A First Christmas

She must have known something was up because last night little monster stayed up way past her bedtime. By seven-thirty this morning Saint Nick had paid a visit and our little tree corner was overflowing with packages--one for every ten of Fiona's. We did our fair share of snatching away paper & bows but Fiona really spent most of Christmas morning inspecting new toys. Some of the better secured to packaging caused panic as we raced with scissors and fingers to pull them free while nearby she shrieked and bounced with anticipation. Why do they need five plastic twist ties, a role of tape, and dual layered box to protect Cookie Monster? Santa grammy brought her a new Radio Flyer push tricycle for Daddy to assemble; she has jammies till she's two, new dresses, & shirts, hats & mittens, a super sized teddy bear mat to snuggle from Grandma Pat, elephant friends, books, and silky, soft spring wear from grandpa and nana Gordon, the coolest personalized baby and travel photo journals from the Laurie family, a jumbo play cube from auntie Carolyn, blocks, donut rings, things that play music and light up for her endless amusement...and the most fun present of all, a new cousin due in July :)

We hope everyone had as much fun and is enjoying their holidays as much as Fiona. She's all smiles. Merry Christmas!

Perks of being the only child

Someday there'll be a brother or sister, but for now it's all about Fiona and she likes it that way...

That's for me, right? Checking out the stash early Christmas morning.

Dear Santa, No Elmo, I'd like Tupperware. Love, Fiona

This little activity means I can cook dinner, unload the dishwasher, eat a bowl of cereal, all while she sits transfixed by lids and bowls..

That bottle lid she has there, she actually ripped into two pieces tonight. I assumed it was fairly kid proof--I mean it's a flexible plastic lid with cap I've had for years. Not Fiona bite proof...

Brunch

Trying to make mommy nervous, could Fiona stretch the lap belt any further? We joined Russ & Michelle and their kids Cambria & Cole for brunch. Cambria is captivated by "baby dolls," especially ones that babble, drink bottles, and wet real diapers. (How novel it once was huh?) Fiona digs the interaction for awhile, then she realizes she's sharing attention and personal space and fights to reclaim both.

We're growing more experimental with foods. Jim especially loves Fiona's expressions at new tastes & textures--you've seen him instigate pet expression over the years, right? Same thing. On this morning he snuck in vanilla ice cream. I missed the first frozen little mouthful. There was some startle but like any kid, and Gordon offspring, she welcomed more spoons. That's ice cream dribbling down her chin and Jim's shirt.

My new, spikey purple ball

Whenever it's cold and foggy in Sacramento, it's crisp and blue in San Francisco. Last week Fiona and I met up with my friends Rachel & Ben in Berkeley, where Rachel and I strolled the posh little shops on 4th street and Fiona picked out a few early Christmas presents. Fabulous photo Rachel, thank you!

Off we go a' wasseling...

Fiona and I went out Christmas tree shopping last week. Of course I don't think she's warm enough unless she has on a few more layers of fleece than I do.

Prepping to brave the chilly night air, I carelessly sealed her very important right fingers in the mitten sleeve. That made for a sour Fiona. Two little feet and one hand snuggled tight, five little fingers peaking out for sucking...And off we went to the very merry, Home Depot tree lot.

Simply "Fona"

Nicknames have way of taking on a life of their own. I went for the obvious, "Fi," but to be honest it never exactly resonated with me and I usually just called her "little bunny rabbit, "little banshee," or "little monster," as appropriate. Then a few months ago Jim started saying, "Hi Fona!" ...To which I responded, "Stop calling her that; Her name is Fi-ona. You're going to confuse her! " His logic was that she'd never be able to enunciate Fi-ona from the get-go and would likely say, "My name is Fona." Try as I may but I couldn't get the picture of a precocious little toddler declaring herself as "FONA" out of my head so before long I started calling her Fona too. Like the finger sucking and diapers I'm hoping it melts away with/before preschool and long before anyone starts calling her "Fone" or "Foney..." For the time being that's why we walk by the high chair, the playpen, the big blue eyes staring up from the floor, bellowing, "HI FONA!" *

Where's Fona?...

*Feel free to reinforce her real name.