Anna's First Christmas

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Anna's first flight, first snow, baptism, four month birthday, first Christmas - whew! Anna enjoyed meeting tons of new people and having lots of new experiences. Mommy and Daddy are exhausted!

Between the baptism and Christmas travel we were able to see all of our parents and siblings - making this holiday very special. Anna was spoiled rotten by everyone and we are so grateful for everyone's generosity. We certainly enjoyed sharing her.

Anna's getting bigger everyday and has started doing lots of new things. Her ability to grasp things (especially Mommy's hair) is quite impressive. She can now hold her bottle on her own. She learned how to roll over while in Philadelphia, so the childproofing of our house has begun! She is making (unsuccessful) crawling motions while on her belly, but they do result in some impressive rotations.... she can turn about 90 degrees when you leave her on her back or belly. She has discovered her legs and feet and thinks they are the coolest things ever! Her latest trick is pinning Mommy's arm with her legs while she's getting her diaper changed. She is constantly experimenting with her voice and has quite a range of different sounds that we are trying our best to interpret.

We have had quite an incredible year and are looking forward to more fun with our daughter in 2010! We wish all of you a happy new year.

I really did try to pare down the hundreds of photos that we took on our trip... but there are still a lot. Click on the picture below, and enjoy.

Anna's First Christmas

Anna's Baptism

There was quite a "flurry" of activity leading up to Anna's Baptism on December 20th.

We arrived in Philadelphia on the 18th, just before a huge snowstorm hit the northeast the next day. All day Saturday we were on the phone with out of town relatives, trying to decide if it was safe enough to make the trip. In the end, part of Brian's family was unable to make it out of Maryland. Aunt Jenny, Anna's godmother, was delayed but was able to make it to the celebration following the ceremony.

The snow made a lovely backdrop for a special day. Anna looked beautiful in a gown worn by her grandmother, father, and uncle. She wore several baptismal rings from her father's side as well, and a beautiful St. Anne medal. She cried just a little bit when the water hit her forehead, but she quickly recovered and was all smiles. Her Uncle Mark and Aunt Jenny were proud godparents (and Aunt Laura, too, who stood in for Aunt Jenny as she was delayed from Ohio).

We gathered for lunch afterward and Anna was a good sport as she was passed around her relatives. It was a wonderful day, although we missed having some very important people there due to the snow.

Click on the picture to see more!

2009-12-20 Anna's christening

Anna's Early Christmas

Before we left for the east coast, we had a small Christmas celebration for Anna in our own home. Anna got some great toys and had a ball playing with wrapping paper and ribbon. It was good practice for her visit back east!

See the pics by clicking on the photo below!

2009-12-12 Anna's Early Christmas

Anna at 16 weeks

The holiday season is in full swing at the Perone household!

We started the holiday season with a visit from Uncle Mark and Aunt Michelle for Thanksgiving. We all woke up early on Thursday to participate in the Sacramento Run to Feed the Hungry... along with 28,000 other people. We joined the Christian Brothers team and had a great time hanging out with them before the race. This year we all chose to walk with Anna... but next year when Anna's big enough for the jogging stroller - watch out! We had a lovely dinner later that day. Brian made an amazing turkey and some great sides. On Saturday we spent the day putting up the tree and decorating for Anna's first Christmas. All in all it was a wonderful visit!

Grandma Barb and Grandpa Pat made a quick visit on the Sunday after Thanksgiving - with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Thompson. It was great to see four generations together!

After Thanksgiving, Mommy had to face the music and go back to work. Luckily, I only had to go for three weeks until Christmas vacation. It is definitely hard to leave Anna in the morning! Daddy does daycare drop off and Mommy gets to be the hero and pick her up :) Anna seems to be thriving there and seems to really like her teachers, Ms. Van, Ms. Claire, and Ms. Renee.

Last weekend, Anna had the opportunity to meet Santa Claus! The picture came out really well. She will get to meet him again this week at her daycare Christmas party. This weekend we are busy having our own little Christmas celebration before we depart for the east coast. Anna has some presents under the tree that she will get to open when she awakes from her morning nap. Our flight to Philly leaves Friday, and we are anxiously awaiting seeing our families at Anna's baptism on Sunday.

Click below to see our latest set of pictures.

Anna - 16 weeks