Ellie's First Christmas

We had a quiet Christmas just the three of us. It was our first Christmas in our house and our first with Ellie. Despite all the rain and our leaking roof we made the best of it.

Christmas Eve Day started with a nice walk in the neighborhood where we got to meet some new neighbors that live up by the waterfall, then John made steak (Omaha steaks. Thanks mom and dad!) and lobster. We went to the family church service at five, and then dessert and games at our friend Alicia's mom's house.

Christmas morning we got up and opened presents then went to the Ritz in the city for a late brunch and then spent the night there. The spread at the Ritz was amazing. Everything from sushi, french toast stuffing, prime rib and lobster risotto. We had a nice table in the corner of the ballroom, so Ellie could make all the noise she wanted while enjoying her bottle and jar of peas.

And to steal from our pastor's sermon the Sunday after church, while we enjoyed some lovely gifts of toys, boots, a money clip, Omaha Steaks and so on, this was definitely our year to get "books for Christmas," and while we are still "reading" them, we are thankful for all that God has blessed us with and the gift of salvation we've been given through his son, Jesus Christ.

PS - Is that some good food photography, or what?!!

Holiday House Decorations

Underneath our tree looks like it could be an ad for Amazon.com gift wrapping. :-)

The most wonderful time of the year...

We went to visit Santa at his *house* at the West End Nursery two Saturdays ago and then had dinner at the Seafood Peddler to watch the San Rafael boat parade down the canal. We decided that we are going to make the boat parade a yearly tradition. This year I didn't make the reservation in time to get a table by the window, so that's going to be our goal for next year. Someday, wouldn't it be great if we were actually on our own boat in the parade?

Eating in style

I finally got Ellie a high chair. It took me forever to decide on one. I've bought a lot of smart baby gear and some not so smart baby gear, so I took my time, asked around, read a ton of reviews and weighed my options before I sprung for the Chicco Polly. It's height adjustable, folds up well, has wheels and doesn't look too shabby, I have to say. Also, it has a vinyl seat cover which is good for rinsing off, as we all know our little Miss Ellie is quite the spitter, so a cloth seat wasn't going to work for us.

It was super easy to install. I'm quite proud to say that I did it myself.

And, so far, Ellie is as happy as a clam hanging out in it.

Ellie's First Christmas Tree

We got a HUGE one. A "special" one. And we got another one for outside. It's taking us two days and counting to decorate it. Here's us at the tree lot.

Santa with the Cousins

We tried!

Swinging

This was a first for Ellie and she loved it! We don't have a park within walking distance of our house, so it was nice when we were out in San Diego to be able to pop her in the swing at the many parks in Christy's neighborhood and the swing set in her backyard.