfit number TWO, a miniature Santa Claus outfit. Christmas outfit number THREE came later in the day, a jumper with the words "Baby's First Christmas" written on the front. Delaney played with her cousins Rohan and Fynn, and we had a delicious meal featuring all kinds of goodies including turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and the traditional Hopkins Rutebaga! Delaney had a little bit of everything, and in true Hopkins fashion she is crazy about the rutebaga! After lunch, Santa Claus stopped by the neighborhood on the local town firetruck, and Delaney was able to climb up into the truck to get a photo taken with Santa and his crew. He had come a long way from Santa's House in Aurora at Philip's Park just few weeks ago. Then.....it was time to open the presents!! Delaney had already had some practice at the Bremer's house a week earlier, so she was an expert gift opener by now! After a flurry of paper and ribbons were strewn everywhere, there were so many colorful books and toys to explore that Delaney was in hog heaven!! She really took to a sock monkey that she received from Grandma and Grandpa Hopkins, and padded around the house for the rest of the day with the monkey strapped to her back. Later in the afternoon Delaney and her cousin Rohan went with Daddy and Uncle Mark for a stroll through the hills of Brisbane to work off the copious calories consumed during the meal (only needed for the big people, fat dimples look cute on the little ones!) Overall, with the flurry of presents, the huge meal, the visit with Santa, the new Sock Monkey friend.....it was a most memorable first Christmas for Delaney. We all slept snug in our beds that night, most of all the little ones! Christmas sure is a lot of work! :O)
I am including a variety of photos from our visit, it will be easy to tell which ones weren't taken on Christmas, because Delaney will be dressed in a color other than RED! We had a great visit, and one week was too short. Mark and Anne were very gracious to welcome us all into their home, and we enjoyed seeing our nephews Rohan and Fynn. Baby Fynn seems to be adjusting very well to the world in his first two months! The visited ended on the morning of New Year's Eve, when we jumped on an early morning flight headed back to Chicago. Delaney did great both on the plane ride there and on the ride home. Unfortunately, the only photo I got of her on her inaugural plane ride was when she was grabbing Daddy's glasses off of his face--the battery died right after that! However, you can see about two inches of an overhead compartment in the background, just enough to show that she actually rode on a plane! Needless to say, she enjoyed her first cross country visit and looks forward to the next trip!
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