January and February Snapshots

(The last picture is actually from March 14th -- when the time changed.  Poor thing crashed an hour before bed time . . . Jim and I weren't far behind!)

Christmas Recap 2 (Biancavilla House)

We returned home with a sleeping babe on Christmas Eve.  

The condo was a delightful picture of warmth, light and color. 

(Too bad my camera couldn't quite do it justice!)

Merry Christmas!!!  Abby actually slept in a bit on Christmas morning (she hasn't quite realized the excitement of Santa's arrival).  But, boy oh boy, did she catch on quickly to diving into presents!

The AWESOME monster truck below was the first present she opened -- and she was almost in a tizzy, desperately trying to get the bow off and free it from its cardboard trappings.  Finally: success!

The monster truck radio plays techno tunes that make you wanna dance!!!! 

Just ask Daddy.  He's a pro!

Every year, Grandma is determined to give everyone of us a stocking -- no matter how old we are :)  I love it.  Abby's stocking this year included an adorable, sparkly, and pink Santa hat.  Daddy (in his Giants Santa hat) and Abby were quite the pair Christmas morning!  "We love Christmas!!!!"

Abby was excited about ALL of her Christmas presents, but she especially loved her new baby stroller -- so much so that she decided it was just her size!  After some maneuvering and balancing, she indeed managed to squirm into this tiny contraption.  That smile says it all!  (And three months later, she STILL loves to sit in it and askes us to "please push" her.  It is getting a wee tight, though.)

Each Christmas is getting better and better for the Biancavillas.  It was great last year, but 2009 was so exciting!  Experiencing the entire season with a little one is incredibly special and fun.  :)  I hope your 2009 Christmas was just as merry!

Christmas Recap 1 (Carlton House)

With the normal craziness of Christmas, it should not be too surprising that I didn't take many pictures until the actual Christmas festivities started.  The first big celebration for us was Christmas Eve and Grandpa and Grandma Carlton's house.  We look so much forward to our big family celebration -- it's the designated time for all of us to celebrate together.  My parents, the Biancavillas, Carltons II (my brother Matt, his wife (Deborah), and my niece (Katie) and nephew (David)), and Carltons III (my brother Jimmy and his wife (Nicole)) all share presents and have a yummy meal.  This year, we had tacos for Christmas dinner -- how exceedingly SoCal was that?  LOL.  I think we just wanted a break from the normal holiday food.  

My mom's typically gorgeous Christmas tree.  I adore this Christmas tree -- it is absolutely dripping with ornaments from FIVE generations of my mother's family.  A group of ornaments are over 100 years old!  Every single memory I have of Christmas is centered around this tree, in this exact place.  It is my delight to celebrate Christmas here with my own family now . . . more on our new Biancavilla family traditions in the next post. 

After dinner and before presents, we sang a few Christmas Carols lead by none other than our own DAVID!  My nephew has found a recent love of the guitar, and as introverted as he often is, had no problem playing a few tunes for us.  Abby, who absolutely adores her cousin, was enthralled at his talend!

As you can imagine, Abby was simultaneously thrilled and overwhelmed at all the presents.  She could only focus on one and a time -- and one of her favorites that night was a Little People dollhouse from Uncle Matt and Auntie Deborah.  She spent a good 15 minutes pushing the Little Man around the coffee table and make "weeeeeeeee!" noises the whole time.  It was fabulous!

 

Yes, this is my mom.  And this is my mom with her new, stylish SNUGGIE.  HAHAHAHAH!  Let me clarify.  This is my mom with her new, stylish Snuggie that she absolutely hates but she was pretty good natured about the Christmas gag gift.  :) 

Ever since a few health issues a couple years ago, my mom is notoriously cold -- all the time.  We suggested that she invest in a Snuggie on several occasions, each time this was met with extreme disdain.  It was the perfect opening for a gag gift.  We couldn't resist the extraordinarily tactful cheetah print, either.  She was a great sport -- though I think the smile above is half grimace, as well.  Hehe!  Don't worry, she got a real present as well :)  (Oh yeah, and in case you're wondering, the Snuggie has been sitting in an unused heap on the side of couch since then.)

Last, but certainly not least, this is our precious little elf at the end of one very fun evening of family, food, and song.  She was so proud to run around and show off her penguin PJ's . . . and despite the late hour and pending arrival of Santa (and even MORE fun!), she was in fabulous mood until the very end.  Little ones bring such joy to this gift-giving holiday!