The day after we visited the Joyas house, we headed up to Nono and Nana's for the holiday. Yay! Cousin Madi was also hanging out with them that afternoon, so we posed for a quick photo op. Then Lily had to catch a quick nap, 'cause we were going to a party at Aunty Char's! This was great, not only did we get to see Aunty Char and Uncle Andre again, but a bunch of other cool people like Aunty Patti, Uncle Dan, Aryton, DJ, and Lauren. Oh, hey, Lily wants to know how she should refer to people like Aryton and Lauren? It feels odd to call them uncle and aunty, 'cause they're Aunty Char and Aunty Patti's kids, but unfortunately the English language is limited in its ability to describe complex relationships. Not like Lily language! "Ahp! Ba ba BAH ba ba!!"
After hanging out at Aunty Char's for a while, we went for a walk around Naples. This was a new experience for Lily...last year, she did it, but she was in mama's tummy. Pretty lights! Shiiiiiiiny! Can we do this again next year? Lily says she might even walk a little!
The next day, we went up to Pacific Palisades to visit Aunty Virginia and Uncle Leo. And guess what? More family!! Uncle Mike, Aunty Julie, cousins Michelle and Melinda, Uncle Larry, and this nice lady named Layla that people say is Uncle Larry's "significant other". Lily says she's not sure what that is, but it sounds important. In the picture on the left, Lily poses with Uncle Larry and cousin Melinda. As you can see, she sure did enjoy playing with Uncle Larry. You know, he should have kids! Maybe that nice lady Layla can help?
Lily has decided she likes Aunty Virginia's place because it's filled with valuable and interesting antiquities, like this jade horse. Priceless artifacts are fun to sit on.
Well, soon enough, it was Christmas day, and we found ourselves back at Nono and Nana's house. Hey, check this out! Lily got her own stocking by the fireplace!
But Uncle Kevin, how come you don't smile in pictures? Tell you what, pose for another one with Uncle John, and I'll say something funny before I take the picture...
Hm. That's a LITTLE better...Uncle John seems to be trying really hard not to giggle, though.Next, mama put Lily into her pretty Christmas dress that Tata Rina gave us. Doesn't she look ladylike? Cousin Mallory comes over to discuss baby fashions, but Lily seems to be telling fish stories. "I once caught a fish THIS big..."
The girls were all so cute, we tried to pose them for a picture. As you can see, though, they all had our own opinions about that.
Well, the unwrapping then began in earnest. So much loot! One funny thing, we had mentioned to people that Lily has been trying to walk, and wouldn't you know it, she ended up getting FOUR walkers. Here you see Mallory helping her to subdue a particularly large one. Amazingly enough, though, it turns out that we're using all four of them. Lily likes having one in every room she likes to hang out in. So thanks everyone!
After a long day of unwrapping presents, sometimes you need a daddy snuggle break.
That evening, we headed home to...more presents! You see, Lily has her own tree and stockings at home! By then, Lily was pretty photo'ed out, though, so after a couple attempts at getting a nice family photo in front of the fire we settled for this and opened presents.
Well, that's about it! As we close this entry, I leave you with this movie to answer the perennial question of, what does the baby do while her parents are opening their Christmas presents?
Merry (belated) Christmas, everyone!
Lookin' good, huh? Still no sign of the top ones though. Mama is grateful.
Of course, as you can see the Christmas metaphor was a bit strained at times. But we didn't mind, the displays were still cool! Who doesn't love the traditional Christmas jungle creche, after all?
