Merry (belated) Christmas!

Well, we had ourselves a merry little Christmas.

Zoe's first gift un-wrapping:


The festivities technically started Saturday morning when we had a bunch of friends over for a British breakfast. It was a really great way to contribute to everyone's happy holidays and to see everyone near and dear. Otherwise, we'd have felt totally lame because although we're pretty well on top of our lives, I think we have skimmed over some of the gestures and niceties that make me feel like I'm a good friend to the great people we know.

Anyhoo, I think a good time was had by all and it really was perfect timing right before Xmas. That, and the festivities and clean-up were all done in time for us to have a nice and mellow evening. Funny how your priorities shift once you've got a kiddo...I mean, to be just as happy when a party

Hanging with 'Uncle' Tim after the brunch:


Sunday was good and quiet - a great rainy day that just beckons slippers and cats and sweet babies. Sunday evening, we had a lovely and impromptu (well, to me it was!) visit from Miren, her parents Javier and Lupe, and Miren's boyfriend, Shameek. We haven't seen Miren and Shameek since this summer just before Miren left for her new job in Texas, so it was really great to see her and for her to see how much Zoe has grown. Lovely, too, to finally meet Miren's parents who came all the way from Spain to pass some weeks traveling along with Miren to Texas, South America, New York and Seattle. It was nice of them to catch their breath and hang with us for a bit!



Monday morning I think someone mentioned it being Christmas to Zoe because once she was up, she was *up*. Great eating, great playing...and no napping. So, we headed to Nana and Pepere's house a little early. We figured we might as well have some extra and willing hands involved in the entertainment of bug if she was going to boycott napping.

Showing off her adorable new duds from 'Auntie' Deb:


Fortunately, Zoe's diaper rash cleared up considerably. I mean, it still looked awful to the casual observer (ask my brother, Chris, and my mom), but to us, it was worlds better than it had been. It had to help that Zoe's tummy seemed a bit more settled, too. She got back to eating with some serious gusto because that's what St. Pierre's do during the holidays!

So my brother, Chris, and sis-in-law, Erin, joined us in the afternoon and a typical St. Pierre Xmas eve - well, as typical as it will be minus Greg, Amy and the boys - ensued. Lots of food, lots of chat, lots of happy hanging. Zoe got her gifts a little early so that Chris & Erin could enjoy the baby in action (they had to leave early Xmas day to get over to Erin's side of the family). Zoe did a fantastic job of unwrapping and actually looking at her gifts. There was plenty of distraction, but Zoe really got into the spirit. Until...she hit a new level of fatigue and over-stimulation. All of a sudden, she let out weird little chortle and a cry. Done. A bit of dinner changed everything. Well, a lot of dinner :) Then, thank goodness, she was finally off to bed for the first time that day - aside from the 10 minutes she got during the last 10 minutes of the drive to Nana and Pepere's.



During her stay, Zoe had a really great time investigating Nana and Pepere's house - tearing into Nana's famed tupperware cabinet (we talked about Nick nearly the whole time :) and even practicing going up and getting brought down the big staircase. She took to those stairs like nothing. Not even stopping to admire all of Nana's lovely Christmas decorations. Don't worry, we got the big girl on video :)

Dusting off some of Nana's fun stuff and rearranging the magazine rack:


Christmas morning, Zoe gave us the gift of sleep, staying in bed until almost 7. Later, she graciously opened the rest (!) of her gifts from Nana and Pepere. So much fun. So much, in fact, that we've decided to save some of the stuff that's a little beyond her age for a little later when she's showing boredom with all of the late and greatest. It was a very generous Christmas, and I loved to check out all of her new stuff myself, but mostly it was fun to see her get into it.



Unfortunately, the visit was ended a bit abruptly when we looked up and noticed a hard, fast, wet snow falling. We had to hit the road to stay ahead of it because the next day was a work day and driving home in icy dark traffic just wasn't an option for us to entertain. Unfortunately again, the weather cut into our Indian dinner plans (it's become a tradition with us) since it didn't blow over until too late when cold temps made the wet roads less than enticing. Thankfully, though, mom packed up some great leftovers from our Xmas eve festivities and we were happily fed without a fuss.

Giving her new toys a spin at home:


Today Zoe made some other exciting new strides. We have white shadows peeking out of her upper gums!!! Yahoo! So what if my Xmas wish is a day or so late? Reprieve!

She's also eating like a tank; she devoured her morning feed and breakfast and then cried for a big lunch, too! Down went a bunch of milk, a whole yogurt and a whole finger banana (the cute little ones). And, Zoe finally proved that she can use her excellent pincer skills for more than just shoveling crack (er, Cheerios) into her little mouth. She fed nearly the entire banana to herself! I guess I should also admit, though, that her achievement had a bit to do with my figuring out that she needed the pieces to be a little bigger. She's such a little gagger when the bits are too big that I've always chopped up the pieces nice and small. But when little fingers grab smushy things, they get smushed. So we figured it out together. Sorry to have been holding you back, bug!

Dave was a bit skeptical about lunch ruining her dinner (this has happened before), but not tonight! She ate everything in sight and then proceeded to feed herself to sleep at bedtime. She crashed so hard and fast that we didn't even have any time to read "Goodnight Moon" together! Good thing I've got it memorized ;)

Some recent shots of her chicken-driven activities :)