the first noel

ode to joy!

Lil spent her first Christmas at her grandparents' house in Princeton. Needless to say Lil was not the most excited person in the house. Mostly she had no clue as to what was happening, but she did notice the very very very big tree, and picked up on grandma's frenetic energy. Things were definitely abuzz on Linden Lane. No detail was missed in preparing for the big day. Lil even had two special pairs of pajamas waiting for her to wear on Christmas morning. How many babies get wardrobe changes before all the presents are even opened?

Lil says "daw" for the first time

Once we arrived on the morning of the 24th, the first order of business was to introduce Lil to Sidney, the esteemed family dog. Lil hasn't had much face time with doggies, and Sidney hasn't had much face time with babies. All things considered, they got off to a smashing start. No tails or ears were pulled, and no fingers went missing. Sidney even snuck into our family bed Christmas Eve and kindled some warmth and good will. Lil made her appearance in a special outfit from BabyGap– a pair of tights with shorts sewn on (or shorts with tights sewn on), with a ruffled "body double" top, which is like a onesie with a shirt that goes over the waistband of your bottoms. I like it, especially for winter. You don't want any kind of chilly drafts going up her shirt. And since Princeton was freezing (and just because they're cute), I added a pair of limited edition BabyLegs that I scored off of babysteals.com.

Lil swings (foreground), Sidney poops (rear-ground, off to the right).

After that, we all got bundled up and went for a short walk to a playground so that Lil could swing and Sidney could poop. Everyone was happy, until none of us could feel our noses, so we headed back to the house, which was just around the corner. Lil was stunned that a playground could exist so close to a residence! Back home in Brooklyn, only the 1% are allowed to live near parks with playgrounds (unless you are the opposite 1%, and reside in public housing).

f-f-f-freezing

The question of "naughty, or nice?" may have been weighing heavily on a lot of young minds this Christmas morning, but not Lil's. It's not that there was no doubt in her mind about her niceness, it's just that it had not yet occurred to her to ponder such a thing. No matter how many times I sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," she just didn't get it. You wouldn't know that from watching her on Christmas morning, though. Happiness danced on that cherubic little face of hers from the time she spilled her stocking, through the waffle intermission, until the last bit of wrapping paper was pried from her jaws.

so very, very nice

Although she was mostly oblivious to what it all meant, there was something pretty special about watching Lil soak it all in.  I am somewhat worried about what she'll think on her next visit to Princeton, when there's no tree, no special pajamas, and no mountain of presents.

"When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer..."

with Papa, in her new knit hooded cardigan

the "morning after," Boxing Day, sporting her new Patagonia snowsuit