A final update on the holiday shenanigans... it is only the Epiphany (12th day of Christmas) today so I'm just being true to the holiday. The day before Pete and Andrea left, my mom (GoGo) arrived, followed by Mark and Lindee (Bucket and Linneee) the next day. They explored the city while we had to work, and then on Christmas Eve we headed to Muir Woods to do the Ben Johnson/Dipsea trail loop. There had been so much rain during the previous days that our route was closed, but Grace learned to climb through a maze of branches of a downed tree, and we ended up with gorgeous views of the ocean and the Marin Headlands. Here's the gang - my instruction to "be festive" led M & L to do reindeer antlers. Of course.
After a quick trip to a (packed!) In-n-Out (apparently a Christmas Eve lunch tradition in Marin?) we headed home for some relaxing and cooking. We went to the children's service at church and Grace was soooooo tired that she fell asleep about 30 seconds into the ride over and stayed asleep until about halfway through mass. She woke up delighted by the music and walked over to a baby in the next pew and said "hi baby." She was a party animal, staying up to open her Christmas Eve pajamas and books.
And then, Christmas morning she got the hang of the present thing. At first she needed a little encouraging, but once she figured it out, she would yell "Pezzants!" and tear into them. She particularly loved her broom set (I guess her obsession with the broom is not that unique since they sell them at toystores; we're hoping now that she won't try to wrestle the broom away from us yelling "miii! booom!" whenever we try to sweep). She also loves her dolls and feeding them and her many new books, and her shopping cart and stroller. Grace pushes the babies and Elmo around the apartment, then prepares fancy concoctions from her groceries to feed them.
A broom of one's own.
Books! Elmo!
After breakfast and gifts, we went to Pleasanton to join/crash the extended family Christmas. More "pezzants!" including a stroller for Baby, lots of games and good food, a puppy for Grace to play with, and plenty of family members to boss around. Grace went through a few days of telling everyone where to sit (dee-dow!) and getting very upset if we sat in the wrong places, which she made very clear by trying to push us out of the chairs and screaming hysterically. Sometimes it was a little tough to figure out what she wanted when she screamed "dee-dow!" but then cried when you did. Sigh. One year olds are not rational, but they are very cute, and we're hoping the obsession with chairs and sitting down has perhaps passed or lost its intensity.
Meeting Bode the puppy.
A stroller for Baby!
Pass the Gracie.
The fun continued on Boxing Day with a giant family lunch and walking tour of the city. We started near Market, went through Chinatown (along with a funeral procession that included a brass band) and North Beach, then along the waterfront over to Ghiradelli Square. Such a good time with a wonderful family. We are incredibly blessed.
We finished with GIANT ice cream sundaes and a street car trip back. We then enjoyed game night at home with Bucket and Linneee before they headed back to Seattle the next day, but we got a few more days with GoGo. It was such a treat having them all here. Grace regularly asks for all of them, often pointing to the computer to ask to skype with them. Hands down one of the best thing about moving to SF has been how much more we have been able to see our families. We really had wonderful Christmas celebrations. It was so fun to see how much Grace enjoyed the holiday since last year she just sort of stared and played with ribbon. All the Christmas-related pictures are here.
Union Square.
Strolling.
Part of the crew near Ghiradelli Square with Angel Island in the distance.
Street Car.
I don't really have pictures from the rest of the week, but 2010 definitely ended better than it had started. Steve was on call for 72 hours straight, but at least none of us were ER patients. His call was brutal, and he was on for NYE, but Jess and Geoff came to celebrate with me. Sadly, I took no pictures of our fabulous feast of crab risotto, chocolate cake and champagne, but it was terrific to see them and so fun to toast the new year - a big one for them with their wedding coming up!
I'll wrap this up, finally. I knew if I didn't try to write about it all in one post it would be forever before I finished. I don't know if I will manage a 2010 review this year, but I do hope to at least hit some highlights and reflect on how much has happened as well as think about some resolutions. And, Grace is more and more hilarious by the day so I need to note what she's been up to before I forget. She's growing so quickly.
Happy New Year!
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